The Restoration Economy

by Storm Cunningham

The Restoration Economy reveals the previously undocumented trillion-dollar global industries that are restoring our natural and manmade environments. Restorative development is rapidly overtaking new development because we are running out of things to develop. Most natural areas are already either farmed or degraded, and cities have built all the way to their borders. However, there is no lack of things to redevelop and restore. Storm Cunningham surveys the wide range of restoration industries and points out the connections among them. He shows, for example, how the restoration of a river ecosystem can have a major impact on the commercial success of a redeveloped historic urban waterfront. Written for a broad range of audiences, The Restoration Economy is an entertaining blend of business, science, and economics that details exciting new business and investment opportunities in this dynamic economic sector.

360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Cunningham makes a valuable observation that everyone should be introduced to, especially those in business or politics, but the book itself has its limitations. The central idea is powerful: there are three modes of development - new (extractive) development, conservation/maintenance, and restoration - and while our society has generally been stuck talking and doing the first two, it is really the third where both sustainability and economic growth is possible. He makes a good argument that much restorative development is underway but unrecognized as an industry, but his examples seem to be very heavily tilted to projects funded by public money. In 2002, which is when I believe this was published, that may not have been troubling, but in today's environment when government spending is suspect, even in recession when it should be most relevant, it seems like a tenuous basis for a business plan.

Still, Cunningham himself promotes the value of just shifting perspectives on how to drive our economy, and I think he's right there. If people saw value and potential in restoring what we've already built or damaged - restorative development encompasses both the built and natural environments - there would be more energy and resources invested in reusing land and material, which would be a benefit. And I think restoration is essential to any environmental agenda at this point, because it provides the hope that is such a necessary counterweight to the depressing realities of land use and other ecological challenges.

This book is definitely worth a read, not exactly entertaining but valuable. I do plan to read his follow-up, which gets into more specific examples. This book is a part of what will hopefully be a large-scale change and is, because of that, an incremental piece of that culture shift.