Description
Book SynopsisAs major environmental crises loom, Christina Ergas makes the argument in Surviving Collapse that one possible way forward is a radical sustainable development that turns the focus from monetary gain to social and ecological regeneration and transformation. Employing qualitative and cross-national comparative methods, Ergas examines two alternative, community-scale, socioecological models of development: the first is a grassroots urban ecovillage in the Pacific Northwest, United States, while the second is a government-subsidized, but cooperatively run, urban farm in Havana, Cuba. While neither are panaceas, they prioritize social and ecological efficiency and subsume economic rationality towards those ends. Featuring cases that not only allow us to synthesize their strengths but evaluate their weaknesses, Surviving Collapse reveals a multitude of varied paths toward reaching radical urban sustainability and empowers us all to imagine, and possibly build, more resilient futures.
Trade ReviewChristina Ergas's book Surviving Collapse appears at a timely moment and represents a significant shift in the climate change discussion. * John Bellamy Foster, University Of Oregon, Social Forces *
Libraries with reserve collections focusing on environmental philosophy, environmental sociology, and environmental politics should own this text. * K. M. Woosnam, University of Georgia, Choice Connect *
Christina Ergas's book Surviving Collapse...appears at a timely moment and represents a significant shift in the climate change discussion.... Considerable attention is given to such concepts as metabolic rifts, real utopias, the treadmill of production, ecological footprints, ecofeminism, climate denialism, and total liberation. Surviving Collapse was completed in 2020 prior to both the COVID-19 pandemic and the new nuclear threat presented by the war in Ukraine. This simply means, however, that today there are even more reasons to focus both in theory and practice on the creation of a society of radical sustainability, making Ergas's book more rather than less relevant. * Social Forces *
Christina Ergas, one of the most insightful sociologists of her generation, has produced a wonderfully readable and engaging book that advances our understanding of the forces that have contributed to our present dire circumstances while also providing us with a vision for how we can navigate to a better world." -Richard York, Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies, University of Oregon
Radical sustainability is something we desperately need, and Christina Ergas shows us why in this powerfully written book. Ergas immersed herself in two communities offering different approaches for addressing the great socioecological challenges of our time, and she offers clear evidence and persuasive analysis for how we can build just, caring, equitable, and ecologically healthy communities for a more livable future." -David N. Pellow, UC Santa Barbara, and author of What is Critical Environmental Justice?
Surviving Collapse is brimming with hope for our future, and for our collective survival. Ergas centers the power and potency of stories and values, and makes the radical claim that we must scale up our narrative before we scale up our solutions. Her book illuminates a path forward, out of the mire and confusion of our current conditions, and reminds us that the future is made through a set of choices. Far from an idealistic enterprise disconnected from reality, Ergas' presentation of sustainability experiments in ecovillages and urban farms offers a view into what life might look like were we living in connection to a greater reality." -Autumn Brown, Host of How to Survive the End of the World
Ergas makes a strong case for 'radical sustainability'. Her book is an substantial overview of aspects of the urgent present debate. * Dr Greg Shepherd, Postgraduate researcher, Department of Geography and Environment, University of Adelaide *
Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Introduction: Building Socioecological Community Chapter 1: In the Shadow of Sustainable Development Chapter 2: Grassroots Sustainability in a Concrete Landscape: An Urban Ecovillage in the Pacific Northwest Chapter 3: Urban Oasis: Socioecological Sustainability in Cuban Urban Agriculture Chapter 4: Beyond Neoliberalism: The Promise of a Communitarian Story Chapter 5: Scaling Up the Values Themselves: Real Utopian Stories for the Climate Apocalypse Conclusion: There Is No Future That Is Not Built in the Present Appendix: Methods and Cases Notes References Index
