Edens Lost and Found
(How Ordinary Citizens are Restoring Our Great American Cities)
By Harry Wiland, Dale Bell & Joseph D'Agnese
Chelsea Green Publishing (2006)
I had this idea stuck in my head that I required credentials in order to help solve the housing crisis in my community, Bellingham, Washington until I headed to the library and found books revolving around ordinary citizens (with and without credentials) making huge positive impacts on their respective cities.
With the compelling and vibrant book, Edens Lost and Found the co-authors visit Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Seattle to bring us examples of lost causes transformed into greenbelts, clean waterways, community gardens, street art, and city planning that places healthy living at the center. Some of the projects mentioned in the book had not manifested by the time the book was published (if at all), but still inspire us to head back to the drawing board.
These types of books prove that urban design and city planning truly take the efforts of a village. All people contribute despite their age, ethnicity, economic level, or education level. Everyone from painters to gardeners, to visionaries have transformed unworkable situations into well, lost Edens as we redefine urban life in an era of sustainability. All planners throughout history have had their problems to tackle, as we do in this era with climate changes, pollution, loss of farmland, and depleting fresh water supplies. Besides, that, the authors toss in history of the four cities much of which I wasn't aware. In the end, Edens Lost and Found inspires us to be the change we want to see in our communities and in the world.