The sustainability challenges of yesterday have become today’s resilience crises. National and global efforts have failed to stop climate change, transition from fossil fuels, and reduce inequality. We must now confront these and other increasingly complex problems by building resilience at the community level. But what does that mean in practice, and how can it be done in a way that’s effective and equitable? The Community Resilience Reader offers a new vision for creating resilience, through essays by leaders in such varied fields as science, policy, community building, and urban design. The Community Resilience Reader combines a fresh look at the challenges humanity faces in the 21st century, the essential tools of resilience science, and the wisdom of activists, scholars, and analysts working with community issues on the ground. It shows that resilience is a process, not a goal; how resilience requires learning to adapt but also preparing to transform; and that resilience starts and ends with the people living in a community. Despite the formidable challenges we face, The Community Resilience Reader shows that building strength and resilience at the community level is not only crucial, but possible. From Post Carbon Institute, the producers of the award-winning The Post Carbon Reader , The Community Resilience Reader is a valuable resource for students, community leaders, and concerned citizens. "By turns cerebral and grounded, The Community Resilience Reader is a valuable resource for thinking in a new way about almost every aspect of our communities." (review in Civil Engineering magazine, November 2017) Contributors include: Daniel Lerch Leena Iyengar Richard Heinberg Joshua Farley Sarah Byrnes & Chuck Collins William Rees Howard Silverman Margaret Robertson Brian Walker & David Salt Stephanie Mills Denise Fairchild & Al Weinrub Rebecca Wodder Scott Sawyer William Throop Rosemary Cooper Mike Lydon Asher Miller Daniel Lerch is the editor of The Community Resilience Reader .  Lerch is Publications Director of Post Carbon Institute, serving as lead editor and manager of the Institute's books and reports. He is the author of Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty (2007)--the first major local government guidebook on the end of cheap oil--and was the founding chair of the Sustainable Communities Division of the American Planning Association and a founding co-director of The City Repair Project. Lerch has delivered over 100 presentations to audiences across the United States and abroad, and has been interviewed for numerous media outlets. He has worked with urban sustainability issues for over twenty years in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. The Community Resilience Reader Essential Resources for an Era of Upheaval By Daniel Lerch ISLAND PRESS Copyright © 2017 Post Carbon Institute All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-61091-860-2 Contents Acknowledgments, Introduction Daniel Lerch, Chapter 1 Six Foundations for Building Community Resilience Daniel Lerch, PART I Understanding Our Predicament, Chapter 2 The Environmental Crisis: The Needs of Humanity versus the Limits of the Planet Leena Iyengar, Chapter 3 The Energy Crisis: From Fossil Fuel Abundance to Renewable Energy Constraints Richard Heinberg, Chapter 4 The Economic Crisis: The Limits of Twentieth-Century Economics and Growth Joshua Farley, Chapter 5 The Equity Crisis: The True Costs of Extractive Capitalism Sarah Byrnes and Chuck Collins, Chapter 6 The Roots of Our Crises: Does Human Nature Drive Us toward Collapse? William Rees, PART II Gathering the Needed Tools, Chapter 7 Systems Literacy: A Toolkit for Purposeful Change Howard Silverman, Chapter 8 A Crash Course in the Science of Sustainability Margaret Robertson, Chapter 9 A Crash Course in the Science of Resilience Brian Walker and David Salt, Chapter 10 Pulling It All Together: Resilience, Wisdom, and Beloved Community Stephanie Mills, PART III Community Resilience in Action, Chapter 11 Energy Democracy Denise Fairchild and Al Weinrub, Chapter 12 Building Community Resilience at the Water's Edge Rebecca Wodder, Chapter 13 Food System Lessons from Vermont Scott Sawyer, Chapter 14 Learning Our Way toward Resilience William Throop, Chapter 15 Beyond Waste: Sustainable Consumption for Community Resilience Rosemary Cooper, Chapter 16 Resilient Streets, Resilient Cities Mike Lydon, Chapter 17 Community Resilience and the Built Environment Daniel Lerch, Chapter 18 Conclusion: Where to Start Asher Miller, Contributors, About Post Carbon Institute, Index, CHAPTER 1 Six Foundations for Building Community Resilience Daniel Lerch How do you know community resilience when you see it? I think you look for the capacity for people to not have to go through extremes ... being knowledgeable and having capacity to do something, to change your circumstances. — Doria Robinson, Urban Tilth We all need a sen