If they are to survive, cities need healthy chunks of
the world's ecosystems to persist; yet cities, like
parasites, grow and prosper by local destruction of
these very ecosystems. In this absorbing and
wide-ranging book, Eldredge and Horenstein use New York
City as a microcosm to explore both the positive and the
negative sides of the relationship between cities, the
environment, and the future of global biodiversity. They
illuminate the mass of contradictions that cities
present in embodying the best and the worst of human
existence. The authors demonstrate that, though cities
have voracious appetites for resources such as food and
water, they also represent the last hope for conserving
healthy remnants of the world's ecosystems and species.
With their concentration of human beings, cities bring
together centers of learning, research, government,
finance, and media institutions that increasingly play
active roles in solving environmental problems. Some of
the topics covered in Concrete Jungle: the geological
history of the New York region, including remnant
glacial features visible today; the early days of
urbanization on Manhattan Island, focusing on the
history of Central Park, Collect Pond, and Manhattan
Square; the history of early railway lines and the
development of New York's iconic subway system; the
problem of producing enough safe drinking water for an
ever-expanding population; and prominent civic
institutions, including universities, museums, and
zoos. |
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