Ecoregion-based design for sustainability /

Many examples of regional planning, settlement practices, and management of land tend not to consider the environmental context within which they are found. In this book, geographer Bailey (US Forest Service) argues for broadening the view of the physical environment by taking a less compartmentalized and more holistic regional view. In his previous works, the author describes and explains the concept of an "ecoregion" as a regional-scale ecosystem unit. The first three chapters of this book offer a general overview of regional ecology with well-written and clearly illustrated explanations of how ecological elements within landscapes interact with and impinge on one another. Subsequent chapters address broad-ranging topics from home-building strategies, urban and suburban planning, design of nature reserves, and environmental restoration projects. With numerous examples and illustrations largely focused on the US, this relatively short book ranges very broadly over the topics covered and provides a useful general overview of sustainable design at many scales. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals. D. Goldblum University of Wisconsin--Whitewater