Innovative architect and urban thinker Peter Calthorpe has directly and indirectly been a huge influence on the field of sustainable communities, particularly with respect to the very important subjects of smart regional thinking and transit-oriented development.  His 1993 book The Next American Metropolis motivated yours truly to enter the field and should be required reading for everyone interested in the environment and cities.  His latest is Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change.

In this two-minute video, Peter summarizes as well as anyone why we must aspire to more sustainable communities.  It was produced by the video communications platform genConnect.  Enjoy:

 

 

Kaid Benfield writes about community, development, and the environment on Switchboard and in other national media.  For more posts, see his blog's home page.  Please also visit NRDC’s Sustainable Communities Video Channels.