Every movement has its bellweathers, the ideas that lead the way and rally its adherents towards a set of shared values and visions. Resettling America was one such beacon - a publication for its time and ahead of its time. Those of us doing the work of sustainability and the transformation of communities feel grateful for Gary's early and prescient contribution that has shaped the thinking of so many around the US and beyond. Essential reading for all green warriors! Jason F. McLennan, Chief Sustainability Officer - Perkins & Will. Founder, Living Building Challenge.
Originally published in 1981 and now reissued with a new Preface by Gary J. Coates, Resettling America was one of the first comprehensive, transdisciplinary books on the crisis of sustainability and the implications of that crisis for the re-design of buildings, towns, cities and regions. Through essays by Coates, which provide a theory of ecological design, and case studies written by leading authors and activists of the time, the book presents a strategic vision of how it would be possible to create a sustainable and livable society through a process of cooperative community development rooted in a radical re-visioning of nature, self and society. By providing a strategic vision, as well offering practical means for creating a sustainable society worth sustaining, Resettling America remains more relevant and inspiring than ever to those who face the ecology of crises that now surround us in the 21st Century.
About the Author: Professor of Architecture emeritus Gary J. Coates has long been recognized nationally and internationally as a leading voice in the movement to create socially, technologically and ecologically sustainable buildings, towns, cities and bioregions.
Coates' contributions have been recognized with numerous awards. At Kansas State University, where he taught for 45 years, Coates was selected as the inaugural Victor L. Regnier Distinguished Faculty Chair. He has received national awards from the American Institute of Architecture (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) for his innovative courses on sustainable and regenerative design. Coates was chosen as an ACSA Distinguished Professor of Architecture for a lifetime of "sustained creative achievement" through teaching, research, scholarship and service.
Professionally, Coates has consulted on town planning and architectural design projects, and collaborated with colleagues to help create a number of international professional organizations including: the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA); the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU); the Society of Building Science Educators (SBSE) and; the Architecture, Culture and Spirituality Forum (ACSF).
