This book presents and explains, for the first time, the rise and success of this new global sensibility. Organized into five sections—Identity, Utility, Citizenship, Rural, Urban—it explores the challenges of planning in the developed and developing worlds through a series of detailed, often groundbreaking case studies.

Projects have been chosen to highlight a variety of approaches. They range from the recycled architecture of Rural Studio in Alabama to the remarkable revitalization of isolated communities in Japan, from the rehabilitation of industrial wasteland in Germany to novel ways to provide clean water in South Africa. Other projects include Edible Schoolyard (Berkeley, California), De Strip (Netherlands), Osuna Cattle Tracks Regeneration (Spain), Play or Rewind (Italy), and Ephemeral Vineyard (France). The in-depth studies are completed with valuable technical information.

Clare Cumberlidge is a British art consultant and curator. Lucy Musgrave, former director of the Architectural Foundation, London, and Cumberlidge co-founded the UK-based consultancy General Public Agency.