If the place where one lives is the site where sustainability should begin, the driving question of any serious sustainability project or program is: how do you get there from here? That is the ultimate question of my forthcoming co-authored book. Using detailed case studies of seven North American urban sustainability programs, my presentation will focus on the political agencies shaping them and the structural elements either impeding or facilitating these efforts. To accomplish this task, I will utilize three theories of urban power-growth coalition, urban regime, and neo-Gramscian models--to explore the dynamics of power and politics to better understand these cases and examine the requirements for building sustainable cities that can become practical utopias on terra firma.

Dr. Yanarella is a Professor and the Chair of the Political Science Department. His primary teaching and research interests include critical policy studies of the energy and environment, agricultural and ecological policy, and national security and arms control. He serves as the Associate Director of the Center for Sustainable Cities. Dr. Yanarella's teaching and research interests align well with the mission of the Environmental and Sustainability Studies Program, and his experience as an administrator provide valuable guidance to the program.

For more information, contact Bob Sandmeyer (bob.sandmeyer@uky.edu) at (859) 257-7749