Book Review: The Designer's Atlas of Sustainability

Treehugger: It's hard to review an atlas, defined as a "collection of maps, charts, or visual plates that systematically illustrate a subject." An atlas doesn't tell you how to get from A to B, but shows you all the routes. You can hold an atlas at a distance and get an overview, or take an ocular and zoom in on a coastline or shoal.

That is how one treats Ann Thorpe's Designer's Atlas of Sustainability; one can cruise the definitions and the graphics, delve more deeply into the "landscape features" or really get into the "traveller's notes." The author divides the book "into three main parts using the categories of ecology, economy and culture as a way of exploring the landscape." (synopsis here)

All design and development should be sustainable, defined as "development that cultivates environmental and social conditions that will support human well-being indefinitely." This book is an essential, clear and comprehensible reference for any kind of designer. ::The Designer's Atlas of Sustainability found at ::Ballenford Books