Places: Linking Nature, Culture and Planning

In recent years, environmental conservation and sustainable development have become critical parts of the planning equation. However, most attempts to incorporate these considerations have focused too narrowly on specialized economic, geologic, biological, or other factors. With Places, James Gordon Nelson and Patrick L. Lawrence present a new, more complete approach to planning--the ABC method.

The ABC method links Abiotic, Biotic, and Cultural factors in a systematic and comprehensive analysis with the aim of achieving better understanding of and planning for the challenges facing places and the people living in them. Examples of the ABC method are presented through international case studies and are illustrated with photographs and maps.

This book is written for environmental planners, decision-makers, students, and all those who are concerned about the history and future of places, presenting a new, more highly integrated way of thinking that will help address serious challenges in effective, efficient, and equitable ways.

James Gordon Nelson is a Canadian geographer with a long interest in landscape history, landscape change, and planning. He has focused on the links between research and policy and has undertaken field studies in Canada, the United States, the U.K., Central Europe, Indonesia, and many other parts of the world.

Patrick L. Lawrence is an environmental geographer with interests in water resources, watershed planning, landscapes, land use change, natural area planning, the Great Lakes, and natural hazards.