RetroSuburbia:
the downshifter’s guide to a resilient future
AUD $85.00 (€52,88)
David
Holmgren
This 592 page manual shows how Australians can downshift and retrofit
their homes, gardens, communities and, above all, themselves to be more
self-organised, sustainable and resilient into an uncertain future. It promises
a challenging but exciting mix of satisfying work, a more meaningful way of
living and hope for the next generation.
RetroSuburbia is divided into three
main sections: the Built, the Biological and the Behavioural along with the
introductory section ‘Setting the scene’.
For wholesale sales visit the Melliodora website. See a list of stockists below. Available
in the USA from our partners at Permaculture Principles and in
the UK from Ragmans see
below).
http://www.ragmans.co.uk/shop/retrosuburbiaholmgren/
Since its inception in the late
seventies, Permaculture has become a reference for Architects, growers, Town
Planners, policy makers and small scale farmers the world over. To coin a new
term such as Permaculture and have it penetrate across disciplines is unusual
in one lifetime. So we should pay attention when David Holmgren, the
co-originator of Permaculture, publishes a distillation of his knowledge and
insight.
RetroSuburbia is an ambitious endeavour!
An assessment of the current state of the world sets the scene, but Holmgren
then weaves together current thinking on New Economics, Agroecology, Transition
and Permaculture to create a tapestry that is credible, achievable and above
all full of hope – practical hope.
To call RetroSuburbia a book is an understatement.
It is an anthem, a beautifully crafted manual dripping with illustrations,
photographs and real life examples together with the forensic analysis that we
have come to expect from Holmgren. This is a book to place in the hands
of our children (once we have used it to start putting our own house in order!)
Although it uses mainly Australian
examples, its 592 pages show how you can downshift and retrofit your homes,
gardens and communities to be more self-organised, sustainable and resilient in
an uncertain future and is applicable to everyone wherever they live.
RetroSuburbia is divided into three main
sections: the Built, the Biological and the Behavioural along with the
introductory section ‘Setting the scene’.
Outline of RetroSuburbia
Setting The Scene
The first section explores the
big-picture issues, concepts and thinking tools that David thinks are useful in
creative household level responses to the challenges of the coming years and
decades.
Key challenges and retrosuburban responses outlines the connections between the
personal and global challenges of the near future and how suburbia might a good
place to survive and thrive in challenging futures. It also introduces some of
the thinking tools, such as permaculture and pattern languages, to help
retrofit suburbia one household at a time.
LINK: https://youtu.be/hDgYlTbXfzc
Built Field: Patterns of Human Habitats
The Built Field covers the recurring
patterns and design solutions relevant to retrofitting detached houses and the
other physical systems that support suburban households. This is an obvious
starting point for many who want to make their place a better long-term
prospect.
Retrofitting is less costly than new
construction, allowing permaculture downshifters to focus on food production,
water systems, home-based livelihoods and community resilience rather than
sinking all their efforts into state of the art eco-housing.
Biological Field: Patterns of life and growth
The possibilities for retrofitting the
Biological Field are many and varied. Every residential block has soil with a
history of use and/or abuse, established plantings, some of which may produce
food, and a wider ecological context of sunshine, water, wind, vegetation and
wildlife that influence the site.
This section introduces recurring
patterns and proven design solutions for abundant garden farming in suburbia.
It doesn’t tell you how to raise seedlings or graft a tree but it will help you
select and design the best growing systems for vegetables and fruit trees,
along with guidelines on what to grow to make best use of what space you have
without moving to a rural property.
Behaviour Field: Patterns of decisions and actions
The Behavioural Field includes
everything about how we live in the Built and Biological Fields, from our most
unconscious actions through to complex collective organisation that extends
from the household out into the wider community and economy.
In every chapter David has tried to
provide a strategic overview, practical tips and encouragement to collaborate
in bringing retrosuburbia to life – and making it the new normal in your
household, street and neighbourhood. Even when we can’t change the building,
the season or the people we live with, we can always change how we see and
experience life for the better.
Technical Spec:
592 pages
210mm x 275mm x 41mm
90 watercolour illustrations by artist Brenna Quinlan
400 full colour photos
Foreword by Costa Georgiadis (Gardening Australia)
34 chapters, spanning 3 fields – the Built, Behavioural and Biological
Includes case studies: real-life examples of households creating change and
building resilience
Designed by Richard Telford
Published by Melliodora Publishing, Australia
The RRP is set by the publisher
Melliodora in Australia and the listed price may fluctuate to reflect changes
in the exchange rates and/or changes to postage rates.
Despatch
Information:
Please note the books for the UK and Europe are the
same book, it is just the postage option that is different.
Orders are usually shipped via Royal Mail, bulk orders
(UK only) shipped outside UK main delivery area may incur additional carriage
costs.
For Europe delivery please select the Europe delivery
option.
£ 63.00 = €74,74
