Affiliations: School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, University of Calgary, AB, Canada and Department of Architecture, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi, India
Abstract: The great acceleration is an environmental history of human-induced alterations from the historian’s perspective. It uses statistical data, descriptive examples and short introductions to support the evidence. The book is divided into four chapters: energy & population, climate and biological diversity, cities and the global economy and the Cold War influences and environmental change. The combination of themes has no obvious reason. However, the author uses them effectively to narrate their story by citing many historical incidents characterising human-dominated landscapes that changed the world. This book encourages the interaction between the anthropocene and the great acceleration that has affected not only Earth’s climate and environment but also the evolution and survival of everything else on Earth. This book makes a compelling read for architects, planners and environmental designers. Their contribution and participation in shaping the natural and built environment are less prioritised. The author seems primarily concerned with the idea of the carbon cycle and fossil fuel-driven changes in the global economy. Consequently, it provoked questions about how these disciplines influence the built environment and climate change.
Keywords: Climate change, Built environment, Human-dominated landscapes, Environmental design, Land use changes, Human settlements
