Review: Space and spatial representation are two of the big issues in ecology and earth sciences. Although they could be seen as central to any environmental study (where else does ecology actually happen?) there is an ambivalence to much of the published work. At a time when the need to realise interactivity in all ecological spheres both theoretical and applied has never been more pressing, the actual output remains modest. Into this area we have the author's current work. This reviewer first met his ideas with the seminal Land Mosaics published in 1995. Like all really revolutionary ideas it appeared quite simple - land must be seen as a patchwork of interacting areas. Since that time he has continued research in a variety of areas but in this text there is the potential for yet another groundbreaking analysis. Like Land Mosaics the premise is deceptively simple - urban areas are impacting upon natural systems but can be planned to work sustainably. As such it combines ecology and urban planning and shows, through the use of detailed case studies, how settlements can be better planned.

We start with an introduction that revisits an old theme and helps us understand a new. The notion of multiple scales is one we've met before but the idea of urban area/region/bioregion etc. is newer and gets more attention. By the end of the chapter the reader understands the nature of the study being attempted here. Chapter two continues the introductory theme by examining the concept of planning and how it operates. Cities have economics close to their heart for that helps the area develop but, as we see in chapter three, there are other dimensions as well e.g. social, cultural and environmental. The aim is to get the reader to appreciate a wider picture for the 'urban' concept. A final chapter continues the ideas taken up at the beginning but this time the focus is on 'natural' ecosystems and ecology. By focussing on community, aquatic and soil ecosystems along with climate we get to see how ecology, far from being apart from the city is vitally a part of it. This is reinforced with a section in this chapter on green spaces - the 'natural' world allowed into settlements providing it is contained. Chapter five starts the case study part of the text. The idea was that 38 urban regions would be studied and their impact recorded so that lessons in sustainable planning could be derived. The first aspect is defining and describing the cities (chapter 5). The list is extensive and geographically diverse: Chicago to Cairo to Ulaan Bataar. To help the reader understand the complexities, differences and similarities, a series of coloured maps (using a single unified key) is put into this chapter to demonstrate how the cities have developed and the area over which their demands are met. The next stage is to gather key data on the natural systems of urban areas. Starting with caveats on scale, chapter six covers nature (patches, connections, areas), agriculture and water, showing how each of these change with urban area other variables. The overall aim is to both chart degree and select those factors which might be of influence later in the argument. Chapter seven continues this research focussing on the built environment - roads, infrastructure, transport, other cities and urban regions. These two chapters show the variability of the city. Chapter 8 ties this in which models of urbanisation and urban development. The idea is to show, firstly, the variability in land use and mosaics around cities and, secondly, how this fits into some of the more influential urban models. To this point the book has gradually outlined the key ideas - study regions and parameters, data and models. Chapter 9 suggests how we can plan our urban regions to be more sustainable - to use the ecology of the area rather than go against it. The chapter describes features such as patch size, corridors, transport and communities and outlines the best planning principles for each. Chapter 10 applies this thinking to the single case study of Barcelona. Chapter 11 gathers the material that has been generated dividing them into sections like settings, lessons from Barcelona and the impact of scale. The final part of the chapter shows which of these might have positive, negative or 'interesting' impacts on urban design. In this part, the various parameters are noted and the urban regions matching the parameter are listed. A final chapter tries to show which route to take and some of the issues we face along the way.

This is a 'big picture' book in many ways. Its breadth of research is outstanding. The questions put and answers given are highly thought provoking. It should be seen as a 'must read' book for educators, urban planners, teacher educators and anyone trying to understand a sustainable urban future without the usual sustainability rhetoric. This stands alongside Land Mosaics as one of the most influential texts published in a long time.