ACADEMIC WORKS
Academic, Urban Planning Books Written By Wendy Sarkissian, PhD.
DR WENDY SARKISSIAN RIPA (LIFE FELLOW) IS AN AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR, COMMUNITY PLANNER, EDUCATOR, ACTIVIST AND ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICIST.
Although the ground-breaking, wise and courageous Creeksong may be Wendy's magnum opus, she is the author of a number of other books, including prestigious books about how urban planning can work hand in hand with communities to create a better life for all, and save Mother Earth, even at this eleventh hour.
KITCHEN TABLE SUSTAINABILITY: PRACTICAL RECIPES FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH SUSTAINABILITY
Wendy is the lead author for "Kitchen Table Sustainability", a book that offers a unique view of sustainability through the lens of community engagement. It takes sustainability out of the ivory towers of universities, government departments and planners to the kitchen tables of the world.
"Kitchen Table Sustainability" distils decades of wisdom from community planning, engagement and sustainability practice internationally into a user-friendly and engaging book that is both inspirational and packed with hands-on tools. The core of the book is a bottom-up approach to participatory community engagement and development, referred to as EATING, that consists of six components: Education, Action, Trust, Inclusion, Nourishment and Governance.
Other contributing authors are Nancy Hofer, Yollana Shore, Steph Vajra and Cathy Wilkinson
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CREATIVE COMMUNITY PLANNING: TRANSFORMATIVE ENGAGEMENT METHODS FOR WORKING AT THE EDGE
Creative Community Planning provides clear access to emerging innovations in artistic, narrative, embodied and technological methods.
Reflecting on the wide continuum of participatory practice, the authors, Wendy Sarkissian, Dianna Hurford, and Christine Wenman explore the frontiers of community engagement within a fresh sustainability framework.
Leading planning theorists, researchers and practitioners in the field reflect with the authors on the many successes and challenges in engaging with a diversity of people in rural and urban communities. These conversations reveal creativity as key to enhancing existing engagement practices.
Concepts and practical applications thread through the book, including community visioning, participatory research and reporting, conflict resolution, poetry and planning language, theatre, photography, film and websites.
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SPEAK OUT: THE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO SPEAKOUTS AND COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS
Finding specific advice on inclusive processes for engaging a community in a planning or design process can be a daunting undertaking. The latest offering in the Tools for Community Planning Series is the product of nearly two decades of successful practice by internationally acclaimed community planning specialists. It is designed to support veterans and people with little or no experience to conduct a wide variety of community engagement events with absolute confidence.
The book introduces the SpeakOut, an innovative, interactive drop-in engagement process. It provides hands-on, systematic guidance and detailed checklists for managing community engagement processes, as well as targeted advice on facilitation, recording and training. Five international case studies are included.
This unique, illustrated manual is a 'must-have' tool for community, city and regional planners, activists, community organizations, students in planning and the other land professions and workshop facilitators and trainers everywhere.
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HOUSING AS IF PEOPLE MATTERED: SITE DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR MEDIUM-DENSITY FAMILY HOUSING
Written with Clare Cooper Marcus, this book is a collection of guidelines for the site design of low-rise, high-density family housing.
It is intended as a reference tool, primarily for housing designers and planners, but also for developers, housing authorities, citizens' groups, and tenants organizations--anyone involved in planning or rehabilitating housing.
It provides guidelines for the layout of buildings, open spaces, community facilities, play areas, walk ways, and the myriad components that make up a housing site.
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SOCIAL MIX: THE BOURNVILLE EXPERIENCE
Written with Warwick Heine, Social Mix examines the living legacy of the city of Bournville in the UK.
Bournville was planned as a social city, built by George Cadbury, a factory owner, to house his workers. As the authors explain, Bournville was probably the first community where a “fine grained” social mix was planned from the start, with the intention of creating a mixed community of both social classes and occupations.
The authors examine Cadbury's original idea, and how much of this social mix has survived to the present, and what matters to the current occupants of Bournville.
Social Mix is not currently in print, but used copies can frequently be found in second-hand book stores both in person and online.
WENDY SARKISSIAN'S BIO
Dr Wendy Sarkissian RPIA (Life Fellow) is an award-winning author, community planner, educator, activist, and environmental ethicist. Her research and writing focus on climate breakdown and community engagement. Wendy is the lead author of the award-winning book, Kitchen Table Sustainability: Practical Recipes for Community Engagement with Sustainability (Earthscan/Routledge, 2008).
Wendy has received over 40 professional awards and has been a leading community engagement practitioner and sought-after speaker. Now at age 81, she focuses on taking personal responsibility for sustainability issues such as climate breakdown.
She has authored several professional books. Her memoir, Creeksong: One Woman Sings the Climate Blues – A Memoir (Tellwell Talent, 2023) emerged from her 1996 PhD dissertation. It is available in eBook, papaerback and audiobook formats.