Bill McKibben. Born 1960, Palo Alto, California. Acclaimed author of The End of Nature (1990). McKibben has been known to be quite the "doom and gloom" writer, someone who throws the dreadful facts in our faces with no shame whatsoever and lives on to write another bestseller. He is easy to read, fun to follow on adventures and analysis, but also quite insightful with his methodologies.
The second chapter of Hope, Human and Wild is one of the keystone topics of the book. McKibben focuses on the livability of Curitiba, Brazil. Bringing in former experiences living in other major world cities, the compare and contrast scenarios exemplify how different cultures, politics and agendas roll with the design of a city and lifestyle. Where automobiles are the common thread among cities in the U.S., Curitiba immediately took a hands-on approach to this issue by focusing on the people. How can a city live lightly with a million and a half inhabitants? Curitiba showed McKibben the way to salvation with public transportation, appropriately designed streets and buildings, and probably most importantly - a political environment that bends with the times.
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