ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the twin social and ecological crises that are the primary concern of this book. This chapter defines and delineates the scale of the problems, the urgency of the responses, and the current failures of global governance to seriously confront the social and economic changes required. This chapter outlines the structure of this book and offers some methodological commentary on the position of the authors, particularly in relation to the case studies included in Part Two. Although this chapter is clear about the major global challenges and the serious failures of political and economic decision-makers to confront these, it nevertheless concludes that places offer hope, and therefore sets the tone for this book.
