348 Book reviews are relevant to each project provides great insight. For example, one owner reveals how well specific plants have performed, issues related to waterproofing, a critique of growing medium recipes, and more. Chapter six, “Trends,” addresses a wide range of applications of green roofs including vernacular designs on bridges, hotels, applica- tions on landfills, spaces between buildings, apartment complexes, and the use of green roof technology for growing vegetables and the greening of walls. These topic discussions and project examples give a rich awareness of the scope of green roof application and should be a great source of inspiration. In concluding chapter six and Green Roofs, Cantor poses questions that must be answered about green roofs in the context of a Jewish tradition for understanding the four types of children (and adults he adds): the wise, the scornful, the con- fused, and the shy. He says, “The wise child might ask what are the laws governing green roofs?” The scornful child would challenge, “Why should I be interested in green roofs since they have nothing to do with me?” The confused child might ask, “What is a green roof design all about?” He concludes saying, “The shy child might lack the confidence to pose a question, yet still be curious.” From there he leaves his concluding thought, “If the occasional green roof in the landscape is to yield to a tapestry of green roofs in the landscape of green roofs, then all of these questions including the unvoiced ones, must be answered.” Following chapter six, Cantor provides a very informative ref- erence section. In addition to providing chapter notes, lists of key organizations and people in the industry, he includes information from the European green roof industry, such as elements of the English version of the German based FLL Guidelines (pages 14, 83, 89, 340–341). In both the body of the text and the reference section, he also includes the latest standards emerging from the Ameri- can Society for Testing and Materials (pages 16, 28, 55, 83–85). Though not directly applicable to all climatic regions of North Amer- ica, these references help establish a framework for understanding what critical questions need to be asked when designing green roofs and where one might look to find answers. With occasional rumblings of failed green roofs (page 235), the inclusion of the evolving standards helps to reaffirm readers that work is being done to address these real concerns. Another helpful document in the reference (Appendix D) is the sample green roof specifi- cation written by green roof pioneer Charlie Miller. This should prove a great resource for practitioners, for he covers design, imple- mentation, and maintenance issues found on extensive green roof projects. Overall, Cantor makes much progress in Green Roofs by critically addressing the questions he poses at the end of chapter six. But there is still much more work to be done. As with any emerging technology, this is not a straightforward task as the terminology, methods, standards and conventions have yet to be defined. One could think of the current state of the green roof industry across North America as that during the development and expansion of the railroad industry during the 1800s. There were many differ- ent train and track designs at that time, and the path to a set of consistent standards across the industry was neither instant nor congruous. Similar issues remain to be defined as the green roof industry continues to expand, define itself, and redefine itself. There are multiple organizations concurrently defining, researching and quantifying green roof technology. Cantor discusses several North American organizations actively leading these charges, including Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, the America Society for Testing and Materials, and the U.S. Green Building Council. There are numerous other influential organizations and individuals from North Amer- ica and abroad referenced that are discussed in his book but not mentioned here. One contrast inherent to the green roof industry from the rail- road or an industrial product is the fact that green roofs are living environments and they will need to take regional climatic dis- tinctions into consideration. One standard green roof solution will never be viable, as Cantor says because of the climatic variables across regions such as extremes in temperature, precipitation, humidity and altitude. He writes, “Contemporary design, critics contend, has become homogeneous. A subdivision layout in Las Vegas may resemble one in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, or even Shanghai.” He further explains, “Green roof design could fall victim to this same defect, yet nature may offer an alternative. Although construction materi- als and installation techniques are similar regardless of location, different climates and the economies require different choices of substrates and plant materials. Copycat approaches may not work; for example, installations in Japan, based upon European models have failed because they did not respond the unique aspects of the Japanese climate (pg. 244).” Cantor explains that green roofs not only have the potential to express regional character, they may be required too in a number of cases in order to survive the elements and challenges an envi- ronment imposes upon it. This comment supports insight to the success of the incredibly diverse solutions for green roofs he covers in his case studies. Upon reflecting on his stated purposes for the book, Green Roofs achieves its objectives. Cantor provides basic information about green roofs in a language easily understood by design profession- als, practitioners, students, and others. For someone beginning to venture into green roofs and even seasoned professionals, this book should be viewed as a valuable resource as it helps to inform and build upon the expanding collection of green roof books. Bruce Dvorak ∗ Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, College of Architecture, Texas A&M University, 305 A Langford Architecture Center, 3137 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-3137, USA ∗ Tel.: +1 979 458 0628; fax: +1 979 862 1784. E-mail address: bdvorak@archmail.tamu.edu 8 April 2009 Available online 13 June 2009 doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2009.05.011 Bridging urban planning and ecology Urban Regions: Ecology and Planning Beyond the City, T.T.F. Richard. Cambridge University Press, New York (2008). 430 pp., ISBN: 978-521-67076-0 “Urban tsunami” is spreading worldwide and threatening natural resources and human health. Unfortunately, current con- ventional urban planning often focuses more on economic growth than on natural assets and ecological sustainability. In Urban Regions: Ecology and Planning Beyond the City, Forman proposed an “urban region” as a sustainable vision of urban development, and used it as a tool as well as a process to build a bridge between urban planning and ecology. The breadth and the coverage of the book are extraordinary. It focuses on the integration of ecological concerns, particularly landscape ecology in urban pattern development, while address- ing social and cultural issues. Chapter 1 introduces the concept