In a surprising and refreshing take on urban sustainability, Carmen Sirianni makes a compelling argument that democratic engagement is the key factor for sustainable communities. According to Sirianni, a just and equitable society is impossible without engaging civic and non-governmental actors. Set against a backdrop of the deterioration of Western democracy, the fundamental orientation of Sustainable Cities in American Democracy is that society must design just policies in order to achieve sustainable communities. Sirianni utilizes thick description to trace the governance of urban water, air, land conflicts, alternative transportation, and urban rivers and watersheds over a 70-year period from 1946 to 2016.

Sustainability and justice are an institutional story of policy design and feedback in Sustainable Cities in American Democracy. Drawing on policy feed-forward thinking from Anne Larason Schneider and Helen Ingram’s social construction and policy design theory, Sirianni argues that policies shape us as much as we shape policies. The book builds a narrative of policy design and feedback. According to Sirianni, participatory policy—the building block of just sustainability—requires policy design that enables institutions that legitimize civic engagement. To be sustainable, our policies must use tools that promote democrac