An original argument that environmental sustainability has been co-opted by the urban elite, along with examples from around the world of ways we can save our planet

"Caring for the environment means reclaiming ecology for everyone." --from the introduction

A sustainability apartheid is emerging. More than ever, urban residents want to be green, yet to cater to their interests, a green-tech service economy has sprung up, co-opting well-intentioned concerns over sustainability to sell a resource-heavy and exclusive "lifestyle environmentalism." This has made cities more unsustainable and inaccessible to the working class.

The Sustainability Class is about those wealthy "progressive" urbanites convinced that we can save the planet through individual action, smart urbanism, green finance, and technological innovation. Authors Vijay Kolinjivadi and Aaron Vansintjan challenge many of the popular ideas about environmentalism, showing that it is actually the sustainability class itself that is unsustainable. The solutions they propose work to safeguard an elite minority, exclude billions of people, and ultimately hasten ecological breakdown, not reverse it.

From Venice Beach, Los Angeles, to Neom in Saudi Arabia and beyond, the authors explore with biting humor how investors around the world are rushing to capitalize on going green. By contrast, real-world examples of movements for housing and food production, transport, and waste management demonstrate how ordinary people around the world are building a more ecological future by working together, against all odds. In doing so, they show us how sustainability can be reclaimed for everyone. Sustainability isn't about vibes and superficial green facades. It's about building people power to reimagine the world.

Author: Vijay Kolinjivadi, Aaron Vansintjan
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: New Press
Published: 12/10/2024
Pages: 240
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.40w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9781620977439


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 10/21/2024
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2024

About the Author

Vijay Kolinjivadi is a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Development Policy at the University of Antwerp, a writer with the Earth Negotiations Bulletin, and co-editor of the website Uneven Earth. The co-author, with Aaron Vansintjan, of The Sustainability Class (The New Press), he has been published in Al Jazeera, New Internationalist, Truthout, and The Conversation. He lives in Antwerp.

Aaron Vansintjan is the founder and co-editor of Uneven Earth and co-author of The Future Is Degrowth. He has been published in The Guardian, Truthout, Open Democracy, and The Ecologist. The co-author, with Vijay Kolinjivadi, of The Sustainability Class (The New Press), he lives in Montreal.