In 2002, Storm Cunningham‘s first book, The Restoration Economy was published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, and advanced today’s restoration, revitalization and resilience trends.
The Restoration Economy was praised by public and private leaders around the world.
Tim Fields, Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste & Emergency Response at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency called it:
“A modern classic. Few books have so quickly and effectively reshaped our dialogue and assumptions about the future of economic development.”
Don Pross, Director of Planning & Real Estate Development for Amtrak, said that The Restoration Economy was:
“The most important and valuable business book I have read in many years.”
William H. Hudnut III, former 4-term Mayor of Indianapolis, Senior Fellow – Urban Land Institute and Past President of the National League of Cities said this about The Restoration Economy:
“This book is an original, a first! I profited from it greatly, and I quote from it in my speeches.”
In 2008, Storm’s second book, reWealth was published by McGraw-Hill Professional. It revealed many of restorative development’s revitalizing secrets. It too was heavily praised.
George L. Ochs, Managing Director, Global Real Assets at JP Morgan (London) said:
“reWealth is the secret weapon of responsible redevelopers, successful real estate investors, and effective community leaders.”
George Canetti, Senior Business Developer at Ameresco Canada said:
“All national politicians and community leaders should be forced to read reWealth.”
Bill Leary, Director of Natural Resources, White House Council on Environmental Quality said:
“This is the book world leaders should be talking about! …they will find the path to revitalizing our economy, restoring our environment, and renewing the quality of our lives.”
Now, Storm’s third book is coming out on January 20, 2020. The title is RECONOMICS: The Path to Resilient Prosperity. It’s subtitled “A Guide to Healing Economies, Societies and Nature for Policymakers and Real Estate Investors.”
Rick Finc, Principal at RFA Development Planning in Edinburgh, Scotland said:
“RECONOMICS should be mandatory reading for all Mayors, Chief Executives and Directors of Planning in cities and regions.”
Eric Bonham, P.Eng, who’s on the Board of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia and is the former Director of both the BC Ministry of Environment and the BC Ministry of Municipal Affairs said:
“Storm Cunningham’s RECONOMICS Process raises the bar for community and regional revitalization. It’s a powerful package, succinctly capturing the process that we have doggedly tried to identify over time, not always knowing the next step. The RECONOMICS Process brings a holistic dimension to redevelopment, inextricably linking vision and task.”
In September 2019, Sarah Sieloff, Executive Director, Center for Creative Land Recycling said:
“Storm Cunningham is so far ahead of the community revitalization game, I’m in awe.”
You can learn more about the new book, RECONOMICS: The Path to Resilient Prosperity, and see comments from other early reviewers here: http://RECONOMICS.com
In related news, a new non-profit organization, RECONOMICS Institute will be launched on March 1, 2020.
RECONOMICS Institute will train and certify public and private leaders worldwide to become certified Revitalization & Resilience Facilitators (RRFac), putting “RE” after their name upon graduation from the extensive, four-part online course.
You can learn more, and sign up to be notified when the website goes live, here: http://RECONOMICS.org
Here’s an excerpt from the under-construction website of RECONOMICS Institute:
“What community or region doesn’t want a higher quality of life, more economic growth, or more ability to bounce back from adversity? Given the universal desire for revitalization and resilience, one would think that that someone would be training and certifying practitioners in the process of producing those results.
Surprisingly, that hasn’t been the case, until recently. RECONOMICS Institute is finally filling that gap. It’s the global professional organization of revitalization and resilience professionals.
Why are they needed? Every year, all around the world, state, provincial, and national government dole-out billions of dollars to help redevelop and revitalize communities, or make them more resilient.
But virtually all of these well-meaning programs forget to include training that helps the communities make the most of these funds. They seem to think that writing checks is all that’s needed to revitalize a place.
They assume that community leaders understand the process of creating resilient prosperity. They’re wrong. As a result, the return on most of these public investments is dismal. Such training costs almost nothing compared to the cost of redevelopment projects, yet it can double or triple the resulting jobs and economic growth.
This is where Certified Revitalization & Resilience Facilitators come in. They help plug this crucial knowledge gap.
It’s not just public-sector money that goes to waste, though. Private developers and real estate investors lose billions annually on redevelopment projects that aren’t properly supported by the local community. Local leaders have no idea how to capture and perpetuate the momentum of these projects. This is shocking, when you consider how hard they work to attract those projects in the first place.
Some RECONOMICS Institute members economically revitalize communities. Some restore ecosystems and natural resources. Some clean and redevelop contaminated properties. Some renovate historic structures. Some renew infrastructure. Some adaptively reuse buildings. Some focus on climate restoration and/or climate change resilience.
They include architects, engineers, planners, elected leaders, government agency chiefs, NGO/non-profit leaders, lawyers, consultants, entrepreneurs, etc. All want to be more effective at making their city, region, nation and/or planet healthier and more resilient by becoming Certified Revitalization & Resilience Facilitators.”
See announcement for new book, RECONOMICS, which will be published January 20, 2020.