Town Ecology: Concord, Thoreau and Onward by Richard T. T. Forman
“What could be more engaging than joining the internationally acclaimed founder of landscape ecology and road ecology as he explores the landscape that he has called home for four decades? Wherever you call home, you will benefit from reading the ecology of this one town written by the man who coined the term and wrote the book on Town Ecology. There’s much that enlightens and plenty to inspire one’s own efforts to interpret and help guide a prosperous future for the landscape most dear to them.”
When I wrote these words that now appear as one of the laudatory “blurbs” in the front of Richard Forman’s latest book, I was truly impressed by what he had achieved in exploring and explaining the town of Concord, Massachusetts. Now that I have the 332-page volume in hand, I am convinced that the approach and insights that it offers will be engaging and instructive for anyone, anywhere, in better understanding their own home setting.
With 84 color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations, the pages are filled with ecology and cultural and natural history that will inspire you to further your own explorations.
Richard Forman is Emeritus Professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and a leading mind and author on landscape ecology, road ecology, urban ecology, and town ecology. A 40-year resident of Concord, Massachusetts, he is a long-standing contributor to the town’s open space planning and masterplanning efforts and has explored that landscape in the footsteps of Henry David Thoreau. This new book complements Richard’s 2019 volume Towns, Ecology, and the Land.
The book is published by the Town of Concord and is currently available at Concord Natural Resources Division, 141 Keyes Road, Concord, MA 01742, and the Concord Visitor Center.
Recommended by David Foster