I started reading this book whilst flying over the snowfields and glaciers of Greenland. This backdrop was a timely reminder of the impact of climate change, with visible reductions in the coverage of the immense, magnificent landscape from that of the year before after the nation had endured its warmest year on record. I was also acutely aware of my own contribution to climate change as we spewed out aviation fuel into the atmosphere. I had departed from Reykjavik where 60 per cent of the island's population resides and which has experienced population growth rates of as much as 4 per cent since 1960, heading to the sprawling metropolitan area of Denver Colorado, one of the fastest growing cities in the USA, with population densities nearly four times that of the Icelandic capital.

It was thus apposite that Barbara Norman's latest book is a ‘call to arms’ – one that recognises that successful climate action will be dependent on how action and change is implemented in cities and city regions as disparate as Reykjavik and Denver, and how such change will be shaped significantly by those managing cities and by citizens' behaviour.

As the title suggests, this text takes a global perspective, seeking to address the need to work within the limits of the planet, whilst also addressing the needs of those living in cities. Although the author suggests that “four key cities are the foci of the book” (p. xvi), the experiences from them (Copenhagen, Canberra, Kuala Lumpur and New York) do not feature prominently and other cities are cited to help make this a global text.

Sustainable Pathways for our Cities and Regions offers seven chapters clustered around three parts. The first part acts as an introduction of the key themes: of sustainable pathways (Chapter 1), the notion of planning within planetary boundaries (Chapter 2) and a review of the main challenges of twenty first century urban living (Chapter 3). In the second part, the next two chapters, it turns to explore some of the innovations, inspirations and implantation plans which offer insights to work towards a more sustainable urban future. The book's final two chapters form the third part of the text, with chapter ? discussing possible sustainable pathways for cities, and summarising the key messages from the case studies to help future implementation (Chapter 7).

Norman's passion and experience asa planning practitioner for fostering a more sustainable future for cities is palpable throughout th ebook. She draws heavily on key events in which she has participated, many of which led to important reports and recommendations for future actions. And the authenticity of the appeal is reinforced by the collation of ideas from those she has worked with on the way, including more than 20 interviews specifically for the book. It is also strongly framed within the notions of urban futures set out by the United Nations, especially their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and from her collaboration with other global agencies such as ICLEI, Local Government for Sustainability. Together these make this book a positive contribution to the debates over urban futures.

Despite these contributions, this book is also frustrating. The central arguments that Norman is making around planetary limits and the need for planning pathways are revealed andreplayed all too often throughout the book. In part this reflects poor editorial practice. The preface and introduction cover much of the key arguments made elsewhere in the book, for example, and links between chapters tend to be repetitive. Narratives are constructed around often different and local examples but lack details. The four cities which she indicates werekey contributors to her notions of pathways are not deeply interrogated, with the reader left frustrated over the lack of a real sense of how their pathways have been planned, evolved and shaped. You are left intrigued to know more, for example, about how pathways evolved into agile cities, or which actors led to the development of New York's journey towards sustainable planning.

But for me the biggest frustration lies in the final section. After all the promises to show the pathways and to provide “a guide for urban decision makers and communities leaders involved in making and implementing more sustainable urban and regional futures” (p. 145), the suggested pathways in Chapter 6 are little more than summaries; useful summaries but not wayfinding tools to help other cities to move towards sustainable planning. In short, they do not really do justice to the rest of the book. This is a shame, as Norman's case for a more collaborative and systematic approach to urban planning is well made. It is to be hoped therefore that readers seeking to find ways for a sustainable urban future read through the earlier chapters and do not plunge straight to the promised (but unfulfilled) guides in the final chapter.

There is an assumption, made explicit in the book, that a growth in global population and especially urban population forms the context for a growing concern about urban sustainability. Intriguingly, and probably much like the forthcoming COP₂₆ summit, discussion on whether such population growth is itself sustainable or desire is not addressed!

I finished reading Norman's book on my return to my home city of Glasgow, soon to be host to the COP₂₆ summit where world leaders will congregate to report on their progress to the Paris Accord of 2015 and consider the next of their responses to climate change. It would be good if on their travels from across the globe, many of them and their advisors also take the time to read this book.