This book was developed as part of a global massive open online course (MOOC) of the same name, The Age of Sustainable Development. I’m very gratified that tens of thousands of students around the world have already taken the course. They have sparked a rich global discussion around the themes of sustainable development, especially the new Sustainable Development Goals.
I want to thank the wonderful team that worked with me to design and implement the MOOC and this book: Claire Bulger and Aditi Shah, who helped lead all stages of the project; Karena Albers and Tad Fettig of Kontentreal, whose creative vision helped bring the videos to life; Amir Jina, an outstanding sustainable development student and young leader who helped design the course material; Erin Trowbridge, Kyu Lee, and Arif Noori, who helped bring the course and book to students around the world; Chandrika Bahadur, who is pioneering the SDSN’s online education effort globally; Imer Jasiel del Cid, who helped with key support on copyrights; and with my deep gratitude, Bridget Flannery-McCoy, Patrick Fitzgerald, and Lisa Hamm of the Columbia University Press, whose vision, enthusiasm, hard work, and creativity helped make this book a reality and an effective pillar of the online course.
A book like this, drawing on so many distinct fields of inquiry, is based on the deep research and wisdom of the global sustainable development community. I’d especially like to thank my colleagues at the Earth Institute and the United Nations system for their collegiality and their care in for educating me in these matters. Of course all remaining errors are my own.
Finally, as with all my books, they depend on the support, guidance, love, and patience of my family, including Sonia, Lisa, Matt, Adam, Tatyana, Hannah, Joan, Andrea, Sienna, and Willa.