The current global economic and ecological crisis has many facets, among them urban development, economic sustainability and soil health. Just Transition: Explorations of Sustainability in an Unfair World by Mark Swilling and Eve Annecke, and published by UCT Press, provides a comprehensive overview of global challenges from the perspective of a southern, developing country and encourages ways of thinking about solutions.

Youth Violence: Sources and Solutions in South Africa, by UCT's Dr Catherine Ward and Assoc Prof Emer Andrew Dawes and Amelia van der Merwe of the Child, Youth, Family & Social Development research programme of the Human Sciences Research Council, reviews the risk and protective factors for the likelihood of aggression among young people. The book, published by UCT Press, looks at a host of factors, including race, class and gender, and the role of the media.

Substance Use and Abuse in South Africa: Insights from brain and behavioural sciences, by UCT's Prof George Ellis, Prof Dan Stein, Assoc Prof Ernesta Meintjes and Dr Kevin Thomas, arose out of UCT's Brain-Behaviour Initiative, which relates neuroscience and behavioural science to social issues. This ground-breaking book, published by UCT Press, looks at the problem of substance abuse from multiple perspectives, particularly in the light of recent discoveries in brain and behavioural sciences.