His wife, Christine Leefeldt, said Thursday he died of cancer on April 16 in Berkeley.
"The ideas that came out of 'Ecotopia' were so diverse and picked up by so many people that he was always astonished," Leefeldt said.
Callenbach grew up on a farm in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and moved to California in his 20s after spending a few years studying at the Sorbonne in Paris.
He worked as an assistant editor for University of California Press and founded Film Quarterly in 1958, the prestigious journal he led for 33 years.
He also wrote "Living Cheaply with Style," offering prescient advice to those seeking a simpler life.
Callenbach is also survived by his two children, five grandchildren and two brothers.
"He was a very interesting guy and a good father, so we won on both those scores," said his son, Hans Callenbach.