A manifesto by America's most controversial and celebrated town planners, proposing an alternative model for community design. There is a growing movement in North America to put an end to suburban sprawl and to replace the automobile-based settlement patterns of the past fifty years with a return to more traditional planning principles. This movement stems not only from the realization that sprawl is ecologically and economically unsustainable but also from a growing awareness of sprawl's many victims: children, utterly dependent on parental transportation if they wish to escape the cul-de-sac; the elderly, warehoused in institutions once they lose their driver's licenses; the middle class, stuck in traffic for two or more hours each day. Founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism, Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk are at the forefront of this movement, and in Suburban Nation they assess sprawl's costs to society, be they ecological, economic, aesthetic, or social. It is a lively, thorough, critical lament, and an entertaining lesson on the distinctions between postwar suburbia-characterized by housing clusters, strip shopping centers, office parks, and parking lots-and the traditional neighborhoods that were built as a matter of course until mid-century. It is an indictment of the entire development community, including governments, for the fact that America no longer builds towns. Most important, though, it is that rare book that also offers solutions.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
A concise outline of how to create development to combat sprawl:
The authors do an excellent job of both outlining ways to develop that do not induce sprawl, promote neighborhoods, and encourage people to both create and live in places that are the antithesis of sprawl. I appreciated their anecdotes and stories about things that have worked, good ideas that failed, and bad ideas that failed in an epic manner. They are clear to show examples of how unintended consequences have derailed previous idealistic methods of combating sprawl, as well as examples of how... more info
A good intro to the problems of urban planning:
I really enjoyed the book. I gave it a 4 and I think it is very well deserved. Reading my review may lead you to think otherwise because there is a lot of sharp criticism of particular aspects of the book. Overall though, the book really points out the folly of suburban planning and it helped me better understand why I am leaving the suburbs for an urban lifestyle. There are some great insights that I don't think I would have ever heard anywhere else. For example, he attributes the fact that most streets... more info
Good stuff.......:
Very well written. The book makes it very easy to understand why our towns and cities are set up like they are and why some are more livable than others. I purchased this book about five years ago and often still think about the concepts that are explained inside. I highly recommend it.
excellent, must read, but flawed:
One of the best books I've read this year. Lots of things that I've
noticed over the years about places I like and don't like were summarized
and expounded upon. I hadn't quite realized the effect traffic
engineering has had on city design. I felt that it really elucidated a lot of why people are really unhappy
with their homes, lives, and communities. This book is extensively footnoted with lots of data to back up opinions.
There is a huge bibliography into which... more info
