Synopses & Reviews
Planetizen's Contemporary Debates in Urban Planning is a fascinating review of major topics and issues discussed in the field of urban planning, assembled by editors at Planetizen, the leading source of news and information for the planning and development community on the web. The book brings together a wide range of editorial and discussion topics, coupled with commentary and overviews to create an enlightening record of the continuously evolving philosophy of building and managing cities.
The book's contributors include the most well-known experts in the planning and design fields, among them James Howard Kunstler, Alex Garvin, Andres Duany, Joel Kotkin, and Wendell Cox. These and other prominent thinkers offer passionate debates and thought-provoking commentary on the most important and controversial topics in the field of urban planning and design: gentrification, eminent domain, the philosophical divide between the Smart Growth community, libertarians and New Urbanists, regional growth patterns, urban design trends, transportation systems, and reaction to disasters such as Katrina and 9/11 that changed the way we look at cities and security.
Planetizen's Contemporary Debates in Urban Planning provides readers with a unique and accessible introduction to a broad array of ideas and perspectives. With the increasing awareness of the need for sound urban planning to ensure the economic, environmental, and social health of modern society, Planetizen's Contemporary Debates in Urban Planning gives professionals in the field and concerned citizens alike a deeper understanding of the critical, complex issues that continue to challenge urban planners, designers, and developers.
Review
"This splendid collection lays out today's planning issues with startling clarity. It is a joy to read, a testimony to free speech and a test of your beliefs. Read it!"
Review
"This book…provides a rich array of competing, clashing, and on occasion surprisingly compatible prescriptions and predictions on how the country's growing, its real choices, the ideological and economic choices it faces."
Review
"The essayists include a number of individuals who have played prominent roles in New Urbanism and Smart Growth or who have interesting perspectives on the potential of these closely aligned movements...I wish the editors had identified the readers whose responses appear in this slim volume. Some of them are very astute, and it would be useful to know who they are and where they come from. Despite its defects, Planetizen's book does provide insights into some of the great urban design andplanning issues of this decade."
Review
"College-level collections strong in urban planning and land use issues need this collection, which outlines issues in urban planning and comes from Planetizen, the web's source of news and details for the planning community. Experts in the field offer debates and arguments on some of the most controversial issues facing modern urban designers, making for a particularly valuable guide for classroom study and debate."
Review
"Planetizen, the popular online Planning and Develoment Network (Planetizen.com) has just released Contemporary Debates in Urban Planning (Island Press, 2007), which, in great and passionate detail, tackles the most controversial topics in urban planning. Contributors include well-known experts in the planning and design fields"
Synopsis
Planetizen's Contemporary Debates in Urban Planning brings together a wide range of editorial and discussion topics, coupled with commentary and overviews to create an enlightening record of the continuously evolving philosophy of building
and managing cities.
About the Author
Planetizen is a public-interest information exchange for the urban planning, design and development community.www.planetizen.org
Table of Contents
Foreword \ Neal Peirce
Acknowledgments
Introduction
PART I. Sprawl vs. Smart Growth
Introduction by the Editors of Planetizen
Chapter 1. A Tipping Point - But Now the Hard Part
Chapter 2. The Argument Against Smart Growth
Chapter 3. Prescription for Urban Sprawl: Adapting Smart Growth Strategies to a Big City
Chapter 4. How We Pay For Growth
Chapter 5. What Is the New Suburbanism?
Chapter 6. Preserving the American Dream by Cost, Not Coercion
Chapter 7. Zoning in a Time Warp: The Coming "Oversupply" of Single Family Homes
PART II. Transportation
Introduction by the Editors of Planetizen
Chapter 1. Ten Keys to Walkable Communities
Chapter 2. The Price of Parking on Great Streets
Chapter 3. The Pricing Revolution on the Roads
Chapter 4. A Celebration of Independence: How Temporal Use of Streets Can Be a Catalyst for Change
Chapter 5. Making TODs Work: Lessons from Portland's Orenco Station
PART III. Urban Design
Introduction by the Editors of Planetizen
Chapter 1. Planning for the Public Realm
Chapter 2. Making Better Places: Ten City Design Resolutions
Chatper 3. Principles Essential to the Renewal of Architecture
Chapter 4. Why New Urbanism Fails
Chapter 5. Urban Parks: Innovate or Stagnate
PART IV. Disaster Planning
Introduction by the Editors of Planetizen
Chapter 1. Recovering New Orleans
Chapter 2. The End of Tall Buildings
Chapter 3. Fortifying America: Planning for Fear
Chapter 4. Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery
PART V. Society and Planning
Introduction by the Editors of Planetizen
Chapter 1. Is Gentrification Really a Threat?
Chapter 2. Gentrification Reality Tour: Neither Benign Nor Benevolent
Chapter 3. Is Kelo Good for Urban Planning?
Chapter 4. Bring Schools Back into Walkable Neighborhoods
Chapter 5. Libertarian Planning Principles Debate
Editors and Contributors
Index