1 comments about 'scape: The International Magazine of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism (Scape).

1. This is a great journal for professionals, or the aspiring urban planners and landscape architects. It covers environmental design from an international perspective with extensive essays, interviews in a well though out academic manner; without the ubiquitous adverts. This periodical can be enjoyed by any one from professionals to backyard gardeners, just about anyone whom is devoted to environmental conservation and sustainability.
   A. Thomas

No comments about Complete Landscaping: Lowe's (Lowe's Home Improvement).

5 comments about The Reluctant Metropolis: The Politics of Urban Growth in Los Angeles.

1. Fulton is an expert on the history and political processes underlying the growth of Southern California over the last century, and he lays out how many of these same political ideologies and schools of urban thought have fundamentally malformed Los Angeles, as well as many other American cities, in The Reluctant Metropolis. Most elements pertinent to SoCal's development - the water supply, the creation of an idealized suburbia a la 1950's and its appeal to Midwesterners, the streetcars (and later veritable inundation with automobiles and freeways), and much more - all of the proccesses that created a paradox, with Los Angeles being the only top-tier, alpha-level global city that fundamentally rejects every single element of traditional "urbanity." But this is not a story unique to LA, and it is precisely because many other booming American cities risk suffering the same fate that this book is highly important reading for all interested in the future of the USA's urban centers.



2. Read this book! It is the best book I've read on development and growth in the LA basin. It's very well-written and incorporates both political and professional planning vantage points. Describes very succinctly the interplay between water, developers, and municipal leaders over the past century. Don't believe the whiner who rated this at two stars: he's a disgruntled slow-growther who has a personal bone to pick. Fulton captures the essence of Los Angeles without necessarily endorsing or advocating a position.



3. Bill Fulton is often lionized by planning "professionals" and students for his writing in this book but the truth is that his foray into the application reality of his theory has Ventura on the ropes. Fulton is the architect of several local no-growth initiatives such as Save Our Agricultural Resources (SOAR) as well as spearheading a housing development-blocking effort a couple of years ago for Ventura hillsides. What has since happened as any college freshman taking Econ 101 would understand, is that the supply of housing has constricted as demand increased and resulted in the skyrocketing price of local housing. Fulton did nothing after pushing these no-growth initiatives to stoke the fires of development that is required to prevent this housing supply constipation.

   Fulton has now gotten himself elected to the Ventura City Council and it has become easy to see his political agenda that before has been hidden and masquerading as thoughtful intellect. This guy is no responsible academic or planning God but merely another no-growth advocate pushing a political agenda. Don't waste your time reading his stuff unless you have nothing else with which to stock your water closet area.




4. The joke in Los Angeles is 'I've never been to downtown Los Angeles'. This is book that tells all about the decentralization of LA. Unlike most cities in America, Los Angeles' decentralization is a product of the explained 'growth machine'. One of the most unique cities in America and possibly one of the most depressing. I would have given this book 5 stars but i award 5 stars to inspirational books. The politics of Los Angeles makes me want to curl into a ball and shove myself into a dark corner (no worries though, it's perpetually sunny here).



5. This book is a must read for anyone willing to expose themselves to the stories behind the stories of Los Angeles. The stories reveal the apathetic and self-centered nature of some Los Angeles citizens (who will never really admit they are from "Los Angeles"), and sets the stage for an entire change of mindset among Los Angelenos. This mindset is one that takes notice of the community, and the larger metropolis that communities make up. For a graduate city planning student as I, these stories help shape some basic values of mine regarding the nature of cities and communities. I strongly recommend this book.

No comments about New Waterscapes: Planning, Building and Designing with Water.

4 comments about Arts and Crafts Gardens.

1. I absolutely love this book. I nearly salivated when I saw the numerous drawings and photos of garden structures and architecture- So I'm a "Structure" guy, not a "plant" guy. My wife literraly told me to stop bothering her because I kept showing her pictures of stairs, walls and pergolas. This really is a tremendous resource. I refer to this book whenever I need a bit of design inspiration. I found the sketches, along with photos, to be tremendously helpful.



2. This book is a great point of reference for anyone looking for formal garden inspiration. It is wonderful to see the way architecture and garden design can really complement one another so harmoniously. In these cases, neither would be nearly as interesting without the other.
   
   G. Jekyll's garden plans are very interesting to look at. They are giving me many thoughts on good plant combinations & spacing. Also, while her designs are filled with a lot of material, she seems to have a keen eye for leaving space as well.
   
   The attention to detail is wonderful and one can really see the benefit of meticulous planning. Rather than the plant and see what happens approach, it is actually possible to make very deliberate & specific choices.
   
   Now I just want to know who the poor people are who have to do the weeding, watering and pruning in these giant gardens - eeeks!



3. Gertrude Jekyll's expertise is evident in this finely written and illustrated book. It covers the Arts and Crafts era of fine gardening in extensive detail. She illustrates the garden relationship to the residence and outbuildings and what plants to use to create different effects.



4. First published in 1912 by `Country Life' as GARDENS FOR SMALL COUNTRY HOUSES, ARTS AND CRAFTS GARDENS by Gertrude Jekyll and Lawrence Weaver was republished years later as part of the Antique Collectors Club LTD, and now as a "revised edition with additional colo[u]r illustrations" by the Garden Art Press. More art book than instructive garden guide, the modern publication includes many black and white illustrations as well as layout drawings of the houses and grounds discussed, as well as detailed examples of other features, appearing in the earlier volume, along with beautiful color photos and illustrations depicting specific design elements as they appear today. Thus the reader can determine what the landscaper saw and planned, and how well her design worked then and years later. Jekyll's foresight and intuitive understanding of the "art" of garden design (which many of us learn about the hard way) as illustrated in this book, provides the modern reader with an idea of why Jekyll is still revered among garden designers.
   
   The book title, `Gardens for Small County Houses', may appear ludicrous to the contemporary reader, as it provides an overview of selected examples of various gardens the authors developed in Surrey, Berkshire, and Guildford, which by today's standards are quite large. Chapters cover houses and gardens in their entirety, and at least one covers the "Treatment of Small Sites" such as Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, a gorgeous town house site. Other chapters cover selected design elements, such as "balustrades and walls", "steps and stairways" and retaining walls. Most of these elements are used by modern landscape designers in large public settings and on a few "estates", but many cannot be adapted to the small scale urban garden. Many features of these "country" gardens were lifted from Roman villas and most of us don't own villas, however, some of the elements, such as pergolas, arbors, and trellises can and probably should be adapted to a modern urban garden.
   
   Because you probably wouldn't want to attempt to duplicate these designs on an average modern lot, the value of this book other than as a beautiful art book lies in its ability to inform. You will want to study it before you visit one of the notable "estates" where Jekyll worked in England.

1 comments about Corridor Ecology: The Science and Practice of Linking Landscapes for Biodiversity Conservation.

1. I highly recommend Corridor Ecology for anyone who is interested in corridors, land fragmentation, and species conservation. It is the most comprehensive literature I have come across in terms of the role of corridors, corridor design and implementation. As a current graduate student working on a corridor project, this book has been incredibly helpful in planning my field work in ground truthing Least-Cost path corridors. Especially the chapter, Corridor Quality: Continuity, Composition, and Dimension. It has really helped me understand better how to evaluate potential corridors. My advisor has been so impressed with the book that she is going to order some for the library and a biodiversity center that is being set up at campus. I also feel that this would be an excellent text for conservation courses as it covers issues such as metapopulation theory, edge effects and focal species considerations. The book also covers issues and potential problems that need to be dealt with when designing a corridor, which is very valuable. I also think this would be a excellent source for land management agencies and the Department of Transportation to utilize. The authors do an excellent job in bringing together all aspect of corridor ecology by utilizing the most current literature, valuable study cases along with their incredible field and research experience.
   
   Tanya Diamond
   M.S. Candidate
   San Jose State University

2 comments about The Sea Ranch.

1. Go north of San Francisco along the coast for a hundred miles or so. Buy 4,000 acres of timber and grazing land. You'll find that you have quite a setting for a housing development. Add rules that say how the house must fit into the land and the scenery and you have quite a housing development in quite a setting. Beginning in 1963 this is just what happened. And over the resulting 40 years quite a stunning set of houses has been built there.
   
   This book is a photographic and descriptive journey though several of these houses, each of which were designed to fit into that exact landscape. It's also the story of the building of this "super development." The story is told with 200 color illustrations, 170 black and white spread over some 304 pages.
   
   Each of the houses described suit their place. This is not to say that they are alike, but that they all just seem to fit. It would be a spectacular place to live.



2. Essays by Donald Canty and Lawrence Halprin accompany beautiful black and white and color shots of California's architectural wonders of the coast which comprise the exclusive Sea Ranch community of homes. Ecologically inspired planning and innovative architectural dreams and designs went into the formation of the California's Sea Ranch community, which sprawls across several thousand acres of land. This could easily have been a picture presentation alone, but the fine house-by-house considerations of design, plan, and history makes it much more, and The Sea Ranch will be revered by architectural reference collections in art libraries.

1 comments about Plan of Chicago.

1. The most notable aspect of the 1909 Plan of Chicago was that the author's (Daniel Burnham) profession was not exclusively city planning. He was a business man. He viewed his plan for the City of Chicago as the best way to create an exceptional business and civic environment. It worked! Many elements of modern downtown Chicago that make it a truly great, world class city, are a direct result of Burnham's vision. For it is the grand vision that stirs the soul of mankind and allows a "planning document" -- normally a thick document, full of data, which sits on a shelf and collects dust -- to be embraced by an entire community. This is a must read for contemporary city planners, business men and government officials that want to "make it happen" in their communities. MAKE NO SMALL PLANS

No comments about Pools and Spas.

No comments about Islamic Gardens and Landscapes (Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture).