5 comments about The American City : What Works, What Doesn't.

1. The writing is clear and concise and Garvin does a great job of making the material interesting and relevant!



2. Mr. Garvin addresses the key factors that actually create effective change for cities today. He places a heavy emphasis on sound real estate financing, but he also demonstrates the need for effective government action and political leadership to spur private develoopments. When combined with good design and a proper reading of market forces, American Cities can and will be changed for the benefit of all its citizens.

   Readers must understand, however, that Mr. Garvin does not ascribe what is "Best for the City." Each city represents a unique example and requires specific consideration when planning its future. Instead, Mr. Garvin brilliantly provides an accurate set of tools to direct a city's future, thus allowing the reader to determine what the future of his or her city should be.

   Whether you're intersted in planning the future of your city or simply learning what influences the development of your city, I highly recommend this book.




3. Garvin's text is of course a classic for students of American cities. As a sourcebook on successes and failures in cities all over the country it is unsurpassed. Garvin shows a depth of knowledge in planning issues that is deeply rooted in expertise in real estate development, economics, and politics. His insights into "what works" shows a lifetime of knowing the ins and outs of how urban developments get done in the real world.

   The one shortcoming of "The American City" is Garvin's lack of attention to such planning concepts as participatory planning and community building. His "six ingredients of success" make a convenient tool for teaching basic planning concepts, but the text falls short in explaining the theortical underpinnings of planning today. Students walk away from Garvin's book convinced that good planning is esentially good real estate development. Little thought is given to concepts of fairness or social justice. Garvin never asks the student, for instance, "who are we planning for?" These theortical questions are essential to give students a deeper and more nuanced view of urban planning.




4. When Alexander Garvin's "The American City" was first published in 1996, it fast became a classic text in universities all over the country in the study of the city. Because it is an incredibly rich and profoundly insightful interdisciplinary exploration of all aspects of the planning of cities, it has been eagerly embraced by students of architecture, planning, urban studies, government, finance, and even sociology. Because it is so compelling written and marvelously accessible, however, it has also become a beloved book by lay people interested in any and every aspect of what determines the life and success of the created environment in which they live.

   Since most of the original edition was actually completed by 1990, it did not include the last decade of development in the fast-changing world of urban thinking. In this second edition, Mr. Garvin brings his study of the city into the twenty-first century, including examples, issues, and trends that did not exist at the time the first edition was written. More strikingly, however, he has also succeeded in reorganizing and restating his original material-sometimes subtly, and sometimes more extensively-in even more powerful and effective ways. But whether it is the almost completely new chapter on Retail Shopping, or the only mostly preserved gem from the first edition on Parks and Playgrounds, all of the clarity and vitality so characteristic of Mr. Garvin's writing are enhanced in this new edition. The new edition also features numerous new photographs-a particular treat to the many readers who especially appreciate the masterful way he has illustrated his points with visual images, virtually all taken by Mr. Garvin himself. (Since he is firmly committed to the principle that one actually has to experience and explore in person the environments one is studying, the author makes sure to use images that reflect his own personal vision, which fortunately for us is as artistically pleasing as it is intellectually informative.)

   Whether one wishes to understand the history of American cities, learn the principles of real estate development, research the trends in government involvement in housing and urban renewal, get insight into why particular undertakings in particular cities worked or failed, or, most excitingly, sense the incredible complexity and interaction of all those forces (historical, political, architectural, legislative, sociological, economic, etc.) that determine and describe the life of the city, this book is a must-read-and one that is as enjoyable as it is informative and enlightening.




5. There is a very good reason that Garvin's The American City has become required reading for most of the major urban affairs programs across the country: it stands alone as the definitive book on practical urban planning as we enter the 21st century. The first edition of this book, released in 1995, was a breath of fresh air in the field as it avoided emotional polemics in favor of thorough, pragmatic analyses of virtually every aspect of urban planning. This new, 560 page edition builds on the strengths of the original but has been substantially updated. It now includes coverage of the effects of stadiums and entertainment centers, BIDs, environmental factors, and much more. It has also been updated with the latest statistical information and additional stunning photos, as well as follow-ups on the projects originally covered in the first edition.

   Garvin himself is uniquely qualified to write this book. For over thirty years he has taught Yale University's Introduction to the Study of the City course, while remaining busy as an architect, real estate developer and Director of Comprehensive Planning for the City of New York. After the publication of the original edition he became the Managing Director for Planning of New York's bid to host the 2012 Olympics (which was just selected as one of the finalists), and this year he was chosen to head up the complete rebuilding of the World Trade Center site after September 11 as the Vice President for Planning, Design and Construction of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

   If you have any interest whatsoever in the history, design, or improvement of America's urban landscape, this is the book to get. As Paul Goldberger, the former architecture critic of the New York Times has written: "I will read it again and again, sometimes from front to back, sometimes from back to front, sometimes to page through at a random, sometimes to consult and help me with a particular problem. I guarantee dog-eared pages within a year."

3 comments about Good Deeds, Good Design: Community Service Through Architecture.

1. This is my first "review" of a book I didn't read because the print was too small. I'm hoping more people who share this issue will complain via their reviews and publishers will get the message.
   
   I order most of the books I read from the library, so I don't know if a book is "readable" till I get it. I don't need "large print" books, but there's no excuse for a 6"x9" paperback book to use print this small.



2. Bell's book neatly encapsulates all the best thinking being done on the cutting edge where architecture meets social consciousness. Probably nobody in the United States is more qualified to address the subject of architecture for the less-advantaged, and its potential for positive impact in their lives. As a young man, Bell left a highly prestigious position in New York to live in a cold-water cabin in Pennsylvania and formulate ideas about the role architecture might play in the lives of those not traditionally served by good design. Bell gained influence as the founder of Design Corps and a teacher at the Rural Studio, and has since become a sought-after lecturer. "Good Deeds, Good Design" collects the best thinking about socially-conscious design in one compact book. It should be required reading for both students and practitioners interested in this burgeoning area of architecture.



3. Good Deeds, Good Design challenges the reader to re-think, or at the very least further refine his perspective on architecture for those who cannot afford an architect. While all the essays promote the premise that the enhancement of life by good design should be made available for those who can least afford it, they approach the "how","what" and even the "why" questions from very different perspectives.

   Bell has done an excellent job of compiling these very different points of view in order to make the reader think. I have thought about some point or other from the essays almost every day for the past two weeks, and may well mull many of them over for years.

   The great stories told by the case studies, like the elderly native american woman who moved from living in a school bus to a home, or the village which was given a place to gather and to worship, inspire the reader to take up the cause and act. This book should be required reading for every student of architecture (and probably for every public policy wonk as well).

No comments about Creating Central Park (Metropolitan Museum of Art).

2 comments about Place Making.

1. I was put on to this book by a professor at USF School of Architecture. It contains not only the history of placemaking but real examples of placemaking and tools in how to achieve the notion of "place." Not only is this a great resource, but it is easy to read and follow along.
   
   Highly reccomended!



2. I found this book to be one of the best out on the topic, of which there are too few at present for such an important topic. The depth and breadth of place-making topics and their coverage makes this a very excellent easy-to-read-and-understand as well as a long-term reference tool. The graphics are very well done. Having recently attended a Harvard program on retail for cities and new towns and urban center given by Bob Gibbs and Terry Shook, I especially found the book right on target. I want to see more of these types of books.

5 comments about Theorizing a New Agenda for Architecture:: An Anthology of Architectural Theory 1965 - 1995.

1. An excellent collection of readings covering a wide variety of philosophical architectural readings. Highly recommended for those who want to understand the essential theory behind true architecture.



2. while nesbitt's introductions to the various sections and articles/excerpts are often quite good, i cannot give this book more than a "passable" rating. the selections are heavily weighted toward a the ideas of a select few authors/theoreticians, creating a fairly lopsided look at recent architectural theory (as can fairly easily be seen in a review of the table of contents). in addition, those familiar with the topic sections covered (for example, semiotics and its relation to architecture), will find the excerpts chosen to represent certain theoretician's bodies of work rather inappropriate and incomplete. i have not yet had the opportunity to read any similar anthologies of very recent architectural theory, but this is certainly not one which should impress, or one that should be used as a stand-alone source.



3. As an arcaheology student studying vernacular architecture, I found this particular text to be a waste of time. It does nothing for the history of architecture, nor does it lend itself to coherent reading.



4. Architectural Theory from 1965-1995 is complex, nuanced, and somewhat pretentious. Part of the problem is that contemporary Architectural Theory (and I would call this "Postmodern" theory) is connected to Continental Philosophy, which is also quite pretentious and often inaccessible to the vast majority of readers. Quite frankly, a lot of postmodern theory is, in my opinion, meaningless, but very hip, drivel.
   
   That being said, if one is able to separate out the drivel, there is also a great deal to gain from reading postmodern theory. They key is to learn how to separate the good from the bad. This book won't teach you that, so you may often wonder, after reading a text, whether you just don't get it, or if there is really anything to get at all. All of the authors whose essays are contained in this text are very important in contemporary architecture, and any student or enthusiast of contemporary architectural trends needs to understand these figures, such as Koolhaas, Eisenman, and Tschumi (also, all major figures at architecture schools in the US). I would say every one of the authors here has some good points, although some of them write in far more verbose and pretentious language than others. But, this book is simply presenting the important figures in architectural theory, so I won't fault the book for the flaws of the texts contained within. It would be irresponsible NOT to include all of these texts. Judge them for yourself, and remember that each of theorists in these pages has critisized the work of other theorists in the textbook. They aren't all equal, and nobody has claimed they are.
   
   The only problem with this book is that it doesn't contain any illustrations. Now I know this isn't meant to be a coffee-table book with pretty buildings, but it's very problematic to have architecture texts without illustrations. I highly recommened looking up some of the work of each of the architects in here. For example, if you don't understand what Eisenman is talking about, take a look at some pictures of his buildings and it may become clear. Also, remember that most of the texts in this book, when first published, DID contain pictures accompanying them, so something is lost in their removal. Some of the texts need pictures more than others. I think Rem Koolhaas, more than most of the rest, relies quite heavily on images to get his point across in his fantastic books (especially S,M,L,XL and Delirious New York), and republishing his work without these images takes a good deal of the meaning away, and also makes the texts much more dry.
   
   I recommend this book, but probably just as a reference or a jumping-off point from which to explore certain trends and theorists further. The organization of this book is quite nice, outlining each theoretical trend (such as deconstructivism, phenomenology, or critical regionalism), and making clear the overlap (many theorists have essays in several sections). Again, this book is probably not for the casual architecture fan, and reading it is not as fun as opening up a Koolhaas book or other beautifully-made visual book, but if you really want (or need) to understand the most important trends and theorists in contemporary architecture, this book is a great buy.



5. I am an architecture student at Washington University. This book is a great stepping stone into Architectural Theory. But, why I am really writing this review is to correct the unread
   individual who wrote a review of this book prior to me.

   phe·nom·e·nol·o·gy - noun

   1. A philosophy or method of inquiry based on the premise that reality consists of objects and events as they are perceived or understood in human consciousness and not of anything independent of human consciousness.

   2. A movement based on this, originated about 1905 by Edmund Husserl.

2 comments about The Power of Place: Urban Landscapes as Public History.

1. The Historical Perspective:

   Hayden is an urban historian; she is concerned with the interpretation of historic places, people, movements and events. She specifically writes about woman's and ethnic histories in urban places. The Power of Place documents both a preservation project and the history to be preserved.

   Hayden is involved in a relatively new movement of historians and geographers who are reexamining the use of space by society. Her geographic-historical perspective is reflected in many contemporary scholars, including Michael Dear, Jennifer Wolch, David Harvey, and Henri Lefebver.

   Relevance to Planning and Urban Design:

   Planners involved in historic preservation should understand that the historic preservation of the architecture and histories of multiple classes, ethnicities, and genders is important. Urban renewal and economic development is a powerful tool that can cleanse the landscape of any references to past inhabitants -- their struggles, lives, and uses of place. As we see with the Biddy Mason wall, good design can acknowledge the existence of previous uses even if no structure remains. With this in mind, there is a considerable amount of history yet to be acknowledged with appropriate monuments. So Hayden defines the power of place as: "The Power of ordinary urban landscape to nurture citizens' public memory, to encompass shared time in the form of shared memory".

   A must read for urban planners involved in historic preservation.




2. Dolores Hayden's book, The Power of Place, is a comprehensive guide for anyone whose goal is to engage in an examination of spaces and places. It retains a historical perspective that allows the reader to apply the places focused upon by Hayden to his or her own specific spatial examination. While she focuses specific attention on the Los Angeles area, I found her work compatible with any examination of spatial use or spatial history and contextualization. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the power of place.

No comments about Toward a New Regionalism: Environmental Architecture in the Pacific Northwest.

5 comments about Metric Handbook, Third Edition.

1. I am an Architect dealing with planning and early stages of projects. This book is concise, clear and comprehensive and I don't know what I would do without it. I had a well-used and dog-eared copy from the original edition of 1979 and have just updated to the current edition. The information is easy to find, not over-detailed and still seems to be under the control of one person. Highly recommended and good value.



2. A valuable and a must have book...but print and paper quality is not worth...it is very much like as if phocopied and binded...
   Yagmur TOPRAKLI



3. I'm a graduate design architect, and i've been looking for a design standards reference. I came across this book, i've never heard about it before, as i was more familiar with Time Saver. But i was surprised by how good this book is and how sufficient the information contained is for all stages of design.
   The Time Saver Book might be more comprehensive in some aspects and may also have more examples of different building types. But the price of this book is very good compared to the time saver, which costs much more. I definitely recommend this book...



4. this cd cost 250 dollars, it is a plug-in program for autocad. it creats a new toolbar for autocad users to find images. However, i find this toolbar is NOT frinedly to use and it is hard to find images, and this software can't work in autocad 2000, it just can work with the outdate autocad (r13,R14). Further, this software not ever cover different size of common doors and windows. EDITOR, your CAD-library is not powerful enough. I personally believe this software is only worth 50 dollars.



5. I have been told that there was a review that said that there were errors in the book. This is certainly so, I should know, I am the editor! No reference book as comprehensive as this will ever be perfect. However, if you, the customer, finds one of these, please tell me. My e-mail address is David_Adler@compuserve.com. Thank you.

5 comments about Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence.

1. This book presents a right track of understanding and solving the problems of today cities.



2. This excellent book will give you the insight to understand how transportation and cities interact.



3. This book has provided a clear insight on sustainable transport strategies and policies which have been adopted in different countries. It is very well explained and I must say that it is the best piece the authors have actually written. It amalgamates the previous work carried out by the authors and therefore is an excellent reference book, which should be present in every transport planner's shelf and in every university.



4. In "The Life and Death of Great American Cities" written in the 1960s Jane Jacobs embraced complexity as a goal in itself. "How" she asked "can cities generate enough mixture among uses, enough diversity throughout enough of their territories, to sustain their own civilisation?" For Newman and Kenworthy the key idea is sustainability - "one of the most diversely applied concepts among academics and professionals discussing the future..." that "...has cut across all disciplines and professions and has developed many complexities." The car enters Newman and Kenworthy's consideration as a technology of widening individual choice. Why then is the car not the transport technology, par excellence? What unintended consequence has meant its proliferation has blighted the very thing it might have been expected to nurture?

   Newman and Kenworthy argue that the car, unlike public transport, offered people who could afford it freedom to live anywhere in a city and get quickly to any other part of it. It appeared to remove the need to plan land-use. Anything could be built anywhere with drivers determining their own routes to and from home to work, shops, schools and entertainment. In the "car-city" - which Newman and Kenworthy distinguish from the "pedestrian city" and the "transit city" - it is possible to develop in any direction and not just along rivers, tramlines or railways. Dispersed low density housing becomes accessible and popular. Town planners can separate residential from industrial zones accelerating decentralisation. Public and commercial buildings no longer need to cluster as a product of the convergence of private and public investment in a particular place. Public transport constricted by timetables and fixed routes becomes second class travel.

   Where the car city has been taken to extremes as in Newman and Kenworthy's intellectual territory - America and Australia - the penny dropped soonest. The social consequences that attended driving people off streets and creating boundaries round parks, squares, promenades, pavements - which had served as milieu for human interaction - only began to be widely accepted quite recently. Only now is a wedge of new economic logic being driven between the car and its enduring connection with the good life.

   The car, once it ceased to be an indulgence of the rich, always represented a balance between liberation and dependency. Today, the choices promised by cars are linked transparently to those they take away. Everyone knows about exhaust emissions and most drivers, outside of advertisements, experience worsening road conditions. There is growing despondency among those who would like to use their cars less. They realise alternatives won't work unless people switch in large numbers to other ways of getting around. But the public space needed to take to the streets to walk or cycle and take trains and buses is unavailable. Many see public space as hazardous for themselves, and perilous for their children. Deprivations long imposed on people without cars apply, with increasing force, to people with them. New technology may reduce vehicle emissions. It cannot recover the enormous interaction space taken out of circulation by road traffic. Before that lost social space can become available for people outside cars, a legal and moral space has to be reclaimed.

   This is why the idea of sustainability is slowly and surely turning into a value. It is the big idea which legitimates unpopular regulation. It offers space for the entrepreneurs of the future, exciting third world policy makers who want to leap a stage in the industrial revolutions of the richer nations. It is the idea around which people are ready to form alliances that go beyond their interests; a concept which "did not come so much from academic discussion as from a global political process." Newman and Kenworthy speak of their book being "many years in preparation", a book that is a "combination of text book and life story" deriving from work with city governments and voluntary groups attempting to address a major global and local issue of how people "can simultaneously reduce their impact on earth while improving their quality of life".

   This books aims to show how a city's use of land determines and is determined by its dominant forms of transport. It describes how policies aimed at creating sustainable relationships between humans and their environment necessarily revolve around a city's land-use-transport formula. Getting this right is a prerequisite for urban renaissance.

   What makes this book of especial value and its focus provocative is that so many cities and towns are now "auto-dependent". Because cars are sold on the basis of the freedoms they offer, policies to regulate so dominant a form of transport, even when those freedoms are nurtured in the imagination rather than available in the material world, arouse strong protest. Attempts to diversify people's transport choices are regularly characterised as restrictive and even oppressive. Instead of being seen as a catalyst for wealth production, governments addressing challenges to the reputation and wealth of cities caused by "auto-dependence" are seen as depriving large numbers of citizens of fundamental freedoms. The "motorist" has become a late 20th century everyman, affected from all angles by policies to restore a balance in cities between space allocated to rapid movement and space where citizens can engage in civil exchange.

   This book is a mine of arguments, backed by statistics, illustrations and graphs. Readers concerned about global warming may be disappointed to find no thinking about the impact of air transport on the sustainability of cities. Officials and politicians thinking of purchasing this text may ask whether it arrays anti-car prejudices against a "normal paradigm" of improving cars and roads and a friendlier planning regime for building of homes and businesses on green field sites. For Newman and Kenworthy that argument is over. Their book is primarily for those who seek to understand the implications of a paradigm which doesn't treat gridlocks or bypasses as the only options.




5. A must-read for city planners, environmentalists, urban policymakers, and all those generally concerned with "smart growth," sustainability and a vision for the 21st century. Newman and Kenworthy make a clear case for the rethinking of our current pattern of development and why it just doesn't make sense. They offer an alternative pattern that is not only achievable, but attractive. Their study of global cities throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia is clear and conclusive. And their vision is inspiring. American cities are making their comeback based on many of the principles expressed here. Read this book and share it with all those you know!

1 comments about Rosemary Beach.

1. This book offers an attractive photographic portrait of Rosemary Beach Florida, a Duany Plater-Zybeck (DPZ) designed community. This beautifully executed tome shows the charm and character that can be achieved in a new community when the principles of good urban design are followed.
   
   For anyone who decries the fact that they are no new porches being created on streets where kids can walk to neighborhood schools, this book is proof positive that you just aren't buying property from developers who have a proper view of the potential of new construction and good planning.