suburbia

General Bibliography: Aspen Institute, Suburbs and Cities: Changing Patterns of Metropolitan Living (Washington, D.C.:  The Aspen Institute Domestic Strategy Group, 1995). A report on the 1995 deliberations of the Aspen Institute's bipartisan Domestic Strategy Group, along with four essays on sprawl-related topics: Kenneth Jackson on the consequences of sprawl and cheap transportation, Douglas Massey on the new geography of inequality, Anthony Downs on suburban governance issues, and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk on improving community design. Benfield, Kaid, Raimi, Matthew and Chen, Donald, Once There Were Greenfields; How Urban Sprawl Is Undermining America's Environment, Economy, and Social Fabric(Natural Resources Defense Council, 1999).  A joint project of the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Surface Transportation Policy Project teh book documents the consequences of sprawling growth patterns and proposes guiding principles for a new kind of "smart" growth. Bullard, Robert D. & Johnson, Glenn S., Just Transportation-Dismantling Race and Class Barriers to Mobility (Stony Creek, CT:  New Society Publishers, 1997). Professor Bullard, director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark University in Atlanta, GA, has edited a collection of essays from activists around the country who have made the crititcal link between our nation's transportation's investments and our sad history (current and past) of racism and urban poverty.  A logical progression from Prof. Bullard's work on hazardous waste facility citing and race. Bullard, Robert D., Sprawl City-Race, Politics, and Planning in Atlanta (Island Press: 2000). This book is a compilation of essays by people that have studied Atlanta's infamous struggle with sprawl.  The book pays particular emphasis on the impacts of sprawl on the African-American community in Atlanta.  Diamond, Henry L. and Patrick F. Noonan, Land Use in America: The Report of the Sustainable Use of Land Project (Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1996).  One of the best, most recent overviews of land use issues. Features an analysis of key problems in the first section, followed by an anthology of essays and specific action recommendations. Includes many case studies of growth management strategies of states and localities.  Downs, Anthony, New Visions for Metropolitan America (Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution & Cambridge, Mass.: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 1994).  A leading urban analyst, Downs argues for a new policy vision that integrates housing, transportion, environmental and social service efforts and shows regional coherence. A thoughtful, comprehensive policy perspective on sprawl.  Gratz, Roberta Brandies & Mintz, Norman, Cities Back from the Edge-New Life for Downtown (New York:  Preservation Press, Wiles and Sons, 1998). Cities is an unapologetically positive book about what is great about urban living, and a warning against what the "project planners" have done to cities (stadiums, highways, superstores, etc.), and what they continue to do.  The book though concentrates on the activists around the country who have slowly been paving the way towards a revitalization of American cities without massive public infrastructure investments.  Hiss, Tony. The Experience of Place. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990. Hochschild, Arlie. The Second Shift. New York: Avon Books, 1989. Howe, Jim; McMcMahon & Propst, Luther, Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities (Washington, DC:  Island Press, 1998). As more and more people flock to America's gateway communities, towns bordered by public lands, for the beauty and presumably high quality of life, that same quality of life has taken beating from sprawl--ironically the reason many emigrated in the first place. Balancing Nature provides examples of these communities valuing their natural and historical beauty as their greatest economic asset.  Jackson, Kenneth T., Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985). This book is a magisterial history of the rise and expansion of the suburban model of development. High scholarship that is easily accessible, Crabgrass Frontier provides the forgotten history of automobile and highway subsidies, the ghettoization of public housing, the drive-in culture, the loss of community and much more. Kunstler, James Howard, The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993). This book created a sensation when it was published by arguing, in a passionate, well-informed and irreverent way, how suburbanization has created cities that are "dead zones" and a countryside that is "a wasteland of cartooon architecture and parking lots." A highly readable overview of sprawl and its economic, social and spiritual costs. Kunstler, James Howard, Home from Nowhere: Remaking Our Everyday World for the Twenty-First Century (New York: Simon&Schuster, 1996). This sequel of sorts to The Geography of Nowhere elaborates on previous themes while sketching some practical strategies for revamping cities, suburbs and neighborhoods. The tone and substance is inspired by architects and designers such as Christopher Alexander, Andres Duany, Peter Calthrope, and Witold Rybczynski, but the stylish and witty argumentation is Kunstler's alone. Moe, Richard and Carter Wilkie, Changing Places: Rebuilding Community in the Age of Sprawl (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1997).  Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Wilkie, an aide to Boston Mayor Fom Menino, argue that historic preservation is not just about buildings, but about preserving the integrity of communities. The book describes dozens of towns that have staved off destructive sprawl while pioneering redevelopment that preserves great architecture and revitalizes downtowns.  Norquist, John O., The Wealth of Cities-Revitalizing the Centers of American Life (Perseus Books: 2000). John Norquist, Mayor of Milwaukee and New Urbanist, reviews his experience with revitalizing downtown Milwaukee.  Although he references Milwaukee much during the book, it is meant as critique of the many federal and state subsidies which fuel sprawl.  Meant as a practical guide to downtown revitalizaiton. Platt, Rutherford H. Land Use and Society.  Washington, DC: Island Press, 1996. Porter, Douglas R., Managing Growth in America's Communities (Washington, D.C.:Island Press, 1997).  An excellent review of growth management approaches and techniques by one of the leading experts in the field. Topics include zoning innovations; multimodal transportation; open spaces; transferable development rights; developer impact fees; state leadership for growth management; and organizing citizen support.  Suarez, Ray, The Old Neighborhood--What We Lost in the Great Suburban Migration:  1966-1999 (Free Press:  1999) Ray Suarez, formerly host of NPR's Talk of the Nation and now correspondent with The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, has written a highly personal, though well researched story that covers the story behind the suburbanization of American.  Though he spends some time speaking with the people in the new suburban communities, he spend the majority with the true heroes who have never left over the past generation.