BOOK REVIEWS
Books are important. CharacterTowns.org selects and discusses current publications and works from previous generations that still hold wisdom for contemporary city-building. The review also includes published reviews and Youtube links to discussions by or about the author. Books are selected from the attached Suggested Readings.
“The Great Good Places, Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community” by Ray Oldenburg
Summary. Ray Oldenburg defined a place that defines a community. “Third place” is a concept that serves small cities and towns well as they strive to become and remain places where people want to be; welcoming places between home and work. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
“The Great Good Places, Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community” by Ray Oldenburg
Summary. Ray Oldenburg defined a place that defines a community. “Third place” is a concept that serves small cities and towns well as they strive to become and remain place where people want to be; welcoming places between home and work. “The Great Good Place argues that “third places” – where people can gather, put aside the concerns of work […]
“The Great Lakes Water Wars” by Peter Annin
FROM AMAZON…The Great Lakes are the largest collection of fresh surface water on earth, and more than 40 million Americans and Canadians live in their basin. Will we divert water from the Great Lakes, causing them to end up like Central Asia’s Aral Sea, which has lost 90 percent of its surface area and 75 […]
“The Great Reset, How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity” by Richard Florida
Summary Before COVID, but after The Great Recession, this 2010 book continues Richard Florida’s mission to describe the new world we live in; in this case as viewed from the bottom of the business cycle. A good read, as usual, with an historic tour d ’force that provides perspective on the present Great Recession and […]
“The Image of the City” by Kevin Lynch
Kevin Lynch is one of the all-time best contributors to the art and science of city design. The Image of The City, published in 1960, contains many terms and ideas that are now clichés. He develops theory and language based on his study of three towns: Boston, Jersey City and Los Angeles. Mr. Lynch presents the […]
“The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet” by Michael E. Mann
CharacterTowns.org enjoyed an interview with Professor Mann on PBS as he was explaining the balance needed in the rhetoric surrounding climate change. Too much gloom and doom squelches peoples’ interest in problem solving since they feel it is of no use. The deniers do not need much squelching since they did not believe it anyway. […]
“The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream” by Steve Case
FROM AMAZON… #1 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER Steve Case, cofounder of America Online and Revolution and New York Times bestselling author of The Third Wave, shows how entrepreneurs across the country are building groundbreaking companies, renewing communities, and creating new jobs—in the process reimagining the American landscape and bringing people together around a shared […]
“The Sanitary City: Environmental Services in Urban America from Colonial Times to the Present” by Martin V. Melosi
Summary. Yellow fever and cholera, along with measles, the plague and other communicable diseases, had their way with city populations before the twentieth century and the discovery of a scientific approach to healthcare and disease prevention and control. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
“The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces” by William H. Whyte
As Mr. Whyte describes, his book is a “pre-book”. His intent was to conduct his research fronted by his Street Life Project and then publish his findings. Thankfully, a funny thing happened on his way to his initial goal. He came upon a rich lode of insights and data produced by his cameras, his interviews and his curiosity. He […]
“Transportation for Livable Cities” by Vukan R. Vuchic
Though this book is somewhat dated, now being 20 years since production, the thoughts are clear, well organized, fundamentally sound and still relevant. This is one of those books that leads to note-taking and list-making. A very useful work for those interested in understanding how we got to this tenuous place and how we might […]
“TRIUMPH OF THE CITY, How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier and Happier” by Edward Glaeser
Summary. Mr. Glaeser is an unabashed advocate of the importance of cities. This doesn’t mean he approves of the current state of our cities, but in fact, his study offers useful and insightful ideas to better our inventory, as listed below. His final words in the chapter entitled Gifts of the City; “I suspect that […]
“Urban Planning and Design Criteria” by Joseph De Chiara and Lee Koppelman.
If ever there was a book describing everything about physical spaces and facilities in a city, this would be it. Messrs. Chaira and Koppelman have assembled sketches, statistics and descriptions of a wide range of planning elements and physical facilities… quite an achievement. The initial book was published in 1969, this second edition six years later. […]
“Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time” by Jeff Speck
CT.org…Walkability of cities is an important element of every city’s plans for livability, transportation, recreation and neighborhoods. Walter Kulash and Dan Burden have done seminal work on walkability for decades. Walkable City Rules is an important addition to the movement and a stimulus for continued action. Nearly every US city would like to be more […]
“What I Found in a Thousand Towns” by Dar Williams
The title tells the method, the book tells the whys and wherefores. “Positive proximity” is a big concept…”a state of being where living side by side with other people is experienced as beneficial.” [p xi]. As a musician who hangs with a lot of people who understand cities and city planning, she has overcome the […]
“What Makes a Great City” by Alexander Garvin
FROM AMAZON… “What makes a great city? Not a good city or a functional city but a great city. A city that people admire, learn from, and replicate. City planner and architect Alexander Garvin set out to answer this question by observing cities, largely in North America and Europe, with special attention to Paris, London, […]
“Why the Museum Matters” by Daniel H. Weiss
CT.org…While the focus of this work is the art museum, the lessons are universal for museums of every ilk and size. A powerful reflection on the universal art museum, considering the values critical to its history and anticipating its evolving place in our cultural future. Art museums have played a vital role in our culture, […]
“Contentment Is Hard Work” by Carol Tavris
From the New York Times: Years ago I came upon a melancholy fact: As the popularity of television increased in the 1950’s and 60’s, the number of inventors and do-it-yourselfers declined precipitously. This sad phenomenon reflects the paradox of the pursuit of happiness. Given a choice, many people choose narcotic pleasures that dull the mind […]
A Generosity of Spirit: The Early History of the Research Triangle Park by Albert N. Link
CharacterTowns.org usually has no trouble finding insightful summaries and reviews of important books; however, in the case of A Generosity of Spirit, an unusual source has been used – JSTOR. A great source of important works offered for sale. The first page of their on-line synopsis is presented on the following page. The dearth of […]
America’s Main Street Hotels: Transiency and Community in the Early Auto Age
by John A. Jakle and Keith A. Sculle Hotels in small cities and towns have always been popular despite a post-War decline. They are coming back; even the chains are showing interest in small cities and towns that have some unique character and authenticity that attract visitors. America’s Main Street Hotels discusses the historic experience, […]
Angel City by Patrick Smith
After leaving their failed farm in West Virginia, Jared Teeter and his family make their way to Florida, with dreams of fishing, going to the beach, and running their own roadside produce stand. What they find instead is a nightmare in a migrant labor camp, where they become the indentured servants of a soulless crew chief and his […]
Backdoor Revolution: The Definitive Guide to ADU Development by Kol Peterson.
Accessory Dwelling Units are a form of residential infill housing that are poised to revolutionize housing in the United States. Unlike other urban development trends, this one is being driven by homeowners, not professional developers. Through case studies, expert interviews, firsthand anecdotes, images, and data analysis, Backdoor Revolution reveals the opportunities, challenges, and best practices […]
Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D. Putnam
Nearly 20 years after publication, Bowling Alone still stands as the seminal work of the socialization of American twentieth century society; establishing the idea of social capital and putting sociology and sociological issuesback in the realm of community planning. Professor Putnam extensively surveyed and analyzed participation rates in clubs, organizations, leagues and volunteer activities over the twentieth […]
Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture
Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture [2000] by Ross King has given us a highly readable and fascinating story of an extraordinary fellow who produced an enduring work that all thought impossible. The strategic importance of locating civic and cultural buildings downtown becomes obvious. [embeddoc url=”http://www.theamericancity.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/BR-Brunelleschis-Dome.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google”] FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
Building A Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change Is Reshaping America
by Quint Studer “Every community wants to become a great place to live and work. The why is no mystery: We want to create a place our children and grandchildren will want to be. We also know the what: We need to attract investments, provide good jobs, and create lively downtowns where citizens will want to work, live, shop […]
Career Worth Planning: Starting Out and Moving Ahead in the Planning Profession by Warren Jones & Natalie Macris
Now that your planning degree is in sight or in hand, how and where can you find your “dream job?” Once you’re on the job, what can you do to not just survive, but thrive and avoid common professional pitfalls? In A Career Worth Planning, two veteran planners offer a road map for success. Packed […]
Character Towns, Positioning Small Cities and Towns for the New Economy by Bill Kercher
Character Towns was written for people interested in planning, designing and managing small towns and cities. The presentation is for new professional planners, professionals in allied fields, citizens and students. The basis for the adventure into city building is to appreciate the importance of two essential ingredients: vision and leadership. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
Cities by Lawrence Halprin
Cities by Lawrence Halprin is one of those books from the 1960s when idealism in city planning was blooming, design was a valuable commodity, environmentalism was new and cities were just beginning their comeback. People like Halprin led the way with lofty ideals and ideas, strong skills and a classical foundation in history, design and the […]
Cities in American History
Small cities and towns have evolved in American history since the initial European discovery. Cities in America describes the evolution and the important factors that determined success and failure. The book is edited, with Introductions, by Kenneth T. Jackson and Stanley K. Schultz, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1972. [embeddoc url=”https://www.charactertowns.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Book-Review-Cities-in-Am-History-Jackson.pdf” width=”100%” download=”all” viewer=”google”] FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
Cities of Knowledge, Cold War Science and the Search for the Next Silicon Valley by Margaret Pugh O’Mara
The premise is that the “cities of knowledge”, such as Silicon Valley, were not the result of random, market driven forces, but rather a pre-meditated effort by the federal government to have such cities and to properly locate these concentrations of intellectual power. The story is how the federal government committed to research for national defense and […]
Citistate Seattle: Shaping a Modern Metropolis
Citistate Seattle: Shaping a Modern Metropolis by Mark Hinshaw, [Planners Press, American Planning Association, 170 pages, 1999] was inspired by Neal Peirce’s Citistates. He reflects his deep love for the City of Seattle, his intimate knowledge of its every detail and his appreciation for the essence of city-building. As a result, Citistate Seattle is a great book for learning both […]