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.
Smart Machines, IBM’s Watson and the Era of Cognitive Computing by John E. Kelly III and Steve Hamm
Small cities and towns use of technology is growing. Smart Machines is a fascinating book that takes a very technical subject and presents it succinctly to the general reader. The implications and applicability for cities and towns of all sizes is strong. The last chapter specifically discusses how cities can benefit from cognitive machines. With […]
Smart Machines, IBM’s Watson and the Era of Cognitive Computing by John E. Kelly III and Steve Hamm
Implications for the American City [Lessons] Chapter 7 is entitled “Imaging the Cognitive City”. IBM has committed, along with other tech-companies such as Cisco, to address issues associated with urbanization. City and town governments, special authorities and infrastructure providers of all sorts are finding IBM at their doorstep with research and solutions aimed at health, safety, traffic […]
Social Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century: Innovation Across the Nonprofit, Private, and Public Sectors by Georgia Levenson Keohane
This is a hugely important book for those who want to understand the nonprofit world and its evolving role. ” – This book demystifies the complex world of social entrepreneurship, providing all the information you need to understand social investment and innovation, whether you’re a private investor, policymaker, nonprofit manager, or passionate and engaged donor. […]
Some Kind of Paradise, A Chronicle of Man and the Land in Florida by Mark Derr
Overview. Mark Derr’s book offers a great perspective on the history of Florida from its geophysical origins to the landing of Ponce de Leon in 1513. The Pre-Ponce story is fascinating, well researched and well told. The summary below centers on a few aspects of the total presentation: the Original Animals and the Early People. […]
Special Report Smart Cities: A Toolkit for Leaders, Knowledge@Wharton with Tata Consultancy
The definition of a “smart city” is changing. While it refers to a community that adoptstechnological tools to become more efficient, the term also increasingly encompasses ideas of sustainability, compassion and equity for all stakeholders. As cities embrace initiatives to become more connected, data-driven and resilient, mayors and other leaders often must prioritize various needs […]
St. Louis, The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape
St. Louis , The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape, [2001] describes a city that was once among the “first tier” American cities that has now fallen to a lower rung; St. Louis is one of these fallen giants. Founded in 1764, incorporated in 1823, St. Louis was one of America’s ten most populated cities […]
Startup Communities, Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City by Brad Feld
Brad Feld’s book offers a succinct, insightful and readable view into the world of entrepreneurs, the people that start, or co-found, businesses. He also uses the term “community” to reflect a community of interest. He definitely and extensively differentiates the startup community from governments, especially state and local governments. Despite this distinction, he tells us […]
Startup Communities, Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City by Brad Feld
Brad Feld’s book offers a succinct, insightful and readableview into the world of entrepreneurs, the people that start, or co-found, businesses. He also uses the term“community” to reflect a community of interest. He definitely and extensively differentiates the startup community from governments, especially state and local governments. Despite this distinction, he tells us from the […]
Streetfight, Handbook for an Urban Revolution by Janette Sadik-Khan and Seth Solomonow
Streetfight, Handbook for an Urban Revolution reflects the author’s experience working for Mayor Bloomberg in New York City to change the transportation system culture of the City. It is inspirational. The transition for a car-dominant transportation system to one with more respect for transit, bicyclists and pedestrians shows that conversions can be made in the […]
Sustainable Residential Development: Planning and Design for Green Neighborhoods / Edition 1 by Avi Friedman
Written by internationally renowned architect Avi Friedman, Sustainable Residential Development equips you with a much-needed process and examples for planning and designing green communities. This landmark resource explains the principles of green building and how to apply them to residential development, presenting guidelines for creating communities that balance social, economic, and environmental needs. Filled with […]
Teach Yourself Sociology by Stephen Moore with Stephen P. Sinclair
Sociology is an incredibly important discipline in and of itself, but it is an especially important allied profession for the urban planner. Teach Yourself Sociology is a title that could be denigrating to the profession since it is really not a teach yourself subject; however, this book gives great overview information, a solid foundation into […]
Ten Principles for Rebuilding Neighborhood Retail by Michael D. Beyard, Michael Pawlukiewicz, and Alex Bond
EXCERPT… “Over the past five decades, retailing in urban neighborhoods has hollowed out, leaving most cities and inner-ring suburbs with too little to support healthy neighborhoods and strong communities. The results are apparent to anyone living in or visiting a 21st century city: commercial streets with deteriorating buildings, empty storefronts or marginal month-to-month tenants, an […]
Ten Principles for Reinventing America’s Suburban Strips by Michael D. Beyard and Michael Pawlukiewicz
The Mission. The ugly, marginalized, dangerous commercial corridors found in almost every town in America are valuable assets waiting to be rediscovered. Their location and physical features are generally sound having survived years of miss- use, shoddy buildings and environmental abuse. But their locations and general suitability for development remain. The challenge is to see […]
The Age of Spiritual Machines, When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence by Ray Kurzweil
Ray Kurzweil is one of our best thinkers about artificial intelligence. The Age of Spiritual Machines, while 20 years old, presents Kurzweil’s prescience for today’s conditions and offers a great overview of the beginnings, the rationale and the evolution of artificial intelligence; and the next steps in its progress. Planners thinking long range about quality of life […]
The Architectural Pattern Book: A Tool for Building Great Neighborhoods by Urban Design Associates
This manual documents the revival of the traditional architectural pattern book as a means of implementing urban design. Books available from Amazon and UDA. From the firm that produced The Urban Design Handbook comes a practical guide to developing and using pattern books-a tradition stretching back to Vitruvius and Palladio, and the source of many […]
The Art of the Long View; Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World
The Art of the Long View is all about scenario planning. The Art of the Long View by Peter Schwartz is a book that benefits every futurist, including city planners and economic development directors faced with the problems of city growth or decline that is uncertain. The subtitle, “Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World” describes […]
The Big Nine. How the Tech Titans & Their Thinking Machine Could Warp Humanity by Amy Webb
Implications for the American City. Artificial Intelligence [AI] is, and will continue to, inculcate every aspect of human endeavors. While the technology is rocket science, ordinary people, including the leaders in city hall, can understand the concepts, the goals of the providers and the applications. The Big Nine is a great read, a great education and a […]
The Birth of City Planning in the United States,1840 – 1917.
The Birth of City Planning [2003] by Jon A. Peterson is an interesting take on the American planning profession. He recounts its history from 1840 to 1917 and laments its transformation from city planning to urban planning. The subsuming of cities and counties by regional metropolitan areas that are highly urban is undeniable; however, as a practitioner, […]
The City Beautiful Movement by William H. Wilson
From CT.org…Like many movements and theories, they are forced into an all or nothing mode; often rejected because “all” is too much for even the rational thinker. The city beautiful movement is one such incidence; the ideas are great but they are only part of the urban picture, but the thoughts were rejected as too […]
The City in History; Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects.
The City in History [1961] provides the basis for modern city planning. It is one of the ‘oldies but goodies’ that should be found in the essential readings for anyone interested in cities. Lewis Mumford’s massive historical study brings together a wide array of evidence from the earliest group habitations through medieval towns to modern cities. His […]
The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, Its Prospects by Lewis Mumford
Character Town Commentary. Lewis Mumford became famous because of this book; he won the National Book Award for non-fiction in 1962. The City in History parallels the history of mankind. Mumford starts the story when a reliable supply of food arose perhaps 15,000 years ago [YA]; at that point signs of permanent habitation began to […]
The Company Town
The Company Town [2010] describes an idea we associate with the turn of the 19th century when, in fact, it continues to this day with BMW in Greenville, Microsoft in Seattle and SEMATECH in Austin. This is a book with big ideas and lots of information packed into a tidy, readable and powerful package. Stories […]
The Death and Life of Main Street
Small Towns in American Memory, Space, and Community by Miles Orvell From Amazon… “For more than a century, the term “MainStreet” has conjured up nostalgic images of American small-town life. Representations exist all around us, from fiction and film to the architecture of shopping malls and Disneyland. All the while, the nation has become increasingly […]
The Excellence Divided by Tom Peters
The Excellence Dividend is Tom Peters newest thinking about excellence. Meeting the Tech Tide with work that wows and jobs that last. In a world where people often do not feel engaged with their work Tom offers a brilliantly simple roadmap for any business leader and organisation to follow. With his unparalleled expertise and inimitable […]
The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization by Peter M. Senge,
The Learning Organization. The idea of a “learning organization” may pre-brought it into the conversation about organizational excellence. The idea that organizations can learn is fundamental to any professional practice; fundamental to any organization that expects to be useful in the future. Increasing intellectual capital is as important as quarterly profits, physical capital accumulation or stock price. […]
The Five Priority Actions in the Climate Adaptation Action Plan
From the US EPA The 2021 EPA Climate Adaptation Action Plan contains five agency-wide priority actions and measures to evaluate performance that support Strategic Objective 2. This follows the policy statement issued on May 26, 2021. The Plan also supports the agency’s and government-wide efforts to advance environmental justice. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
The Great Good Places, Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community by Ray Oldenburg
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. [embeddoc url=”https://www.charactertowns.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/The-Great-Good-Place.pdf” width=”100%” download=”all” viewer=”google”] FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation
The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation is a great guide for those interested in high-tech economic development. Though the times have changed, the principles of industrial scale technology research and development still apply. Economic development programs of small cities and towns in the New Innovation Economy can benefit from a […]
The Image of the City
The Image of the City by Kevin Lynch is one of the all-time best contributions to the art and science of city design. The Image of The City, written before 1960, contains many terms and ideas that are now clichés and accepted practices. He develops theory and language based on his study of Boston, Jersey City […]
The Limits to Growth by Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jorgen Randers, William W. Behrens III
The message of this book still holds today: The earth’s interlocking resources – the global system of nature in which we all live – probably cannot support present rates of economic and population growth much beyond the year 2100, if that long, even with advanced technology. In the summer of 1970, an international team of researchers at the […]