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.
Urban Land Use Planning by Edward J. Kaiser, David J. Godschalk and F. Stuart Chapin Jr
Urban Land Use Planning, the book, has evolved and grown as a body of thought for over a half century. The Fourth Edition of Urban Land Use Planning presents the classic approaches to planning theory and practice. The Fourth Edition is chock full of tables and charts and checklists that provide the framework for comprehensive […]
Urban Sociology: A Human Ecological Perspective by William A. Schwab
Importance. The social realm of sustainability is the most neglected by urban and city planners. Sociology is the profession to add the needed umph to SWOT analyses and community scans while comprehensive plans are constructed. Professor Schwab’s book, while dated 1982 is not dated in the sense of the quality of his presentation of the […]
Urban Street Design Guide
Sidewalks play a vital role in city life. As conduits for pedestrian movement and access, they enhance connectivity and promote walking. As public spaces, sidewalks serve as the front steps to the city, activating streets socially and economically. Safe, accessible, and well-maintained sidewalks are a fundamental and necessary investment for cities, and have been found […]
Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time by Jeff Speck
Walkability of cities is an important element of every city’s plans for livability, transportation, recreationand 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 walkable—for reasons […]
Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time by Jeff Speck
From CharacterTowns.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. FacebookTweetLinkedInEmail
What a Producer Does: The Art of Moviemaking (not the Business) by Buck Houghton
Many professions have valuable lessons for city planners. Movie producers may not come to mind as an instructive profession, but the means and methods used to produce a movie have many parallels for managing a city planning project with many disciplines, budgets, schedules and specific products. Multi-media, multi-discipline and multi-dimensional plans fit the mold of […]
What I Found in a Thousand Towns by Dar Williams
Dar Williams, who recently spoke to CNU, has produced a book that explores small cities and towns at ground level. Her observations are insightful, well-informed and grounded in love and respect for hometowns…and it reads really well. It’s wonderful when a “non-planner” delves into the fray and gets the story right. It’s a helpful gift […]
What Next for Sustainable Development?
Our Common Future at Thirty. by James Meadowcroft (Author, Editor), David Banister (Editor), Erling Holden (Editor), Oluf Langhelle (Editor), Kristin Linnerud (Editor) FROM AMAZON… Sustainable development brings together a series of normative themes related to negotiating environmental limits, to addressing equity, needs and development, and to the process of transformation and transition. To mark the 30th Anniversary of Our Common […]
What Next for Sustainable Development? Our Common Future at Thirty by James Meadowcroft, David Banister, Erling Holden, Oluf Langhelle, Kristin Linnerud
Sustainable development brings together a series of normative themes related to negotiating environmental limits, to addressing equity, needs and development,and to the process of transformation and transition. To mark the 30th Anniversary of Our Common Future (1987), that first placed sustainable development on the global agenda, the editors have brought together a group of international […]
What Next for Sustainable Development? Our Common Future at Thirty by James Meadowcroft.
Sustainable development brings together a series of normative themes related to negotiating environmental limits, to addressing equity, needs and development, and to the process of transformation and transition. To mark the 30th Anniversary of Our Common Future (1987), that first placed sustainable development on the global agenda, the editors have brought together a group of […]
Who Says Elephants Can’t Fly? Inside IBM’s Historic Turnaround.
Smart machines and cities are one outcome from the rejuvenated IBM. Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance [2002] by Louis V. Gerstner Jr. explains the re-direction of IBM and the evolution of computers from systems that store and retrieve known information to systems that “think” by reviewing the data and reaching conclusions that answer questions with unknown […]
Why Cities Look the Way They Do by Richard J. Williams
Mr. Williams’ book rightly points out that every city needs a strategy for prosperity based on authentic and unique assets that do not destroy the essence of the town. It seems we are too easily carried away with success based on factors that have long-term destructive powers. Too much of a good thing…CharacterTowns.org has long […]
Wikinomics, How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything by Don Tapscott
Wikinomics has become essential reading for business people everywhere. It explains how mass collaboration is happening not just at Web sites like Wikipedia and YouTube, but at traditional companies that have embraced technology to breathe new life into their enterprises. This national bestseller reveals the nuances that drive wikinomics, and share fascinating stories of how […]
Working, Researching, Interviewing, Writing by Robert A. Caro
The book’s focus is on how Mr. Caro does his work. How he engages with people involved in the lives of his subjects. How researching the record and “turning every page” is a critical part of uncovering the truth. His candid description of his interviewing, researching and writing methods is a great instructional guide of […]