100 Essential Books of Planning
Finally a reading list! I mean, another reading list:
http://www.planning.org/centennial/greatbooks/
Finally a reading list! I mean, another reading list:
http://www.planning.org/centennial/greatbooks/
Leinberger, Christopher. The Option of Urbanism: Investing in a New American Dream. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2008.
The main point of this book is the idea that we currently are in a social and economic position in the history of the US to choose between developing walkable urban space or drivable sub-urban (he always hyphenates this word) space or some combination of these two extremes. He explains how drivable sub-urban real estate was turned into a commodity that could be traded on the stock exchange. This commoditization explains the uniformity of every suburban streetscape in the country. There are 19 standard drivable sub-urban products that are recognized as commodities that can be bought and sold on the NYSE. That seems hard for me to believe that the explanation is so simple.
I will be keeping track of the ones that I have read or checked out from the library in this entry
Continue reading "Urban planning reading list from U of Mich" »
I checked this book out from the Saint Paul Public Library. It was among the first books that I had ever checked out from there. It was severely overdue when the 35W bridge collapsed. I really want to finish it.
Diamond set up the book explaining the algorithm for examining civilizations. I was surprised by his addition of a familiar modern society, the ranch communities of the Bitterroot Valley. My good friend lived there for years raising horses and a basset hound and her daughters.