Reclaiming the City


Book Description

Mixed use development is about retaining or creating a mix of different uses in cities or neighbourhoods. The trend in UK development has been towards specialisation and areas with single uses. Increasing the mix of uses is thought to reduce the need to travel, lower the likelihood of crime, improve the ambience and attractiveness of areas and contribute to the sustainability of cities.




Urban Transformations


Book Description

Present case studies of cities which have integrated, walkable transit districts. It argues that if well done, transit oriented developments can save money, create healthy neighbourhoods and help communities compete in the global marketplace.




Strong Towns


Book Description

A new way forward for sustainable quality of life in cities of all sizes Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Build American Prosperity is a book of forward-thinking ideas that breaks with modern wisdom to present a new vision of urban development in the United States. Presenting the foundational ideas of the Strong Towns movement he co-founded, Charles Marohn explains why cities of all sizes continue to struggle to meet their basic needs, and reveals the new paradigm that can solve this longstanding problem. Inside, you’ll learn why inducing growth and development has been the conventional response to urban financial struggles—and why it just doesn’t work. New development and high-risk investing don’t generate enough wealth to support itself, and cities continue to struggle. Read this book to find out how cities large and small can focus on bottom-up investments to minimize risk and maximize their ability to strengthen the community financially and improve citizens’ quality of life. Develop in-depth knowledge of the underlying logic behind the “traditional” search for never-ending urban growth Learn practical solutions for ameliorating financial struggles through low-risk investment and a grassroots focus Gain insights and tools that can stop the vicious cycle of budget shortfalls and unexpected downturns Become a part of the Strong Towns revolution by shifting the focus away from top-down growth toward rebuilding American prosperity Strong Towns acknowledges that there is a problem with the American approach to growth and shows community leaders a new way forward. The Strong Towns response is a revolution in how we assemble the places we live.




The Rebirth of the American City


Book Description







North America


Book Description

This book focuses on the demand, supply, key features and events that take place across the regions of Canada, the United States and Mexico. The diversity of socio-cultural, natural, and economic features within these regions has enabled them to become top international tourism destinations.




Interior Urbanism


Book Description

Vast interior spaces have become ubiquitous in the contemporary city. The soaring atriums and concourses of mega-hotels, shopping malls and transport interchanges define an increasingly normal experience of being 'inside' in a city. Yet such spaces are also subject to intense criticism and claims that they can destroy the quality of a city's authentic life 'on the outside'. Interior Urbanism explores the roots of this contemporary tension between inside and outside, identifying and analysing the concept of interior urbanism and tracing its history back to the works of John Portman and Associates in 1960s and 70s America. Portman – increasingly recognised as an influential yet understudied figure – was responsible for projects such as Peachtree Center in Atlanta and the Los Angeles Bonaventure Hotel, developments that employed vast internal atriums to define a world of possibilities not just for hotels and commercial spaces, but for the future of the American downtown amid the upheavals of the 1960s and 70s. The book analyses Portman's architecture in order to reconsider major contexts of debate in architecture and urbanism in this period, including the massive expansion of a commercial imperative in architecture, shifts in the governance and development of cities amid social and economic instability, the rise of postmodernism and critical urban studies, and the defence of the street and public space amid the continual upheavals of urban development. In this way the book reconsiders the American city at a crucial time in its development, identifying lessons for how we consider the forces at work, and the spaces produced, in cities in the present.




Incentives, Regulations and Plans


Book Description

The book will be useful to planners engaged in smart growth efforts on both sides of the Atlantic. Its strength is in the inclusion of a variety of topics and case studies relevant to growth management programs and highlighting key direct and indirect impacts of these efforts in a variety of contexts. Lucie Laurian, Growth and Change This unique book allows readers to compare analyses of how North American states and European nation-states use incentives, regulations or plans to approach a core set of universal land use issues such as: containing sprawl, mixed use development, transit oriented development, affordable housing, healthy urban designs, and marketing smarter growth. The concept of smart growth has gained in popularity in many countries around the world. From Europe to Asia to North America, planners, citizens, and policy makers have come to realize that patterns of urban development not only matter, but can affect the quality of life of every urban and rural resident. Comparing the approaches and results of policies in different locations is a logical way to assess policy success. While similarities and differences provide the foundation for trans-Atlantic comparisons, the contributions in this book focus on three central themes: smart growth, the role of states and nation-states, and the use of incentives, regulations and plans. Incentives, Regulations and Plans will find an audience in the United States, Canada and Europe, especially from those interested in architecture, planning, engineering, urban studies, agriculture and public policy.