This Land: The Battle over Sprawl And the Future of America - Rilegato

Flint, Anthony

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0801884195 ISBN 13: 9780801884191

Casa editrice: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr, 2006

Riassunto

Despite a modest revival in city living, Americans are spreading out more than ever—into "exurbs" and "boomburbs" miles from anywhere, in big houses in big subdivisions. We cling to the notion of safer neighborhoods and better schools, but what we get, argues Anthony Flint, is long commutes, crushing gas prices and higher taxes—and a landscape of strip malls and office parks badly in need of a makeover.

This Land tells the untold story of development in America—how the landscape is shaped by a furious clash of political, economic and cultural forces. It is the story of burgeoning anti-sprawl movement, a 1960s-style revolution of New Urbanism, smart growth, and green building. And it is the story of landowners fighting back on the basis of property rights, with free-market libertarians, homebuilders, road pavers, financial institutions, and even the lawn-care industry right alongside them.

The subdivisions and extra-wide roadways are encroaching into the wetlands of Florida, ranchlands in Texas, and the desert outside Phoenix and Las Vegas. But with up to 120 million more people in the country by 2050, will the spread-out pattern cave in on itself? Could Americans embrace a new approach to development if it made sense for them?

A veteran journalist who covered planning, development, and housing for the Boston Globe for sixteen years and a visiting scholar in 2005 at the Harvard Design School, Flint reveals some surprising truths about the future and how we live inThis Land.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

"Engaging, vivid and provocative work. Written with analytical rigor but also a crafty journalistic eye for the human-interest story that crystallizes an abstract theme, this book merits inclusion in any library."

(Library Journal)

"A panoramic and extraordinarily up-to-date account of the struggle over how America builds."

(Philip Langdon New Urban News)

"This Land offers a provocative and insightful overview of the challenges of sprawl. "

(Boston Globe)

"Those who truly hate sprawl and want to fight back would be well advised to read this book."

(Audubon)

"Well researched, well written... very personable and readable. Recommended for all readers."

(Northeastern Naturalist)

"Flint provides a historical perspective on how we became a suburban nation... with the easy-flowing, narrative skill of a journalist."

(Lawrence Bluestone Architecture Boston)

"As an inquiry into the backlash against 'smart growth'... it offers valuable insights and unsettling observations from the frontlines of the battles over land use and suburban development."

(Tom Urbaniak Urban Affairs Review)

"Cear, well-written overview of the sprawl debate."

(Jackie Begley Berkeley Planning Journal)

"With evidence growing regarding the impact of density on innovation and economic growth, Anthony Flint's excellent This Land couldn't come along at a better time. It's an essential read for those working to understand and build more vibrant and livable communities."

(Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class and The Flight of the Creative Class)

"A revealing portrait of how America lives today. His trenchant chronicling of the emerging smart growth movement's challenge to the suburban sprawl ethos is a clarion call for a national conversation about how the country should grow."

(Ben Bradlee Jr., author and former Deputy Managing Editor of the Boston Globe)

L'autore:

Anthony Flint is a fellow and director of public affairs at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is the author ofWrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took on New York's Master Builder and Transformed the American City.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr
• Data di pubblicazione: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0801884195
• ISBN 13: 9780801884191
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 298