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Review From: Reference Reviews, April 2004
Students studying the
environment will be interested in this exploration of urban planning. The
editor's introduction suggests that urban sprawl (a word coined by Al Gore
and defined as "the rapid expansion of urban development across the
American landscape") is very much a topic for debate. The first article
discusses "What You Don't Know About Sprawl." Other sections cover "Trends
in Development," "Transportation Infrastructure," "Housing" and
"Revitalizing the Urban Environment." The Appendices offer statistics on
the percentage of persons who live in urban areas by state, changes in
U.S. population during the past 10 years, and the change in urban
congestion. Most students today live in urban areas and will continue to
do so as adults. They will be debating the various problems associated
with urban life, including the role of state legislatures and city
officials in developing planning regulations, the issues involved in
public housing and tax revenues necessary to provide publication
transportation. The bibliography provides two pages of books, two pages of
Web sites and a seven-page list of annotated periodical articles.
Recommended.
Review from: American
Reference Books Annual 2004
The Reference Shelf
is a respected annual series from H. W. Wilson. Every year there are six
titles in the series examining various issues that have significantly
engaged scholarly discussion and public interest: The books in the series
contain reprints of articles and excerpts from books, essays, and
speeches. They provide background information, both pro and con, and
conclude with a subject index and a bibliography of books, pamphlets, and
abstracts. Urban Planning is one of the 2003 titles in the series.
Urban planning
(the proper term is Ekistics) is a 20th-century discipline developed
because towns were unplanned in the preceding centuries. As a professional
discipline, it brings together architects, politicians, sociologists,
geographers, city officials, business groups, real estate developers, and
public health officials to design an efficient and humane urban
environment.
The
book is divided into 5 sections. The first section examines urban sprawl,
the spread of low-density urbanization across the American landscape. The
2nd section showcases various contemporary trends in urban
development whose implications are only now becoming clear. The 3rd
section focuses on transportation issues, especially automobile traffic
and mass transit. The 4th
section looks at housing needs in relation to the growth of cities.
The 5th and last section looks at some of the outstanding
efforts to make our cities vital, healthy, and interesting places to live.
Urban Planning is an important contribution to the growing
reference literature on the subject and is highly recommended. |
