Book mentions in this thread

  • Votes: 33

    WALKABLE CITY

    by Jeff Speck

  • Votes: 9

    Happy City

    by Charles Montgomery

  • Votes: 6

    Order without Design

    by Alain Bertaud

    An argument that operational urban planning can be improved by the application of the tools of urban economics to the design of regulations and infrastructure. Urban planning is a craft learned through practice. Planners make rapid decisions that have an immediate impact on the ground—the width of streets, the minimum size of land parcels, the heights of buildings. The language they use to describe their objectives is qualitative—“sustainable,” “livable,” “resilient”—often with no link to measurable outcomes. Urban economics, on the other hand, is a quantitative science, based on theories, models, and empirical evidence largely developed in academic settings. In this book, the eminent urban planner Alain Bertaud argues that applying the theories of urban economics to the practice of urban planning would greatly improve both the productivity of cities and the welfare of urban citizens. Bertaud explains that markets provide the indispensable mechanism for cities' development. He cites the experience of cities without markets for land or labor in pre-reform China and Russia; this “urban planners' dream” created inefficiencies and waste. Drawing on five decades of urban planning experience in forty cities around the world, Bertaud links cities' productivity to the size of their labor markets; argues that the design of infrastructure and markets can complement each other; examines the spatial distribution of land prices and densities; stresses the importance of mobility and affordability; and critiques the land use regulations in a number of cities that aim at redesigning existing cities instead of just trying to alleviate clear negative externalities. Bertaud concludes by describing the new role that joint teams of urban planners and economists could play to improve the way cities are managed.
  • Votes: 6

    Triumph of the City

    by Edward Glaeser

  • Votes: 4

    The Devil in the White City

    by Erik Larson

    'An irresistible page-turner that reads like the most compelling, sleep defying fiction' TIME OUT One was an architect. The other a serial killer. This is the incredible story of these two men and their realization of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, and its amazing 'White City'; one of the wonders of the world. The architect was Daniel H. Burnham, the driving force behind the White City, the massive, visionary landscape of white buildings set in a wonderland of canals and gardens. The killer was H. H. Holmes, a handsome doctor with striking blue eyes. He used the attraction of the great fair - and his own devilish charms - to lure scores of young women to their deaths. While Burnham overcame politics, infighting, personality clashes and Chicago's infamous weather to transform the swamps of Jackson Park into the greatest show on Earth, Holmes built his own edifice just west of the fairground. He called it the World's Fair Hotel. In reality it was a torture palace, a gas chamber, a crematorium. These two disparate but driven men are brought to life in this mesmerizing, murderous tale of the legendary Fair that transformed America and set it on course for the twentieth century . . .
  • Votes: 4

    The City in History

    by Lewis Mumford

    An examination of Cities of the Western world tracing their development from Egypt through the Middle Ages to the present
  • Votes: 3

    Strong Towns

    by Charles L. Marohn Jr.

  • Votes: 3

    The Power Broker

    by Robert A. Caro

    Moses is pictured as idealist reformer and political manipulator as his rise to power and eventual domination of New York State politics is documented
  • Votes: 3

    The Timeless Way of Building

    by Christopher Alexander

    This introductory volume to Alexander's other works, A Pattern of Language and The Oregon Experiment, explains concepts fundamental to his original approaches to the theory and application of architecture
  • Votes: 2

    Green Metropolis

    by David Owen

  • Votes: 1

    The Geography of Nowhere

    by James Howard Kunstler

  • Votes: 1

    SimCity

    by Prima Games

    The SimCity Prima Official Game Guide key features: * Free Access to SimCity eGuide The SimCity eGuide is a web access guide that also provides regular data updates, with data tables that you can easily search and sort. * Know Your City Specializations Optimize every city in your region with different specializations and work together to complete Great Works. * Be the Best Mayor! Expert strategies on how to manage income and expenses while expanding utilities and city services to meet the demands of your growing population. * Business Strategies Learn how to identify and extract natural resources to reap enormous profits from various business opportunities. * Unlock Achievements Obtain every achievement...even the secret ones! * Quick Reference Tables Content listing costs, prerequisites, and upgrades for all buildings and their modules.
  • Votes: 1

    Suburban Nation

    by Andres Duany