Books

Recent reviews

The Original Green

Unlocking the Mystery of True Sustainability
By Stephen A. Mouzon
Review by Robert Steuteville

What We See: Advancing the Observations of Jane Jacobs

Stephen A. Goldsmith and Lynne Elizabeth, editors
Three dozen writers, mostly Americans and Canadians, try to further develop the ideas and methods of the woman who studied city life, urban form, and economic behavior so productively.

Green Living: Architecture and Planning

Edited by Barbara Kenda, Steven Parissien, Gloria Ohland, and Kateri Butler

What kind of design works well for the environment and communities, and reinforces human culture?

Miami Modern Metropolis: Paradise and Paradox in Midcentury Architecture and Planning

Edited by Allan T. Shulman
Miami Modern Metropolis begins in earnest after World War II, when Miami Beach was already well under way.

The Future of the Past: A Conservation Ethic for Architecture, Urbanism, and Historic Preservation

By Steven W. Semes
Historic places are under assault by what is often — erroneously — called “the architecture of our time,” Steven Semes argues in this important new book.

The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity

By Richard Florida
Richard Florida has a Big Idea, and it’s a fascinating one.

The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050

By Joel Kotkin

Disseminating information that doesn’t withstand scrutiny seems to be characteristic of author Joel Kotkin.

Green Community

Edited by Susan Piedmont-Palladino and Timothy Mennel
Despite its shaky start, there’s a lot of engaging or instructive material here.

Public Produce: The New Urban Agriculture

By Darrin Nordahl

Nordahl, who was trained as a landscape architect, believes the relationship of cities to agriculture is ripe for rethinking.

The Architectural Jewels of Rochester, New Hampshire: A History of the Built Environment

By Michael Behrendt
The town’s planner for the past 14 years, new urbanist Michael Behrendt adeptly uses Rochester’s architecture as a springboard to a larger topic: the making of good communities wherever they happen to be.

New Urbanism: Best Practices Guide

The definitive reference for new urban ideas, practices, and projects

The SmartCode Version 9 and Manual

A seminal work of the New Urbanism, now only $59! (Network subscribers get an additional 10 percent discount).