Tag Archives: cities

Crabgrass Frontier

Posted on October 3, 2013 by smellincoffee

Crabgrass Frontier:  The Suburbanization of the United States© 1985 Kenneth Jackson432 pages For thousands of years, people lived in either the country or the city, but with the coming of the industrial revolution that changed, and especially in America.   … Continue reading →

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Edens Lost and Found

Posted on July 7, 2013 by smellincoffee

Edens Lost and Found: How Ordinary Citizens are Restoring Our Great American Cities©  2006 Harry Wiland, Dale Bell,  Joseph D’Agnes285 pages I can hear Atlanta crying loud as she looks for hope and change / but we can’t count on … Continue reading →

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Straphanger

Posted on April 6, 2013 by smellincoffee

Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile336 pages© 2012 Taras Grescoe The cheap energy era is over, unless someone invents a Star Trek replicator that can magick barrels of oil into existence. Cities across the world are working … Continue reading →

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Pedaling Revolution

Posted on March 25, 2013 by smellincoffee

Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities© 2009 Jeff Mapes288 pages That’s some serious wind resistance there, buddy. Governments across the world today are beset by problems common to all: rising fuel prices and obesity rates, the ever-present spectre … Continue reading →

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This week at the library: bikes, Arab sheikhs, Christian urbanism, and marriage

Posted on March 6, 2013 by smellincoffee

What kind of car would Jesus drive? And he certainly would have to drive, were he to initiate a ministry in 21st century America, for it is an place impossible to navigate otherwise.  The Space Between: A Christian Engagement with the Built … Continue reading →

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Walkable Cities

Posted on January 31, 2013 by smellincoffee

Walkable Cities: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time© 2012 Jeff Speck312 pages   For most of human history, cities were limited to the area that people could cover on foot within a day, but the advent … Continue reading →

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Home from Nowhere

Posted on January 30, 2013 by smellincoffee

Home from Nowhere: Remaking Our Everyday World for the 21st Century© 1998 James Howard Kunstler320 pages “History doesn’t believe anybody’s advertising.” (p.1) James Howard Kunstler penned The Geography of Nowhere in an attempt to answer the question: why is America … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Building Strong Towns

Posted on October 20, 2012 by smellincoffee

Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume I© 2012 Chuck Marohn174 pages$9.95  In California, school districts are being forced to suspend their bus routes. In Alabama,  Jefferson County – home to the state’s largest city, Birmingham – has gone bankrupt. Basic … Continue reading →

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The Green Metropolis

Posted on June 30, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are the Keys to Sustainability© 2009 David Owen357 pages Green is probably not the word that comes to mind at the mention of Manhattan, but to David Owen, few … Continue reading →

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Suburban Nation

Posted on June 2, 2012 by smellincoffee

Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream© 2000, 2010 Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck294 pages Compare a modern American city to its European counterparts, or even an older American city, and the … Continue reading →

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