Tag Archives: urbanism

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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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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The Great Good Place

Posted on June 24, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Great Good Place: Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and the Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community© 1989 Ray Oldenburg336 pages In Our Oriental Heritage, Will Durant wrote that man is not willingly a political animal, … 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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It’s a Sprawl World After All

Posted on April 25, 2012 by smellincoffee

It’s a Sprawl World After All: the Human Cost of Unplanned Growth — and Visions of a Better Future©  2005 Douglas E. Morris245 pages Shortly after the Second World War, the United States completely changed its approach to urbanism.  Abandoning … Continue reading →

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Asphalt Nation

Posted on February 14, 2012 by smellincoffee

Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take It Back© 1997 Jane Holtz Kay418 pages Lord, Mister Ford, I just wish you could see what your simple horseless carriage has become! It seems your contribution … Continue reading →

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