Laws of the Landscape - How Policies Shape Cities in Europe and America

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For decades, concerns have been raised about the consequences of relentless suburban expansion in the United States. But so far, government programs to control urban sprawl have had little effect in slowing it down, much less stopping it. In this book, Pietro S. Nivola raises important questions about the continued suburbanization of America: Is suburban growth just the result of market forces, or have government policies helped induce greater sprawl? How much of the government intervention has been undesirable, and what has been beneficial? And, if suburban growth is to be controlled, what changes in public policies would be not only effective, but practical?Nivola addresses these questions by comparing sprawling U.S. metropolitan areas to compact development patterns in Europe. He contrasts the effects of traditional urban programs, as well as accidental urban policies that have a profound if commonly unrecognized impact on cities, including national tax systems, energy conservation efforts, agricultural supports, and protection from international commerce.Nivola also takes a hard look at the traditional solutions of U.S. urban policy agenda involving core-area reconstruction projects, mass transit investments, smart growth controls, and metropolitan organizational rearrangements, and details the reasons why they often don't work. He concludes by recommending reforms for key U.S. policies -- from taxes to transportation to federal regulations -- based on the successes and failures of the European experience..

by: Pietro S. Nivola

Books : Laws of the Landscape: How Policies Shape Cities in Europe and America (Brookings Metro Series)

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 307.760973
EAN: 9780815760818
ISBN: 0815760817
Label: Brookings Institution Press
Manufacturer: Brookings Institution Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 126
Publication Date: 1999-03
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Sales Rank: 742577
Studio: Brookings Institution Press

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Book Description:
For decades, concerns have been raised about the consequences of relentless suburban expansion in the United States. But so far, government programs to control urban sprawl have had little effect in slowing it down, much less stopping it. In this book, Pietro S. Nivola raises important questions about the continued suburbanization of America: Is suburban growth just the result of market forces, or have government policies helped induce greater sprawl? How much of the government intervention has been undesirable, and what has been beneficial? And, if suburban growth is to be controlled, what changes in public policies would be not only effective, but practical? Nivola addresses these questions by comparing sprawling U.S. metropolitan areas to compact development patterns in Europe. He contrasts the effects of traditional urban programs, as well as "accidental urban policies" that have a profound if commonly unrecognized impact on cities, including national tax systems, energy conservation efforts, agricultural supports, and protection from international commerce. Nivola also takes a hard look at the traditional solutions of U.S. urban policy agenda involving core-area reconstruction projects, mass transit investments, "smart" growth controls, and metropolitan organizational rearrangements, and details the reasons why they often don't work. He concludes by recommending reforms for key U.S. policies--from taxes to transportation to federal regulations--based on the successes and failures of the European experience. Brookings Metropolitan Series

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- Urban Husbandry
Urban Husbandry BY DENNIS MCCARTHY One of the defining trends of the last half of the 20th century was the collapse of America's cities. For those of us who love cities and see suburbia as the death of culture, this trend has had apocalyptic overtones. Fortunately, however, after decades of white flight, poor planning, misspent policies, and urban neglect, our nation's cities-some of them, at least-are coming back to life. How and why is not always clear, which makes replicating the successes ... Read More

Rating:

- Laws of the Landscape : How Policies Shape Cities
The author does contain some flaws in his logic and reasoning that sometimes stick out too much, but as for a good book on an overview of America's "suburbia" situation, I would suggest this item because it is a quick and thorough read that provides the reader with a good synopsis of many of the issues American suburban city planning deals with.

Some of the possible alternatives for better city management hit me as a tad bit too idealistic and I felt Nivola's novel was written ... Read More

Rating:

- Good on how, bad on why
The purpose of this book was apparently to explain why European cities are healthier than American ones. Nivola does a good job of this: he lists not only the usual suspects like highways, but also the American tax system (which encourages consumption at the expense of work and saving, and thus encourages heavy consumption of gasoline and thus driving, while European systems tax consumption more heavily) and unfunded mandates that burden city governments and thus degrade city services.

But ... Read More

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