The American City: What Works and What Doesn't [Hardcover]

Alexander Garvin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0070229198 | ISBN-13: 978-0070229198 | Publication Date: October 1, 1995 | Edition: 1st

An exploration of the forces that shape - and misshape - the cities of America. Many individual case studies and examples are included. The book also features information on zoning law and the legal concepts behind land-use regulation, as well as including examples of the "Comprehensive Plan".

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Garvin has served on various urban planning and development commissions in New York City and has taught an American cities course at Yale for nearly 30 years. He brings both working and teaching perspectives to this lively, well-illustrated, multidisciplinary history of two centuries of city planning. Garvin analyzes more than 250 projects and programs in 100 cities, assessing, as his subtitle indicates, what works and what has failed. The main thrust of much of Garvin's well-reasoned and carefully documented overview is a defense of urban planning; he believes that controversies over unsuccessful redevelopment projects have generated cynicism and negativity out of proportion to the facts. Many plans have succeeded in cities such as Chicago, Pittsburgh, Portland, and Charleston, and Garvin is eager to identify and celebrate them. He evaluates parks, monumental public structures (e.g., libraries, museums, and convention centers), and large-scale redevelopment projects. Garvin also discusses subsidized housing, planned communities, suburban development, rehabbing, and historic preservation. This is a vital resource for everyone interested in cities. Donna Seaman

Review

What urban and suburban projects have succeeded in this country? Which have failed and why? Garvin's title is technical but essential to any studying city planning at the college level: chapters outline urban planning and design practices, revealing changes in government policies and perspectives and providing a comprehensive review of changing housing and environmental concerns across the country. -- Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 491 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1st edition (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070229198
• ISBN-13: 978-0070229198
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,821,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive modern planning manual...newly updated, September 8, 2002

By 

David S. Rose (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American City : What Works, What Doesn't (Hardcover)

There is a very good reason that Garvin's The American City has become required reading for most of the major urban affairs programs across the country: it stands alone as the definitive book on practical urban planning as we enter the 21st century. The first edition of this book, released in 1995, was a breath of fresh air in the field as it avoided emotional polemics in favor of thorough, pragmatic analyses of virtually every aspect of urban planning. This new, 560 page edition builds on the strengths of the original but has been substantially updated. It now includes coverage of the effects of stadiums and entertainment centers, BIDs, environmental factors, and much more. It has also been updated with the latest statistical information and additional stunning photos, as well as follow-ups on the projects originally covered in the first edition.

Garvin himself is uniquely qualified to write this book. For over thirty years he has taught Yale University's Introduction to the Study of the City course, while remaining busy as an architect, real estate developer and Director of Comprehensive Planning for the City of New York. After the publication of the original edition he became the Managing Director for Planning of New York's bid to host the 2012 Olympics (which was just selected as one of the finalists), and this year he was chosen to head up the complete rebuilding of the World Trade Center site after September 11 as the Vice President for Planning, Design and Construction of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

If you have any interest whatsoever in the history, design, or improvement of America's urban landscape, this is the book to get. As Paul Goldberger, the former architecture critic of the New York Times has written: "I will read it again and again, sometimes from front to back, sometimes from back to front, sometimes to page through at a random, sometimes to consult and help me with a particular problem. I guarantee dog-eared pages within a year."

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive work on urban planning for this generation, June 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The American City: What Works and What Doesn't (Hardcover)

Alex Garvin has functioned singlehandedly as the entire Urban Planning department at Yale University for over twenty years, while serving at various times as the Director of Comprehensive Planning for the City of New York, a member of the New York City Planning Commission, an expert for the Urban Land Institute, a real estate developer and the facilities analyst for New York's bid for the Olympics. This book is his masterwork, providing an expanded version of his Yale course illustrated with hundreds of examples drawn (and photographed) from cities all over America.

Without question, if you are going to get only one book dealing with the problems and solutions of contemporary urban development, this MUST be it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How cities work--an interdisciplinary approach, September 26, 2002

By 

Dead Parrot "deadparrotnyc" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The American City : What Works, What Doesn't (Hardcover)

When Alexander Garvin's "The American City" was first published in 1996, it fast became a classic text in universities all over the country in the study of the city. Because it is an incredibly rich and profoundly insightful interdisciplinary exploration of all aspects of the planning of cities, it has been eagerly embraced by students of architecture, planning, urban studies, government, finance, and even sociology. Because it is so compelling written and marvelously accessible, however, it has also become a beloved book by lay people interested in any and every aspect of what determines the life and success of the created environment in which they live.

Since most of the original edition was actually completed by 1990, it did not include the last decade of development in the fast-changing world of urban thinking. In this second edition, Mr. Garvin brings his study of the city into the twenty-first century, including examples, issues, and trends that did not exist at the time the first edition was written. More strikingly, however, he has also succeeded in reorganizing and restating his original material-sometimes subtly, and sometimes more extensively-in even more powerful and effective ways. But whether it is the almost completely new chapter on Retail Shopping, or the only mostly preserved gem from the first edition on Parks and Playgrounds, all of the clarity and vitality so characteristic of Mr. Garvin's writing are enhanced in this new edition. The new edition also features numerous new photographs-a particular treat to the many readers who especially appreciate the masterful way he has illustrated his points with visual images, virtually all taken by Mr. Garvin himself. (Since he is firmly committed to the principle that one actually has to experience and explore in person the environments one is studying, the author makes sure to use images that reflect his own personal vision, which fortunately for us is as artistically pleasing as it is intellectually informative.)

Whether one wishes to understand the history of American cities, learn the principles of real estate development, research the trends in government involvement in housing and urban renewal, get insight into why particular undertakings in particular cities worked or failed, or, most excitingly, sense the incredible complexity and interaction of all those forces (historical, political, architectural, legislative, sociological, economic, etc.) that determine and describe the life of the city, this book is a must-read-and one that is as enjoyable as it is informative and enlightening.