The Limitless City: A Primer on the Urban Sprawl Debate [Paperback]

Oliver Gillham (Author), Alex S. MacLean (Photographer)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1559638338 | ISBN-13: 978-1559638333 | Publication Date: March 1, 2002 | Edition: 1

One of the great debates of our time concerns the predominant form of land use in America today -- the all too familiar pattern of commercial and residential development known as sprawl. But what do we really know about sprawl? Do we know what it is? Where did it come from? Is it really so bad? If so, what are the alternatives? Can anything be done to make it better? "The Limitless City" offers an accessible examination of those and related questions. Oliver Gillham, an architect and planner with more than twenty-five years of experience in the field, considers the history and development of sprawl and examines current debates about the issue. The book: offers a comprehensive definition of sprawl in America traces the roots of sprawl and considers the factors that led to its preeminence as an urban and suburban form reviews both its negative impacts (loss of open space, increased pollution, gridlock) as well as its positive aspects (economic development, personal freedom, privacy) considers responses to sprawl including "smart growth," urban growth boundaries, regional planning, and the New Urbanism looks at what can be done to improve and counterbalance sprawl The author argues that whether we like it or not, sprawl is here to stay, and only by understanding where it came from and why it developed will we be able to successfully address the problems it has created and is likely to create in the future. "The Limitless City" is the first book to provide a realistic look at sprawl, with a frank recognition of its status as the predominant urban form in America, now and into the near future. Rather than railing against it, Gillham charts its probable future course while describing criticalefforts that can be undertaken to improve the future of sprawl and our existing urban core areas.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Policy makers would do well to keep The Limitless City within reach. -- The Boston Globe, 5/31/02

The Limitless City is a sourcebook that should be on planners shelves or...in planning classes. -- New England Planning, July-August, 2002

The Limitless City...can serve as a literary template for how we might engage one another on...deeply polarizing matters. -- The Texas Observer, January 13, 2003

From the Inside Flap

"The Limitless City is the most thoughtful, comprehensive, and balanced book yet published on the issue of American sprawl. Every citizen who is concerned about the environmental and economic impact of our automobile-oriented civilization can find profit and pleasure in its pages."

-Kenneth T. Jackson, Barzun Professor of History at Columbia University and author of Crabgrass Frontier.

"The Limitless City provides a grimly fascinating history of the political, social and economic forces that created sprawl, describes the policies and practices that continue to encourage and even subsidize it, and offers valuable suggestions for loosening its destructive stranglehold on America."

-Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

"Oliver Gillham has done an excellent job of describing the current state of the sprawl debate in the United States. He provides a helpful synthesis of what we know about the origin, costs and consequences of sprawl and, more importantly, possible solutions and alternatives. The Limitless City is a useful and timely contribution to the growing literature on metropolitan growth dynamics."

- Bruce Katz, Senior Fellow and Director of the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy

"Oliver Gillham provides a wide-ranging introduction to land use and growth issues, illuminating the links between suburbanization, inner city health, and conservation of rural lands. His writing is lively and accessible to a general audience, and his interpretations are sure to spark new debates over public policy in this important arena."

-Professor Elizabeth Deakin, Director, UC Transportation Research Center, University of California, Berkeley

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Island Press; 1 edition (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559638338
• ISBN-13: 978-1559638333
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #671,695 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars somewhat balanced, unlike most books on the subject, January 15, 2004

By 

Michael Lewyn (Forest Hills, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Limitless City: A Primer on the Urban Sprawl Debate (Paperback)

The best and most unusual thing about this book is that it is more balanced than most: while most sprawl-related books are pure attacks or defenses (or are too superficial to adequately cover either side of the argument), Gillham gives a significant amount of space to the arguments, counter-arguments and counter-counter arguments on both sides (though on balance he is definitely more antisprawl than not). In addition, the book covers a wider range of issues than many sprawl related books; instead of being focused on quality of life issues (like most New Urbanist books are) or on environmental issues, Gillham goes into both. Also, Gillham discusses the political lineups on sprawl related issues: who's for changing the status quo, who defends sprawl and why.

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Limitless City, April 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Limitless City: A Primer on the Urban Sprawl Debate (Paperback)

This book delivers a thorough, unbiased and thoughtful approach to the problem of sprawl. The issues are clearly defined and the myths debunked when necessary. After reading this book, one feels that the problems and potential solutions can be grasped. The writing is clear,and concise and draws the reader through the complexities of the issues.