In his new book, the latest of his significant contributions to New Urbanism, Christopher Leinberger says American development comes in two basic patterns: "drivable sub-urbanism" and "walkable urbanism." Leinberger's aim is to show how these two kinds of development function and to expalain why it's in everyone's interest to make sure that walkable urbansim becomes more commonplace.
(Philip Langdon
New Urban News )
From Planetizen's Top 10 Books List, 2008. "The new American Dream presented in this quick and easy read is one similar to the American Dream of the past: a slower-paced and neighborhood-centric lifestyle."
(
Planetizen )
"In delightfully readable prose, Professor Leinberger overwhelms us with the advantages of development that is dense enough and mixed enough to make walking and transit worth it, while illuminating the unintended urban consequences of land use regulations, Wall Street finance, and the eleven o'clock news."
(Douglas Kelbaugh, FAIA, dean and professor of architecture and urban planning
University of Michigan, A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planni )
"Chris Leinberger has spent many years thinking about real estate economics and how our culture is affected by our built environment. This book offers a cogent argument for changing that environment to achieve more lasting values, both economic and cultural."
(Robert Davis
developer and founder of Seaside, Florida )
"Leinberger, a developer who teaches real estate at the University of Michigan, may be the boldest prophet of walkability anywhere."
(Alan Ehrenhalt
Governing magazine )
"The Option of Urbanism: Investing in a New American Dream is free of jargon and, more important, free of ideological resentments."
(
Planning )
"In this book, [Chris Leinberger] carefully explains the decisions that have made the 'drivable suburban' model the dominant one and highlights the obvious and unintended consequences that come from spending 35 percent of the nation's weatlh building in this way, to the virtual exclusion of other approaches."
(Ray Bert
Civil Engineering Journal )
"Christopher Leinberger, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution who has called for D.C. to revisit its building-height limits, tracks the politics that led to auto-based development and shows how developers and their financial backers can build more sustainable communities. He doesn't mince words."
(
Washington Business Journal )
"Leinberger isn't just a theoretician. He's a former new urbanist land developer. As he shows, if we're serious about reducing our car dependency, we need to go beyond making the personal decision to walk; we need to advocate for chagnes that will make walking a viable option for more Americans."
(Stacey Moncrieff
Realtor magazine )
"In The Option of Urbanism, Leinberger deftly shares his wealth of knowledge through the musings of a writer, the patience of an academic, and the technical abilities of an active developer. The book is straightforward and manages to be an enjoyable reading experience for just about anyone interested in where the developing landscape goes from here."
(Howard Kozloff
Urban Land magazine )
"The Option of Urbanism is a great read."
(John Calimente
Re:place online magazine )
"In The Option of Urbanism, Christopher B. Leinberger aims to present a happy alternative to the usual apocalyptic accounts of urban srpawl and its consequences."
(Jeanne Haffner
The Next American City )
"Leinberger, a developer who teaches real estate at the University of Michigan, may be the boldest prophet of walkability anywhere. 'The United States,' he writes, 'is on the verge of a new phase in constructing its built environment.'
(Alan Ehrenhalt
Governing magazine )
"Christopher B. Leinberger admirably chronicles the real estate industry's critical role in the evolving nature of the Americna Dream. Drawing equally from history, professional experience, research and pop culture, he makes a very readable case for the desirability and realization of the next American Dream - walkable urbanism. Reading his analysis reinvigorates my passion for the dynamic potential of our industry."
(Albert B. Ratner
co-chairman of the board of directors, Forest City Enterprises, Inc. )
“Could it possibly be that [metropolitan] Washington, for years bashed by politicians, its [city] population shrinking and, at one point, almost bankrupt, has become a model of how the entire nation might smartly develop in the 21st century? I never thought I'd see the day. But Christopher Leinberger… makes a startling case for it… in his book.”
(Neal Peirce
Washington Post Writers Group )
