Up Against The Sprawl: Public Policy And The Making Of Southern California [Paperback]

Jennifer Wolch (Author), Manuel Pastor Jr. (Contributor), Peter Dreier (Contributor), Manuel Pastor Jr. (Author), Peter Dreier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 2004

America's first truly twenty-first-century metropolis, Los Angeles is often depicted as diverse, fragmented, polarized, and ungovernable, a city without a unifying geographic center or civic culture. The sprawling evolution of the city and its infamous problems—traffic, pollution, growing inequality—are usually attributed to a Wild West version of capitalism—the triumph of an unregulated free market over comprehensive urban planning. But market choices and lack of planning did not set the terrain of Southern California: Los Angeles has been profoundly shaped by a wide range of local, state, and federal public policies and programs.

Up against the Sprawl details how governmental policies and public agencies have dictated many aspects of the region’s growth: infrastructure, transportation, housing, immigration, finances, civic and regional administration, the environment. The authors also argue that since public policy set the landscape, it can help forge the future. They explore countermovements by progressive activists to use innovative policies—from smart growth initiatives to the actions of living wage advocates—for greater social, economic, and environmental justice.

This book is a major contribution to our understanding of past and present urban processes and policy, and highlights practical lessons for urban and regional policy makers and activists in Los Angeles and beyond.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jennifer Wolch is professor of geography and director of the Center for Sustainable Cities at the University of Southern California. Manuel Pastor Jr. is professor of Latino and Latin American studies and director of the Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Peter Dreier is Clapp Distinguished Professor and director of the Urban and Environmental Policy Program at Occidental College. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press; 1 edition (August 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816642982
• ISBN-13: 978-0816642984
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #657,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Left-leaning policy wonks capitulate to smart growth for uncontrolled population, October 28, 2005

By 

James Safranek "Holocene Meltwater" (Steinbeck Country) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Up Against The Sprawl: Public Policy And The Making Of Southern California (Paperback)

The title says it all. Southern CA can't even plan for the EXISTING population and predicted births in the region--and these authors know it. This collection acknowledges, early on, the history of the population explosion in SoCal, yet none of the authors ( writing on topics like water supply, habitat protection, immigration, etc.) seriously come to grips with the need for a renewal of NO GROWTH policies in this region to protect resources and give current residents a hope for something better in their built and natural environments. The economist who wrote the chapter on immigration can't quite point out the obvious in his work: it does not matter if the people coming into SoCal are foreign immigrants or from other parts of the U.S., the carrying capacity (remember that planning concept from the late '70's ?)was exceded a long time ago. The book reluctantly--and foolishly-- touts 'smart growth' as a partial solution. One decade of drought in SoCal will show how ridiculous and short-sighted ANY proposals for growth in this region really are. When the planners, geographers and urban policy wonks in SoCal start to SERIOUSLY look at the issue of population and rid themselves of hyper-concern for racist ideologues who use demographics for politcal purposes, we can start to move out of the theoretical chaos that plagues books like this one. 3 stars for trying.