The Zoning of America: Euclid V. Ambler (Landmark Law Cases and American Society) (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: first oral argument, comprehensive zoning ordinance, zoning case, Supreme Court, Ambler Realty, Village of Euclid (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"After 80 years, Euclid v. Ambler is still the case that defines American land use jurisprudence. Wolf tells a great story, brilliantly showing the intersection of law, politics, and culture." -- Lance Liebman

Product Description

When the Cleveland suburb of Euclid first zoned its land in 1922, the Ambler Realty Company was left with a sizable tract it could no longer sell for industrial use--and so the company sued. What emerged was the seminal zoning case in American history, pitting reformers against private property advocates in the Supreme Court and raising the question of whether a municipality could deny property owners the right to use their land however they chose.

Reconstructing the case that made zoning a central element in urban planning for cities and towns throughout America, Michael Allan Wolf provides the first book-length study of the Supreme Court's landmark Euclid v. Ambler decision. Wolf describes how the ordinance, and the defense of it, burst onto the national stage and became the focus of litigation before moving all the way to the nation's highest court. He subsequently reveals how and why Justice George Sutherland broke from the Court's conservative bloc to support the urban reform movement eager to protect residential neighborhoods from disturbances created by rapidly expanding commercial, industrial, or multifamily uses of land. Following that decision, America saw the rapid proliferation of zoning ordinances, which greatly increased the power of local government to control and rationalize urban planning.

As Wolf attests, many of today's environmental and land use laws might not have been deemed legal had Euclid v. Ambler been decided differently. But he also points out the potential dangers that emerged from the decision, such as its anticompetitive impact on the real estate market, its catalyzing effect on suburban sprawl, and its establishment of a legal basis for excluding minority groups from neighborhoods.

Wolf's compelling account makes it clear that Euclid v. Ambler fundamentally altered how we think about the urban landscape, changed the way our cities and suburbs are organized, and left a long shadow over subsequent cases such as the controversial Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. New London (2005).

This book is part of the Landmark Law Cases and American Society series.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Kansas (August 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0700616217
• ISBN-13: 978-0700616213
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #723,879 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars You may have to be a zoning lawyer to enjoy it but . . ., May 25, 2009

By	G. A. Dean (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Zoning of America: Euclid V. Ambler (Landmark Law Cases and American Society) (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book about the most important zoning case in the 20th Century, well ever really. It probably helps if you are an attorney, and a land use attorney at that, but it's a good read, well presented and interesting. The discussion of how the rehearing before the Supreme Court came about, the Bettman brief and the activities of the attorneys for the parties are all illuminating. A good read!