or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
53 used & new from $0.59
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Cities in the Wilderness: A New Vision of Land Use in America
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

Cities in the Wilderness: A New Vision of Land Use in America (Hardcover)

~ Bruce Babbitt (Author) "IN SOUTH FLORIDA, hurricanes are the prime movers of land use planning..." (more)
Key Phrases: Las Vegas, Endangered Species Act, Grand Canyon (more...)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
Price: $25.95 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want it delivered Thursday, February 11? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
16 new from $4.75 29 used from $0.59 8 collectible from $19.94

Formats

 Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover $25.95   $4.75 $0.59
Paperback $14.93   $14.17 $15.89
Audio, CD, Audiobook, CD --   -- --

Frequently Bought Together

Cities in the Wilderness: A New Vision of Land Use in America + The Agony of an American Wilderness: Loggers, Environmentalists, and the Struggle for Control of a Forgotten Forest + Interpreting Our Heritage
Price For All Three: $65.75

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Cities in the Wilderness: A New Vision of Land Use in America by Bruce E. Babbitt

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details

  • The Agony of an American Wilderness: Loggers, Environmentalists, and the Struggle for Control of a Forgotten Forest by Samuel A. Macdonald

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details

  • Interpreting Our Heritage by Freeman Tilden

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Agony of an American Wilderness: Loggers, Environmentalists, and the Struggle for Control of a Forgotten Forest

The Agony of an American Wilderness: Loggers, Environmentalists, and the Struggle for Control of a Forgotten Forest

by Samuel A. Macdonald
$28.95
Interpreting Our Heritage

Interpreting Our Heritage

by Freeman Tilden
3.9 out of 5 stars (8)  $10.85
Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems: Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems: Science, Technology, and Public Policy

by Committee on Restoration Public Policy
Eco-Pioneers: Practical Visionaries Solving Today's Environmental Problems

Eco-Pioneers: Practical Visionaries Solving Today's Environmental Problems

by Steve Lerner
4.5 out of 5 stars (2)  $25.65
Making Spatial Decisions Using GIS, Level 4 (Our World GIS Education)

Making Spatial Decisions Using GIS, Level 4 (Our World GIS Education)

by Kathryn Keranen
$32.97
› Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Babbitt served as secretary of the interior from 1993 to 2001, which put him at the helm during the infamous spotted owl controversy. In this refreshingly to-the-point and commonsensical account of the formulation of major land-use initiatives and assessment of the thorny thicket of science and politics from which pioneering environmental policies must emerge, Babbitt traces his journey from bewilderment to a clear vision of the need for productive partnerships between local and federal authorities to ensure a balance between development and conservation. Babbitt shares his unique and invaluable experience and perspective in lively and illuminating assessments of such environmental successes as the Everglades Forever Act, nature preserves, restored tallgrass prairies, and dismantled dams. He is especially enlightening in his discussion of "agricultural sprawl" and water pollution. We need to advocate for "smart growth," Babbitt writes, so that "we maintain natural space that supports wildlife, provides clear streams, and retains the ecological functioning of the land." Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description

In this brilliant, gracefully written, and important new book, former Secretary of the Interior and Governor of Arizona Bruce Babbitt brings fresh thought to questions of how we can build a future we want to live in.

We’ve all experienced America’s changing natural landscape as the integrity of our forests, seacoasts, and river valleys succumbs to strip malls, new roads, and subdivisions. Too often, we assume that when land is developed it is forever lost to the natural world--or hope that a patchwork of local conservation strategies can somehow hold up against further large-scale development.

In Cities in the Wilderness, Bruce Babbitt makes the case for why we need a national vision of land use. We may have a space program, he points out, but here at home we don’t have an open-space policy that can balance the needs for human settlement and community with those for preservation of the natural world upon which life depends. Yet such a balance, the author demonstrates, is as remarkably achievable as it is necessary. This is no call for developing a new federal bureaucracy; Babbitt shows instead how much can be--and has been--done by making thoughtful and beneficial use of laws and institutions already in place.

Babbitt draws on his extensive experience to take us behind the scenes negotiating the Florida Everglades restoration project, the largest ever authorized by Congress. In California, we discover how the Endangered Species Act has been employed to restore regional habitat. In the Midwest, we see how new World Trade Organization regulations might be used to help restore Iowa’s farmlands and rivers. As a key architect of many environmental success stories, Babbitt reveals how broad restoration projects have thrived through federal- state partnerships and how their principles can be extended to other parts of the country.

In this inspiring and informative book, Babbitt offers a vision of land use as grand as the country’s natural heritage.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Island Press; 1 edition (August 26, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1559630930
  • ISBN-13: 978-1559630931
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #551,282 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #38 in  Books > Professional & Technical > Law > Administrative Law > Land Use
    #38 in  Books > Nonfiction > Law > Administrative Law > Land Use

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

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

› Visit Amazon's Bruce E. Babbitt Page
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
IN SOUTH FLORIDA, hurricanes are the prime movers of land use planning. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Las Vegas, Endangered Species Act, Grand Canyon, Los Angeles, San Diego, Antiquities Act, Lake Okeechobee, Army Corps of Engineers, United States, Clean Water Act, President Clinton, Chesapeake Bay, Orange County, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Park Service, White House, Bureau of Reclamation, Environmental Protection Agency, Colorado River, Pacific Northwest, Sierra Nevada, Theodore Roosevelt, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, Des Moines
New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 25 books:
See all 25 books this book cites

Books on Related Topics (learn more)
 
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Cities in the Wilderness: A New Vision of Land Use in America
95% buy the item featured on this page:
Cities in the Wilderness: A New Vision of Land Use in America 4.4 out of 5 stars (10)
$25.95
Environmental Land Use Planning and Management
2% buy
Environmental Land Use Planning and Management 4.3 out of 5 stars (6)
$63.38
Environmental Politics and Policy, 7th Edition (Environmental Politics & Policy)
2% buy
Environmental Politics and Policy, 7th Edition (Environmental Politics & Policy) 3.7 out of 5 stars (3)
$46.75
Explore similar items

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
 
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more
 

Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, an environmental book that offers a clear alternative..., September 30, 2005
By David Rogers (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
Finally, an environmental book that offers a clear alternative to misty-eyed, ain't-that-wondrous, nature books and apocalyptic, end-of-the-world environmental wake-up calls. As well laid-out as a textbook, it describes five regions of the country in various stages of environmental decay, the pragmatic steps taken to restore them, the political forces at play, and the actual results of the efforts.

Non-ideological in tone, the book draws the reader into each situation by describing the environmental stakes, but the real payoff is the fascinating details about how major environmental advances are actually put together. One of the surprises for this reviewer is the ambivalent role played by environmental groups, who appear often as antagonists to the final deal; another was the minimal amount of criticism of the current administration, with even that amount given with more sorrow than venom. But perhaps I should have expected that; the author is too busy convincing us of his vision of ecosystem management using Federal land-use policy to be distracted by cheap score-settling. And lest phrases like "Federal land-use policy" make this book sound like a think-tank report, the sweeping descriptions of our American lands and how we use them were gorgeous, and reminiscent of the best writings of Aldo Leopold.

There were a few topics I wish the author could have covered. His book illustrates again and again the importance of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in motivating land-use agreements; more discussion of the growing property rights movement and its attempts to change the ESA would have been topical. And given the ambivalent role played by environment groups, discussion of the best and worst of them, and how they could better achieve their goals, would have been useful. But overall, it was a great and refreshing read; it's about time for an environmental book to offer us, not just a tour of the troubles, but a clear and compelling path to get beyond them.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A shot in the arm for the environmental movement, September 27, 2005
By Helen Pelletier (Portland, ME) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is a fantastic book: a look backward at what large-scale land preservation projects have and haven't worked, and a look forward at what we need to do, as a country, to protect and preserve the land. And it isn't a dry tome. Babbitt can actually write: the book is full of compelling, dramatic stories.

There aren't many figures on the environmental scene who command national attention, and Babbitt is one of them. He put his stamp on the Clinton era's efforts to make a difference in land preservation, and his book is a fascinating glimpse into how that all happened -- and how we can continue to craft, with the engaged participation of the feds, new projects that keep the wilderness wild.

There probably isn't anyone better qualified than Babbitt to give the 30,000-foot perspective on how the messy arts of environmental protection and politics combine. He talks about projects in New Jersey, in Florida, in the Midwest, in the Southwest, in the Northwest -- the guy has clearly spent a lot of time thinking about what's in common among the Everglades, the Pine Barrens, the Colorado desert, etc. And what they have in common -- the successful projects, that is -- is a coming-together of many diverse interests that are willing to fight it out as they lurch towards their goal of protecting tens or hundreds of thousands of acres.

A central question of the book is why we don't demand that the federal government be thinking about, and engaged in, land use. As he says, we already have a federal role in land use policy, it's just that we call it the National Parks system, or the Army Corps of Engineers, or federal dollars to rebuild, etc. What we need is a pro-active, forward-looking federal position, rather than a reactive, responsive one.

This is an important book, and a fun one to read.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Sharing the Land, December 19, 2005
Here, Bruce Babbitt describes how existing laws can be used to achieve success in the preservation and conservation of wild lands, with little need for huge new bodies of law or impossible political crusades. Babbitt describes with real authority and experience how statutes like the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and even the Antiquities Act can be used to protect wilderness and recreational areas from uncontrolled sprawl and development. Babbitt also has some important insights into the use of public opinion and finding the true political motivations of local officials who may initially be hostile to environmentalist endeavors, and he also has great ideas about the protection of areas not usually associated with beauty and nature, such as the prairies of the Midwest. However, despite Babbitt's experience at the highest echelons of government, this book doesn't have too many more practical applications than any other well-written book on subjects like sustainable development or wilderness preservation. That's because his stories about some specific successes during the Clinton administration can't really be applied to a generalist "new vision" of land use, though Babbitt has certainly tried to create such a grand insight while writing the book. Also, there are issues with the on-the-ground enforcement of existing laws and overcoming the ignorant anti-Federal hostility that is quickly spreading across America, and Babbitt's take on these particular issues is pretty idealistic. This book describes very well a few success stories, but the enlightening "new vision" for all of America doesn't quite come to fruition. [~doomsdayer520~]
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Cities in the Wilderness
I recently met Bruce Babbitt at a conservation conference and was impressed with his knowledge of natural areas and even more so with his attempts to keep these areas 'natural'... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Glenda A. Simmons

3.0 out of 5 stars babbitt always knows best
Bruce Babbitt continues to labor under the self deception that he know best in determining the future of the "common people" his ideas always consume like serfs found to be... Read more
Published on January 9, 2007 by Tim L. Findley

4.0 out of 5 stars Rational Thoughts on a Typically Irrational Topic
Babbitt begins by telling us that relentless building of highways have spearheaded landscape destruction as land speculators and developers follow. Read more
Published on June 22, 2006 by Loyd E. Eskildson

4.0 out of 5 stars A good prescription for a "realistic" 21st century environmentalism
I use "realistic" in scare quotes as an alternative to "idealistic" environmentalism without commenting on the moral value or desirability of either approach... Read more
Published on April 11, 2006 by Stephen J. Snyder

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Review
Cities in the Wilderness
By Bruce Babbitt

Book Review
By Dan Warren

In today's republican political arena with the Bush administrations... Read more
Published on March 23, 2006 by Daniel J. Warren Jr.

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read About Land Use
I enjoyed reading about bruce Babbit's interpretation of where land use should focus in the years to come. Read more
Published on March 17, 2006 by L. Davis

5.0 out of 5 stars A Strong Message with Subtle Eloquence
I have just finished reading Cities in the Wilderness: A New Vision of Land Use in America (Island Press), a collection of five essays book-ended by a prologue and epilogue by... Read more
Published on December 13, 2005 by Simmons B. Buntin

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   

So You'd Like to...

Create a guide

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Look for Similar Items by Category

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:































i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...
 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.