The Option of Urbanism: Investing in a New American Dream
Selected Book Details
- Paperback
- Author: Christopher B. Leinberger
- Publisher: Island Press
- Release Date: July 2009
- ISBN-10: 1597261378
- ISBN-13: 9781597261371
- List Price: $19.95
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryHighlighting bo (20080201) |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
A fair treatment of urbanism and suburbanism
Rating:
I've drank the urbanist Kool-Aid, for sure. However, I was very pleased that this book presents both sides of the argument between walkable urbanism and driveable suburbanism. The author, who is a real estate developer and expert, goes through the benefits and drawbacks of each with some fairness, though he seems to prefer the urbanism argument.
I particularly liked his framing of the situation in terms of demographics, social policy, and long term effects, and how he posits that perhaps we've gone too far down the suburban path and need to swing back toward walkable urbanism. His arguments describe how Wall Street, large developers, and government policy lead us toward suburban development, and why urban areas are so expensive (longer term building timelines, more expensive land, and most of all, lack of supply.)
I highly recommend this for anyone unfamiliar with walkable urbanism, or who might be interested in why our built environment is the way it is. It's a pretty short book but well written and researched, and certainly more even-handed than Kunstler or Kotkin.
Insightful and Challenging Review of the Modern American Landscape
Rating:
Mr. Leinberger offers a thoughtful, challenging--sometimes disturbing--review of the forces have come together to create America's contemporary built environment. You will never look at the landscape around you again in quite the same way. Very informative and thought-provoking!!
Visionary!
Rating:
This book could very well be the `Death and Life of Great American Cities' of the 21st century!
The author, a specialist in real estate development and not in urban planning, explains how government policies and standardized real estate products have supported the growth of drivable suburbia over the past decades.
He demonstrates with refreshing arguments that `walkable urbanism' is actually favoured by a large portion of the population and challenges the market and governments to respond accordingly.
This concise, well-written eye-opener is light-years away from the rehashed New Urbanism discourses and should absolutely be read by all concerned with the future of our cities!
A New turn for the Old
Rating: 
Christopher B. Leinberger's book put a name to a desire I have had in my search to find a new home. I wanted a place where my family had the option of walking to most of the day to day places we tend to visit - school, post office, drug store, grocery store, barber, dry cleaning, coffee shop, bookstore, etc. It turns out the name for this is "walkable urbanism" - it's a return to an older time (pre-car) neighborhood, in terms of property value it has a premium compared to drivable suburbanism and there is a small movement making it more popular.
This book from a real estate professional offers a logical and positive view of "walkable urbanism" without bashing drivable suburbanism that has dominated the landscape for the past fifty years. It provides a historical context to how we got to where we are and why the next phase will be a return to "walkable urbanism". The benefits to mitigating climate change and eliminating dependence on foreign oil are obvious. However the additional benefits of personal health and feeling a part of a community are also just as appealing.
Return to the cities
Rating:
In _The Option of Urbanism_, Christopher Leinberger documents the history of both urban ("walkable urbanism") and suburban ("drivable sub-urbanism") settings. Before WW II, most people lived in cities and towns where most of their needs (shopping, etc.) could be met via a short walk, or perhaps, with public transportation.
After the war, the big swing was to the suburbs, due to several factors. Government and financial-institution policies tended to favor the suburbs, freeways, single-family housing and shopping malls....and discouraged any meaningful pro-urban development--at least until very recently. Nowadays there is a considerable demand for more dense housing, with destinations within walking distance.
Although Leinberger is very much in favor of urbanism, he does talk about some problems with it (affordability/gentrification is a big issue with some of the newer urban developments). Neither does he call for the suburbs to cease to exist, although he warns that some suburban developments may be hurt by the shift to the cities, rising gas prices, etc. (This book was written right before the current mortgage and gas price crises, and we're starting to see their effects on certain suburban areas as I write this)
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