May 5, 2005
why restore (part 2)
I’ve been reading The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America’s Man-Made Landscape by James Howard Kunstler.
From the author’s site:
In The Geography of Nowhere, James Howard Kunstler gives voice to the feelings of countless Americans unhappy with “the tragic sprawlscape of cartoon architecture, junked cities, and ravaged countryside” where we live and work. Kunstler argues that the mess we’ve made of our everyday environment is not merely the symptom of a troubled culture, but one of the primary causes of our troubles. “We created a landscape of scary places, and we became a nation of scary people.”
Rather than try to restate it, let me say that there is a good write-up of the content of the book here (“I found myself putting this book down while reading it, and reflecting how his observations about what makes a community work have been present (or not) in my own life.”).
My big take-away from the reading is a new understanding of how and the suburbs that developed before cars (like my neighborhood) are different from later developments. This book gives background to the differences between urban/town neighborhoods and the suburbs, and some reading into how this affects the community of each.
Sounds like an interesting book. Our older neighbourhood is being revitalized, there are a lot of shops within walking distance, some restaurants. A lot of people are fixing up old houses, since the land values are so high. The downtown of our city has a lot of residential, it just makes it so much more livible. Cities that are ghost towns at night are scary places.
Sounds very interesting. And makes a case for proper planning and making livable environments for healthy and happy people. I am going to check it out. Thanks.
Great book to read - one of the books that got me to quit my job and go to school to study planning and urban design! You might also try Suburban Nation by Duany, Plater-Zyberk, and Speck.