Laws of the Landscape: How Policies Shape Cities in Europe and America

by Pietro S. Nivola

Book Overview

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For decades, concerns have been raised about the consequences of relentless suburban expansion in the United States. But so far, government programs to control urban sprawl have had little effect in slowing it down, much less stopping it. In this book, Pietro S. Nivola raises important questions about the continued suburbanization of America: Is suburban growth just the result of market forces, or have government policies helped induce greater...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0815760817
• ISBN13: 9780815760818
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Length: 142 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Laws of the Landscape : How Policies Shape Cities

The author does contain some flaws in his logic and reasoning that sometimes stick out too much, but as for a good book on an overview of America's "suburbia" situation, I would suggest this item because it is a quick and thorough read that provides the reader with a good synopsis of many of the issues American suburban city planning deals with.Some of the possible alternatives for better city management hit me as a tad bit too idealistic and I felt Nivola's novel was written more from a European point-of-view as opposed to an American realist. Case in point is just convincing the American public which has grown up since birth to seek the goal of a nice suburban house and car to suddenly switch to the inner-city. But as I mentioned earlier, agree or disagree, it's an interesting book that provides an excellent overview of suburban/urban policies considering it is a fast and short read. The section on government subsidization policies that have contributed to urban sprawl is a definite read.