BOOK REVIEWS
Books are important. CharacterTowns.org selects and discusses current publications and works from previous generations that still hold wisdom for contemporary city-building. The review also includes published reviews and Youtube links to discussions by or about the author. Books are selected from the attached Suggested Readings.
The Seamless City
Mayor Baker, through his leadership, has experienced the transformation of an old-style town to a vibrant 21st century city with […]
The Small Town Planning Handbook
The Small Town Planning Handbook [2007].
This Handbook is very useful for all towns, and specifically for small towns. The contents include chapters on strategy, comprehensive planning, economic development planning, neighborhoods, downtowns and special districts covering all the relevant physical dimensions of city and town planning.
The Smart Enough City: Putting Technology in Its Place to Reclaim Our Urban Future (Strong Ideas) by Ben Green
Implications for Character Towns: Be Careful. Character towns are usually smart cities. The smart enough city: putting technology in its […]
The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces
The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces is Mr. William H. Whyte’s classic study of small urban spaces and the things […]
The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William H. Whyte,
As Mr. Whyte describes, his book is a “pre-book”. His intent was to conduct his research fronted by his Street […]
The Swamp, The Everglades, Florida and the Politics of Paradise by Michael Grunwald
Chapter One, Grassy Water “The First 300 Million Years (Abridged)”, p14. “The Everglades showed up…around the time the Egyptians started […]
The Third Wave; The Classic Study of the Future.
Character towns can benefit from Toffler’s work.The Third Wave; The Classic Study of the Future was written by Alvin Toffler […]
The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells
FROM AMAZON…“It is worse, much worse, than you think. If your anxiety about global warming is dominated by fears of […]
The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability–Designing for Abundance
Sustainable development is surpassed by the ideas in The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability–Designing for Abundance by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, their […]
The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability–Designing for Abundance by William McDonough and Michael Braungart
William McDonough is the best thinker and doer of our age. His work with Michael Braungart on Cradle to Cradle followed by […]