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 Great Good Places, Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community” by Ray Oldenburg
Summary. Ray Oldenburg defined a place that defines a community. “Third place” is a concept that serves small cities and […]
“The Great Good Places, Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community” by Ray Oldenburg
Summary. Ray Oldenburg defined a place that defines a community. “Third place” is a concept that serves small cities and towns well as […]
“The Great Lakes Water Wars” by Peter Annin
FROM AMAZON…The Great Lakes are the largest collection of fresh surface water on earth, and more than 40 million Americans […]
“The Great Reset, How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity” by Richard Florida
Summary Before COVID, but after The Great Recession, this 2010 book continues Richard Florida’s mission to describe the new world […]
“The Image of the City” by Kevin Lynch
Kevin Lynch is one of the all-time best contributors to the art and science of city design. The Image of The […]
“The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet” by Michael E. Mann
CharacterTowns.org enjoyed an interview with Professor Mann on PBS as he was explaining the balance needed in the rhetoric surrounding […]
“The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream” by Steve Case
FROM AMAZON… #1 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER Steve Case, cofounder of America Online and Revolution and New York Times […]
“The Sanitary City: Environmental Services in Urban America from Colonial Times to the Present” by Martin V. Melosi
Summary. Yellow fever and cholera, along with measles, the plague and other communicable diseases, had their way with city populations […]
“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 Life […]
“Transportation for Livable Cities” by Vukan R. Vuchic
Though this book is somewhat dated, now being 20 years since production, the thoughts are clear, well organized, fundamentally sound […]