Key Reading on Urban Sprawl

Bruegmann, Robert.  Sprawl: a compact history.  Chicago, 2005.  301p bibl index afp ISBN 0-226-07690-3, $27.50. Reviewed in 2006nov CHOICE.
44-1824  HT371  2005-7591 CIP

This pugnacious text should stimulate wide debates over definitions, implications, and solutions to what many urbanists interpret as uncontrolled and threatening suburban growth. Bruegmann (art history, architecture, and urban planning, Univ. of Illinois, Chicago) shows cogently how such expansion long has been part of urban growth, and now must be understood within the global phenomena of decreasing core populations and surrounding densification. Yet, as he analyzes causal explanations and genealogies of arguments against sprawl in 1920s Britain, the postwar US, and the 1970s, highlighting discursive continuities, he also tackles many arguments piecemeal, sometimes ignoring complex connections among various environmental considerations, social critiques, and other responses. Considerations of remediation also raise questions: linking postwar anti-sprawl to Stalinist Moscow overshadows a somewhat more balanced reading of Portland. Vague appeals to what “ordinary citizens” want or what a free-market creates, indeed, can ignore those who create and control “ordinary” desires and global markets. Yes, it is time to reject moralistically reductionist arguments against sprawl. Yet, the case for “free” choices that resolve social and environmental problems seems undeveloped for such a challenging work. But this may prove as valuable to those who will disagree as those who agree with such an invigorating text. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. — G. W. McDonogh, Bryn Mawr College

Duany, Andres.  Suburban nation: the rise of sprawl and the decline of the American dream, by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck.  North Point Press, 2000.  289p bibl index afp ISBN 0-86547-557-1, $30.00.  Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2000oct CHOICE.
38-1251  HT384  99-52186 CIP

This book is a landmark in urban planning, and its first endorser does not exaggerate by ranking it with two modern classics: Jane Jacobs’s The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) and Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, and Steven Izenour’s Learning from Las Vegas (CH, Mar’73; rev. ed., 1977). Duany and Plater-Zyberk are both the founders and leaders of the new urbanism movement and the designers of such cutting-edge communities as Florida’s Seaside and Maryland’s Kentlands. This book is the most comprehensive attempt to date to put their philosophy and methodology between the covers of a single volume. Profusely illustrated, it is presented as a critique of existing suburban design with a blueprint for an urban future in which the automobile-generated settlement patterns of the past 80 years are transformed into a mosaic of communities based on traditional planning principles. Very handsomely produced, the book is well referenced and indexed. Highly recommended for all planning collections. Public, academic, and professional libraries. — P. O. Muller, University of Miami

 Flint, Anthony.  This land: the battle over sprawl and the future of America.  Johns Hopkins, 2006.  298p bibl index afp ISBN 0-8018-8419-5, $24.95. Reviewed in 2007mar CHOICE.
44-4162  HT384  2005-29021 CIP

Boston Globe journalist Flint’s very accessible presentation of the problems associated with urban sprawl in the US not only focuses on the history of sprawl, but also looks at new urbanism as a social and political movement. The approach is similar to that of James Kunstler’s The Geography of Nowhere (1993) and Home from Nowhere (1996), but with less cynicism. Flint presents both sides of the development debate, and looking at the new urbanism as a social movement is an added dimension. Throughout the book, he tells stories from communities across the US to support his argument. The index and references are excellent, and Flint includes a very helpful short bibliographic essay. The weakest section is the last chapter, which suggests ways to break US habits concerning development. Summing Up: Recommended. Most levels/libraries. — A. A. Hickey, Western Carolina University

Frumkin, Howard.  Urban sprawl and public health: designing, planning, and building for healthy communities, by Howard Frumkin, Lawrence Frank, and Richard Jackson.  Island Press, 2004.  338p bibl index afp ISBN 1-55963-305-0, $60.00; ISBN 1559639121 pbk, $30.00. Reviewed in 2005jan CHOICE.
42-2838  HT371  2004-2136 CIP

Frumkin (environmental and occupational health, Emory Univ.), Frank (community and regional planning, Univ. of British Columbia), and Jackson (public health officer, California Department of Public Health) compellingly argue that urban sprawl contributes significantly to the degradation of public health. Low densities, segregated land uses, and poorly connected streets increase dependence on the automobile. The resulting decline in physical activity increases the incidence of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and obesity. As walking gives way to driving, fewer opportunities for social interaction diminish the sense of community and increase the prevalence of mental health problems such as depression. Longer commutes lead to more traffic accidents, elevated stress levels, and the deterioration of environmental quality. Well-written, this book’s most important contribution is its success in raising awareness of the unintended consequences of different development patterns. However, this reviewer has two concerns: (1) most of the research findings discussed throughout the book (not all of which, by the way, support its basic premise) are not critically evaluated by the authors; and (2) the focus on health issues biases the authors’ assessment of the overall impact of sprawl, e.g., failing to acknowledge the economic rationale for zoning understates the social benefits of segregating land uses. Extensive bibliography; copious endnotes. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Public, academic, and professional library collections. — J. H. Turek, Lynchburg College

O’Toole, Randal.  The vanishing automobile and other urban myths: how smart growth will harm American cities.  Thoreau Institute, 2001.  545p index ISBN 0-9706439-0-X pbk, $14.95. Reviewed in 2002sep CHOICE.
40-0423  HT167  MARC

It is probably safer to oppose motherhood, apple pie, or the flag than to disparage “smart growth” (that is, government-mandated urban planning polices with regard to land use and transportation), but in The Vanishing Automobile O’Toole nevertheless offers a take-no-prisoners assault on its tenets and actual impacts. In 40 largely independent chapters that present 73 “myth” issues and eight city-specific case studies (including the poster child of alleged smart-growth success, Portland, Oregon), the author illustrates how attempts to make urban areas more livable and affordable (1) can end up producing more congestion and pollution and higher living costs; and (2) often only benefit chic interest groups that favor higher population densities, light-rail transit systems, and the preservation of inaccessible open lands, and oppose single-family housing, automobiles, and highways. O’Toole advocates instead decentralized decision making; employing prices and markets to allocate scarce resources and to reflect individual preferences; and transportation systems that provide mobility and allow for personal freedom of choice. With its ample footnotes, references, data, and Web resources, this volume will not end urban policy discussions, but it will finally allow a healthy debate to be enjoined. Recommended for general readers, professionals, and students, lower-division undergraduate and up. — A. R. Sanderson, University of Chicago

Smart growth online.  Internet Resource. Reviewed in 2006sup CHOICE.
http://www.smartgrowth.org/
(Reprinted from CH, Sup ’05)
43Sup-0468

[Visited Nov’04] Interest in smart growth and sustainable development has increased in recent years among both development professionals and the public. This excellent site is sponsored by the Smart Growth Network, a partnership founded in 1996 by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Prominent partnership members include the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute. In addition to providing an overview of smart growth, the site includes an extensive resource library, with many publications in full text, browsable by issue (e.g., housing), principle (e.g., walkable neighborhoods), and resource type. The library includes a useful collection of land use regulations and model codes. Also available is a section containing news from major press outlets (from 1998 to a few weeks old), browsable by state and month; readers can subscribe to a free weekly news advisory service. The site includes a calendar of events and a list of current funding opportunities. Reflecting its mission to network information, the site provides online forms for users to submit news, resources, and events. A separate area for paying members includes a forum for online discussion as well as other resources.
Site navigation is easy and information is current, although a few external links were broken. A site search function is available, but access to contents of the resource library could be enhanced through the addition of a separate library search interface. Numerous other smart growth Internet resources are available, but few have the breadth and depth of this site. Persons seeking advice advocating smart growth in their communities might consult Smart Growth America http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/ or a smaller site focused on energy issues, Smart Communities Network, by the US Department of Energy http://www.sustainable.doe.gov/. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Especially valuable for professionals and practitioners, but also useful for students and the general public. — B. Stoffel, Illinois State University

Sprawl costs: economic impacts of unchecked development, by Robert W. Burchell et al.  Island Press, 2005.  197p bibl index afp ISBN 1559635304 pbk, $24.95. Reviewed in 2005nov CHOICE.
43-1702  HT384  2004-29253 CIP

Based on the premise that land, energy, tax revenues, and time are scarce commodities and should be consumed as efficiently as possible, Burchell (Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers Univ.) and coauthors A. Downs (Brookings Institution), B. McCann (journalist), and S. Mukherji (Center for Urban Policy Research) use statistical modeling techniques to estimate the monetary impacts of US-style suburbanization. They compare two scenarios: low-density development (the dominant pattern) and compact growth. Their objective is to specify the money wasted when new growth takes the former path. The analysis considers the costs attendant to land and natural resource consumption, infrastructure, real estate development, government finances, travel and congestion, quality-of-life, and sprawl-induced urban decline. They conclude that the cost of low-density development outweighs the benefits and exceeds the cost of compact growth. Consequently, they end with a brief discussion of policies designed to dampen sprawl and reduce its costs. Mixing technical reasoning with normative judgments, Sprawl Costs adds another perspective to the widespread public debate on sprawl currently underway in the US. Summing Up: Recommended. Public, academic, upper-division undergraduate and up, and professional library collections. — R. A. Beauregard, New School University

Urban sprawl: a comprehensive reference guide, ed. by David C. Soule. Greenwood, 2006.  570p bibl index afp ISBN 0-313-32038-1, $99.95. Reviewed in 2006dec CHOICE.
44-1894  HT384  2005-19208 CIP

Sprawl preoccupies US planners and citizens today, and this encyclopedia offers a clear, practical handbook of history, current issues, analytic models, and policy ideas within a general smart-growth perspective. The authors of the 22 chapters include academics, attorneys, practicing planners, and policy analysts from organizations such as Collaborative Economics and the Citistates Group; they are dominated by northeasterners, with some participation from others in western cities. The first eight essays provide contexts for the analysis of sprawl from history, law, planning, economics, politics, and social studies. Subsequent sections deal with sprawl as process, using Atlanta and the Twin Cities as case studies; models of measurement; and specific problems such as equity, environmental issues, costs, and relations to patterns of immigration and taxation. A final section looks at possible regional approaches to controlling sprawl, preserving natural resources, and promoting fair, smart growth. Useful appendixes offer Web and other resources, a glossary, and contacts with smart-growth groups. Although the book should prove extremely useful in marshalling and training critics of sprawl, one wishes that the text also might have addressed issues increasingly raised by those critical of antisprawl arguments and regulatory control. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. — G. W. McDonogh, Bryn Mawr College

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