Review of Readings in Planning Theory (Studies in Urban and Social Change) (Paperback)

The autors present a superb choice of classical texts on the field of urban planning. I recommend it to all of those who want a good reference on some of the most important ideas that have shaped this field until now.

Product Description
The second edition of this very successful volume examines the current state of planning theory and the new directions it has taken in recent years.

• Examines the current state of planning theory and the new directions it has taken in recent years.
  
• Draws on a wide range of authors who address planning history, arguments for and against planning, competing planning styles, planning ethics, the public interest, and considerations of race and gender.
  
• Theoretical perspectives include political economy, postmodernism, communicative rationality, and feminism.
  
• Readings new to this edition examine themes emerging in planning theory, including a critique of the modernist roots of centralized planning, a reemphasis on space in planning, and a discussion of the difficulty of sustainable development.
  
• Features new case studies of planning success and failure in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
  
• Contains thirteen wholly new readings.

Book Description
The second edition of this very successful volume examines the current state of planning theory and the new directions it has taken in recent years. The editors have selected a set of classic and contemporary writings to address a central question: What role can planning theory play in making the good city and region within the constraints of a capitalist political economy and a democratic political system? The volume draws on a wide range of authors who address planning history, arguments for and against planning, competing planning styles, planning ethics, the public interest, and considerations of race and gender. Theoretical perspectives include political economy, postmodernism, communicative rationality, and feminism. Readings new to this edition examine themes emerging in planning theory, including a critique of the modernist roots of centralized planning, a reemphasis on space in planning, and a discussion of the difficulty of sustainable development. The second edition also features new case studies of planning success and failure in both the United States and the United Kingdom. In this second edition of Readings in Planning Theory the editors retain 10 of the 28 original readings from the first edition. Four other readings have been updated with more recent writings from the same author (the opening introduction and the chapters by Fainstein, Krumholz and Healey). Thirteen readings are wholly new.



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Review of At Home in the Park: Loving a Neighborhood Back to Life (Paperback)

The title of my review explains exactly how I felt from the moment I started reading. It was as if I had crawled inside her book, her neighborhood, her life. Her words came alive
when she talked about the crisp autumn mornings, the aroma of food, the feeling was so strong, it was if I could smell, feel, and be a part of every page of her book.
A wonderful writer, I hope to be seeing more books from her soon.
Glenda K Schlueter

Product Description
What's the difference between a group of houses and a real community? Author Lola L. Lucas explores this question in At Home in the Park: Loving a Neighborhood Back to Life.

Lucas chronicles the rebirth of Enos Park, a section of Springfield, Illinois, just north of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Like many cities, the area went through a period of urban decay before rebounding. The Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association (EPNIA) was largely responsible for this change.

Lucas's columns about Enos Park have appeared in the EPNIA Banner since 1992. With wisdom and wry humor, she shows why it's worth the effort to reweave a neighborhood's social fabric in order for residents to once again enjoy their homes. Lucas writes about community policing, ice cream socials, neighborhood patrols, and evening strolls on tree-lined sidewalks. Through the efforts of the EPNIA, the citizens of Enos Park reclaimed their streets and loved their neighborhood back to life.

About the Author
Lola L. Lucas earned a BA in English, an MA in management and an MBA in human resources. She works for a state agency as a research economist and teaches part-time at the University of Illinois. She and her husband, Kevin Brown, live in Springfield, Illinois, with their two standard poodles.

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