No comments about Otto Neurath.

2 comments about Good City Form.

1. As one who straddles the two worlds of practice and scholarship with great ease and comfort, I am struck by that rare work of craft which is at once profoundly thoughtful as well as clearly directed. Most serious scholars bend over backwards to embrace the myth of "objectivity", while most practitioners salivate over superficial "best practices". Kevin Lynch's masterpiece, Good City Form, avoids both traps while offering a template for judging the effectiveness of different types of urban form and providing a guide for successful urban design projects. His starting points, a masterful overview of models of urban form throughout history and a sensitive ode to humanist values, help establish a foundation for performance dimensions to measure "good city form": Vitality, Sense, Fit, Access, Control, Efficiency and Justice. I would highly recommend this book to reflective practitioners, scholars interested in the practice of urban design, and others simply interested in shaping the future of our cities. In addition, the book works well with two others as an excellent advanced introduction to the field of urban design: "The City Shaped: Urban Patterns and Meanings Through History" by Spiro Kostof, and "Urban Design Downtown: Poetics and Politics of Form" by Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris and Tridib Banerjee.



2. In the world of urban design, obsessed with spectacular novelty and superficial aesthetics, this ambitious and profound work of Kevin Lynch is refreshing, yet enduring. He suggests a theory of urban design based on fundamental human values and examines how such values lead to the notion of a "good city form". His performance dimensions (e.g. access, fit, vitality) are broad enough to be interpreted and re-interpreted for specific contexts and sites. And the appendix, which briefly summarizes other theories of city form, is a tour-de-force by itself. A masterpiece which deserves greater attention and consideration, especially by those under the illusion that urban design is more or less architecture writ large!

4 comments about History of Urban Form: Before the Industrial Revolution.

1. My professor introduced this book to us as the textbook for a core couse when I was reading for my Master degree in School of Architecture, University of Southern California in Los Angeles. I bought it for the class and I loved it and kept it with me ever since. It has many great line drawings to illustrate the city and urban planning and architecture in many different cultures throughout history. It enlightens you and encourages you to look at a design issue in a grand scale. Very powerful images. It'll show you how brilliant human beings can be.



2. this book is a wonderful introduction to understanding the origins of cities in human civilization. its extensive illustrations and photographs help to show the development of cities up to modern day. i am studying geography and found this book to be an invaluable text.



3. This book is seminal and contains a wealth of information. The 3rd edition is, however, severely fragmented with Islamic cities addressed in two unrelated chapters and Japanese and Chinese urbanism as annexures! captions and references are in a very small font, as are some illustrations, making them irritatingly difficult to read. But for an overview of pre-industrial urbanism ... a must buy!



4. the description said the book is still new, but it arrived stink and looking pretty old. overall, it's usable, but less than what i expected. the seller should have given better and more honest description. also, the packaging was really bad. not protective at all.

No comments about Landscape Architecture: Water Features (Landscape Architecture).

5 comments about Land Development Handbook (Handbook).

1. This is a good reference book, filled with useful texts and details. However, it could be a little more compact and more organize in terms of using section and sub-section to sort things out. That way, it's easier and faster for readers to reference and/or looking up certain topics.



2. very resourceful and informative.
   highly suggest this book if land development is new, or even want something for reference.



3. As a general civil engineer in private practice this book has provided a good overview on the more abstract side of land development including financing, rezoning, and public involvement. All of which, are topics that typical engineers strugle with as it is not the enjoyable aspect of what engineers are trained to do. Nevertheless, these abstract components are just as real as the plans we develop. Of course, the book is excellent for hands on design and calculation support.



4. As a novice developer, this book put me on the right track without all the confusion and terms I would have never understood. It was simple to understand and after reading it, I felt like I knew a lot more. Very interesting and satisfying. Great reference guide all the way around.



5. I primarily work as a structural-architectural engineer and am becoming more and more involved in civil-site work. This handbook is exactly what I was looking for in terms of something that would quickly get me "up to speed" in the fundamentals of civil-site design.
   Of course, no single book could (or should) be thought of as a substitute for the experience and mentoring received from seasoned professionals in a design office, but this one has enough technical explanation and details to get you going with confidence.
   I choose this one over the Colley book (reviewed both before making purchase) as Land Development Handbook has more of the technical info that engineers would seek.

5 comments about Smart Communities: How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking to Build a Brighter Future.

1. I got this book because it is being used as a textbook for a college course I am taking, but once I got into the book, I started enjoying it. Morse is a real excellent writer and she makes the subject matter of creating good communities interesting. Normally, I would dread reading a book for class, but this one is a good read especially for those who wnat to be more involved in making a smart community.



2. I'm sure that you are busy. I've got a lot of things to do myself, more than I can get done today. And then the time comes when you have to stop being busy, some times you just have to sit and let the batteries recharge. As the old saying goes, sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits.
   
   And the question has to come up of what can one person, you or me do to make the community we live in a better place. Suzanne Morse's book can't tell you what you can do. But it can tell you what other people like you have done. Will her ideas work in New York City, no. Will they work on the block you live in within New York City, in the neighborhood you live in, yes.
   
   Meanwhile I've got to quit writing about this book. I'm going help the local community theater try to get started. I don't know anything about theater, but I can find some way to help, even if it's just sweeping the floor.



3. This book is an antidote for the cynicism and sense of helplessness that pervades too many of our communities. We are given actual examples of communities builing on their strengths, talents, histories and values to create new energy and optimism. As an amatuer historian, my favorite chapter was the one on preserving the past as a way to begin building the new. Now I have the language to encourage renewal by honoring the past.



4. I was attracted to this book while looking for insights into strategic thinking for work in another arena. I was not disappointed.

   Smart Communities offers many very useable ideas for anyone with responsibilities for thinking and acting strategically to enhance our lives together. And that probably includes most everyone.

   Along with very practical help, the accounts and interpretations of real experiences also offer inspiration and hope.




5. Finally, an exceedingly hopeful book about how to effect meaningful change in a community, large or small. Here, Dr. Suzanne Morse, in her characteristic lively and to-the-point style, has given us a guide, repleat with documented examples of how to move the needle on those issues we're all too familiar with: poverty, lack of a board base of leadership, chidren's welfare. Armed with more than 10 years of hands on experience working with groups in communities all across the country, Dr. Morse's book, as well as many of her other supportive pieces such as What Works, guarantees us all that we no longer have to start at square one. If you were depressed by Robert Putnam's novel a few years back, Bowling Alone, which bemoaned the lack of citizen involvement in communities today, this book and the work of Dr. Morse will give you not only hope but the tools to join forces with others where you live to make a difference.
   Read it for the cheer joy of finding out how this is done, and done well.Each chapter ends with, How to Get Started in Your Community, a virtual workbook for action. Her reference section will also help guide you in fruitful directions.Putnam's latest book, Better Together: Restoring the American Community, speaks of a hint that citizens are beginning to "bowl together". Dr. Morse's book is proof that they are and have been doing so effectively for the past decade.Enjoy--an exhilerating read.

1 comments about Up River: Man-Made Sites of Interest on the Hudson from the Battery to Troy (The Center for Land Use Interpretation American Regional Landscape Series).

1. The book was preselected by my son-in-law. In his thank you note, he was quite pleased with it!

5 comments about Design of Concrete Structures.

1. The notable thing about this Book by Nilson, Darwin and Dolan is that it covers not only the Design of Concrete Structures but also the the behavior of various elements, an understanding of which is absolutely necessary for the design Engineer. The background of the provisions of ACI 318 code is clearly explained. The examples and homework problems may be quite useful to the students. It also covers emerging topics such as strut-and-tie models, which are useful in situations when the usual beam theories are not valid. The text also presents Earthquake detailing and the various types of structural systems applications, which are of great help to the practising engineers. Hope they will bring out the 14th edition soon, in line with ACI 318-2005.



2. I actually enjoy reading this text book. The theory is well written, and the examples and derivations are easy to follow and understand. As an Engineering student of Junior standing, I believe this is the best written text book I have ever purchased.



3. I read this book with board members of Iranian Concrete Institute and find it useful for students and civil engineers, Arthur H Nilson write this book very friendly, I must say I found this book very interesting for both students and teachers and very good reference for study in academic classes.



4. i,would like to thank DR. NILSON for his great effort to submit
   concrete design in a very simple and professional way.
   i like this book and i have last four editions .
   i am waiting mor from our great DR NILSON .



5. This book is very good for practitioners who need to look up something they have forgotten. It can be useful for beginning students, but as far as understanding concepts is concerned, MacGregor's is the best. For a beginner, Nilson's book sometimes gets too cluttered. MacGregor's book covers almost everything in Nilson's book, but with greater emphasis on conceptual understanding.

No comments about From Welfare State to Real Estate: Regime Change in New York City, 1974 to the Present.

1 comments about Urban Transportation Planning.

1. Urban Transportation Planning is well written and well organized. Complicated modeling techniques are explained in detail. The process flow charts and bubble graphs simplify complex relationships between transportation, land use, planning and politics. Strengths and weaknesses of different modeling strategies are discussed in detail.

   Extensive chapter bibliographies are useful for students and professionals seeking detailed discussions of topics covered in the text.