A Better Place to Live: Reshaping the American Suburb

by Philip Langdon

Book Overview

A senior editor at Progressive Architecture takes an engaging look at life in America's suburbs, analyzing how the layout of suburbs has actually contributed to discontent and isolation. He also... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1558491066
• ISBN13: 9781558491069
• Release Date: September 1997
• Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Outstanding critique of American suburbia

There are more books that I can count that address American suburbs, and of the dozen or so that I have read this is by far the most comprehensive, best written, and most illuminating. Far from simply being a 250+ page rant about how bad suburbia is, Langdon offers an immense amount of very specific advice about how it can be made better. You don't have to be a landscape architect or planner to appreciate and enjoy this book. Anyone concerned with ensuring that we all have great places to live will benefit tremendously from reading it.

A MUST-read for Everyone

Reading this book started out as a requirement for my Urban Planning class. However, I became so interested in what Langdon had to say, and his easy to read diction, that I couldn't put it down. I would recommend this book to anyone who lives in the city, in the suburbs or anywhere in between. Everyone can relate to the issues that Langdon brings up, and they are truly interesting and relavent in today's society. A great book to use as an introduction to issues of urban planning and urban improvement.

A city planner's view

This is the most comprehensive yet concise book I have read on the topic of 'New Urbanism' and it's many parallel trends. It is loaded with pictures, diagrams, and maps that prove the point. Other than an unfortunate religious comment, the subject matter is presented in a fair and very readable format. This book should be required reading for planners, civil engineers, developers, bankers, appointed and elected officials, etc.---who are unknowingly promoting urban sprawl through their professional background and/or official policies.

A beautifully written and accessible book-- a treasure

Langdon describes why modern American suburbs, with typical cul de sacs, feeder roads, and strip malls, rob us of our sense of community and of our connections to our neighbors. He explains how the over-reliance on the automobile is both a cause and a result of these suburban designs. But he goes further, describing why older neighborhoods feel so much better to us-- neighborhoods with grid layouts, houses with front porches, homes placed fairly close to tree lined streets. If you've ever looked around at modern American developments and wondered why they feel alienating and uncomfortable, this book will answer your questions in fascinating detail. Langdon's prose is beautifully clear.