The Urban and Regional Planning Reader

Book excerpt: The Urban and Regional Planning Reader draws together the very best of classic and contemporary writings to illuminate the planning of cities and metropolitan areas. Forty-seven generous selections include contributions from Lewis Mumford, Jane Jacobs, Ian McHarg, Paul Davidoff, Charles Harr, Susan Fainstein and Charles J. Hoch through to Timothy Beatley; Jonathan Barnett, Alex Garvin, Tom Daniels, Andres Duany and Barbara Faga. The variety and wide selection of readings offers one of the most innovative amalgamations of planning research and practice. The Reader lays out the context, range of concerns, history, methods and key topics for twenty-first century urban and regional planning. Sections on the world of planning, history and theory, classic readings, practice and current issues include writings with a focus on the distribution of space and place, essays on housing, transportation design, environment, community development, the effects of cultural diversity and information technology on land use and other topics. It displays the techniques used to direct and control growth, including zoning, master planning, public budgeting and citizen participation. It explores different types of plans distinguished by their scale and reference type. It references analytical and presentation techniques and outlines ethical issues confronting planners. This Urban and Regional Planning Reader provides an essential resource, for students of planning, drawing together important but widely dispersed writings and the associated bibliography is a resource which enables deeper investigations. The synthesis is also valuable for lecturers and researches in the area and the pertinent editorial commentaries preceding each entry not only demonstrate its significance, but also outline the issue surrounding the topic.