Description
Book SynopsisThe paperback edition of the critically-acclaimed, pioneering book on successful urban recovery. Two urban experts draw on their firsthand observations of downtown change across the country to identify a flexible, effective approach to urban rejuvenation.
Trade ReviewIn Cities Back from the Edge, Gratz and Mintz offer a love song for the city...their volume, attractively packaged and richly illustrated, is really a cookbook for downtown revitalization. It turns out the most valuable contribution to urban understanding of the year isn't only a book, it's also a bumper sticker: Think globally, act locally."--The Wall Street Journal
Cities Back From the Edge was featured again in The New York Times. Frank Rich writes, "In their new book persuasively arguing for less grandiose, more indigenous urban renewal, Roberta Brandes Gratz and Norman Mintz write that a 'collection of visitor attractions does not add up to a city' whether those attractions are cultural centers, convention centers, aquariums, stadiums or enclosed malls."--The New York Times
"...provides a fascinating insight into the US Urban Design scenario..." (Urban Design, Autumn 2001)
Table of ContentsWHERE ARE WE?
Mansfield, Ohio--Getting Off the Big Project Merry-Go-Round.
The Mess We Have Made.
Project Planning or Urban Husbandry--The Choice.
TRANSPORTATION AND PLACE.
Death and Rebirth of the Public Realm.
Rebuilding Place, Valuing Transit.
Undoing Sprawl.
BIG, LITTLE, AND PREDATOR.
Free Competition or No Competition?
You Don't Have to Be Wal-Mart to Be Wal-Mart.
To Market, To Market.
DOWNTOWN ESSENTIALS.
Public Buildings, Public Policies.
Back to Basics.
Investing in People.
IT'S HAPPENING.
The SoHo Syndrome.
Conclusion: Back from the Edge.
Index.