Key Planning Books

Question 1

How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis, published in 1890

Answer 1

This book resulted in housing reform in New York City.

Question 2

Tomorrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform by Ebenezer Howard, published in 1898.

Answer 2

This book initiated the Garden City movement.

Question 3

Wacker’s Manual of the Plan of Chicago by Walter Moody, published in 1912

Answer 3

This book was adopted as a textbook for eighth graders in Chicago.

Question 4

Carrying Out the City Plan by Flavel Shurtleff, published in 1914

Answer 4

This book was the first major textbook on city planning.

Question 5

Cities in Evolution by Patrick Geddess, published in 1915

Answer 5

This book centers on regional planning.

Question 6

Planning of the Modern City by Nelson Lewis, published in 1916

Answer 6

Linking social reform and the urban environment, Geddes looked at cities comprehensively. All planning should preserve the unique historic character of the city and involve citizens in the planning of its development, he reasoned, sounding two themes that would reemerge in the 1950s and 1960s.

Question 7

Local Planning Administration by Ladislas Segoe, published in 1941.

Answer 7

This book was the first in the Green Book Series produced by the International City/County Management Association.

Question 8

Urban Land Use Planning by F. Stuart Chapin, published in 1957.

Answer 8

This book became a common textbook on land use planning.

Question 9

Image of the City by Kevin Lynch, published in 1960

Answer 9

This book defines basic concepts within the city, such as edges and nodes. Read excerpts of Image of the City on Amazon.com.

Question 10

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs, published in 1961

Answer 10

Jacobs provided a critical look at planners and planning, with a special focus on the mistakes of urban renewal

Question 11

Silent Spring by Rachel Carlson, published in 1962

Answer 11

This book focuses on the negative effects of pesticides on the environment. Read excerpts of Silent Spring on Amazon.com.

Question 12

The Urban General Plan by TJ Kent, published in 1964

Answer 12

Kenneth L. Kraemer noted that the philosophy of planning had evolved. Planning was now more comprehensive and seen as “multi-layered matrixes.” The goal of planning was no longer an ideal state, but “an activity stream relating to problems and goal definition, program design … and evaluation.” Kent exemplified the change and provided a history of the use, characteristics, and purpose of the urban comprehensive plan, and how it was currently being applied.

Question 13

With Heritage So Rich edited by Alfred Reins, published in 1966.

Answer 13

This is a seminal book in historic preservation.

Question 14

Design with Nature by Ian McHarg, published in 1969.

Answer 14

This book focuses on conservation design.

Question 15

The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William Whyte, published in 1980.

Answer 15

This book promotes the use of environmental psychology and sociology in urban design.

Question 16

Edge City: Life on the New Frontier by Joel Garreau published in 1991.

Answer 16

Garreau examines America’s “edge cities” or suburban cities, chronicling their rise across the country over the past 100 years. His work changed the perception of suburbia and its role relative to central cities. As people moved to suburbs, so did employment. The size and number of these cities influences how planning now approaches edge cities and their social implications.

Question 17

Rural by Design: Maintaining Small Town Character by Randall Arendt published in 1994.

Answer 17

Growing out of his work in New England and an appreciation for the design of small communities, Arendt revealed how towns could grow and maintain their character through density, good site planning, and compatible design. His work reinforced efforts to achieve growth management, address sprawl, and the conserve natural and cultural landscapes. Arendt offered, with grace and humor, practical solutions to guiding growth and conserving land.

Question 18

The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida, published in 2003

Answer 18

focuses on the importance of creative professionals in the overall economic growth and health of urban areas.

Question 19

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson published in 2004.

Answer 19

The book brings alive the history of early planners, including Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted, for a general audience. He draws attention to work many still know nothing about. In vivid — and sometimes graphic detail — Larson paints a poignant and convincing story of the obstacles planners and architects face when approaching mammoth projects, not least of which a world’s fair.

Question 20

Published in 2005 The High Cost of Free Parking by Donald Shoup, FAICP,

Answer 20

argued that reducing subsidies for parking would reduce air pollution and traffic congestion as well as improve land use. He proposed that cities should charge fair market prices for on-street parking, spend the resulting revenue to improve public services in the metered neighborhoods, and remove the minimum parking requirements in municipal zoning ordinances. Shoup’s pioneering book led a growing number of cities to adopt these three reforms. In a follow-up book, Parking and the City, Shoup and 46 other contributors examined the results of these reforms in practice and found important benefits for cities, the economy, and the environment.