Changing Places : Rebuilding Community in the Age of Sprawl

Moe, Richard; Wilkie, Carter

ISBN 10: 0805043683 / ISBN 13: 9780805043686

Published by Henry Holt & Company, LLC, New York, NY, U.S.A., 1997

About this Item

Book is signed and inscribed by both authors on ffep: 'To Tom Winship - With admiration and best wishes - Rich Moe 11/5/97 For my good friend and mentor, Tom Winship, whose lifelong work has taught all of Boston what stewardship really means. With great respect and admiration, Carter Wilkie' Two indentations in rear dj where book was rubbed against something; barely perceptable in rear cover.

Seller Inventory # 12046H0710

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Changing Places : Rebuilding Community in the Age of Sprawl
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, LLC, New York, NY, U.S.A.
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805043683
• ISBN 13: 9780805043686
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Signed by Authors
• Seller catalogs:
  • 09-batch-04001-05000

About this title

Synopsis

A detailed look into the historic communities that are fighting against urban development also examines the New England towns and areas in the Midwest that are battling against large conglomerates such as Wal-Mart. 12,500 first printing.

Reviews

An eloquent, convincing argument for the preservation of city centers in a time of ex- and suburbanization. Moe (The Last Full Measure, 1993) is a Civil War historian and president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation; Wilkie is a former White House speechwriter. Their talents mesh well in this survey/sermon, which warns of the dangers of ``losing the physical manifestations of our history--not just the great monuments but also the significant structures and entire neighborhoods that anchor our communities.'' That loss has many causes, among them white flight and the relocation of downtown businesses to far-flung peripheries. When this happens, assert the authors, and when city residents' income drops with the evaporation of economic enterprise, the result is inevitably ``a perpetual slum.'' Such latter-day slums have been a long time in the building, but the authors lay particular blame on the legendary urban planner and superhighway builder Robert Moses, who ``became the nation's most consulted expert on how to tear historic sections of cities apart to accommodate the automobile.'' The perspective of Moe and Wilkie is resolutely urban and East Coast, but in advancing their call for an intelligent, admittedly expensive nationwide program of inner-city restoration, they also look westward to Denver and Portland, Ore., where, despite some Moses-era setbacks, downtowns have grown newly friendly to pedestrians and respectful of history. The authors also sound alarms over the likely fate of eastern cities like Pittsburgh, which, despite a massive commitment to downtown revitalization, has lost jobs and businesses and faces an ever-aging population as younger residents move to suburban sanctuaries. A thoughtful book that merits both a wide audience and a place alongside the work of Jane Jacobs and Lewis Mumford. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.