[ebooks] The Geographical Unconscious by Argyro Loukaki at Arts-Photography

Description

There exists a category of American cities in which the line between suburban and urban is almost impossible to locate. These suburban cities arose in the last half of twentieth-century America; based largely on the success of the single-family home; shopping centers; and the automobile. The low-density; auto-centric development of suburban cities; which are largely in the arid West; presents challenges for urban sustainability as it is traditionally measured. Yet; some of these citiesmdash;Los Angeles; Las Vegas; Phoenix; Salt Lake; Dallas; Tucson; San Bernardino; and San Diegomdash;continue to be among the fastest growing places in the United States. In The Future of the Suburban City; Phoenix native Grady Gammage; Jr. looks at the promise of the suburban city as well as the challenges. He argues that places that grew up based on the automobile and the single-family home need to dramatically change and evolve. But suburban cities have some advantages in an era of climate change; and many suburban cities are already making strides in increasing their resilience. Gammage focuses on the story of Phoenix; which shows the power of collective action mdash; government action mdash; to confront the challenges of geography and respond through public policy. He takes a fresh look at what it means to be sustainable and examines issues facing most suburban cities around water supply; heat; transportation; housing; density; urban form; jobs; economics; and politics.The Future of the Suburban City is a realistic yet hopeful story of what is possible for any suburban city.