Planners Press is APA's book imprint. We publish titles of interest to practitioners, researchers, and the general public, with the aim of stimulating readers, creating an engaged citizenry, and influencing policy development — all by telling the many stories of planning.
This intriguing book starts with the idea that travel gives us "open-sesame" moments when we suddenly see even familiar surroundings with fresh eyes. The experience — author Tony Hiss calls it Deep Travel — can happen whether we're on a trek through the Khyber Pass or a trip to the mailbox. In Hiss's mind-opening account, ordinary landscapes — highways, train tracks, and intersections — become as extraordinary as the first human settlements or the most renowned streetscapes.
Despite the city's reputation for spontaneous evolution, a deliberate planning process shapes the way Los Angeles looks and lives. Editor David C. Sloane has enlisted more than 35 essayists for a lively, richly illustrated view of this vibrant metropolis. Together they cover the influences and outcomes of planning for a diverse population, regulating land use and providing transportation in a sprawling city, protecting green space, and supporting economic development.
To succeed, any planning project must address both the physical space and its users. From setting goals to evaluating results, Making Community Design Work helps planners navigate the process of creating environments that meet the needs of the people they serve. In this well-crafted book, Umut Toker distills decades of community design experience into a sound conceptual framework of value to practicing planners as well as planning students.
Are Americans committing "country-cide"? Every year, development claims more than a million acres of rural land, but some communities are preserving their green legacy. In 24 illustrated vignettes, Rick Pruetz, FAICP, explores settings from farmland on Long Island to Minneapolis's Grand Rounds park system to the volcanic range near downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico.
How does the design of a neighborhood affect the people who live there? In this thoughtful, engaging book, Sidney Brower explains how a neighborhood's design lays the groundwork for the social relationships that make it a community. Neighbors & Neighborhoods is an eye-opener for everyone who's wondered what makes their local neighborhoods tick.
In popular imagination, America is the land of wide open spaces. But in reality, much of it is more densely populated than Europe. Two-thirds of the U.S. population lives on less than 20 percent of the privately owned land, clustered in 20-some megapolitan areas — networks of metropolitan centers fused by common economic, physical, social, and cultural traits. This is required reading for everyone who cares about America's future.
In her new Planners Press book, Brenda Case Scheer examines why urban environments frequently resist change. She reveals that most built environments repeat a limited number of physical types and that planners and architects refer to building types as they work through urban design problems and regulations. The book includes practical examples of how typology is critical to analytical, design, and regulatory situations.
Doug Walker and Tom Daniels have produced an authoritative and accessible guide to CommunityViz, GIS-based software that projects the impact of today's plans on tomorrow's communities. Practical examples and case studies show how planners, decision makers, and the public can use this powerful tool to see and shape their future.
Reconsidering Jane JacobsWith The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs sparked a public conversation about urbanism. Fifty years after her defining work, 11 thought-provoking essays revisit her ideas, critique their consequences, and consider their relevance to today's planning challenges around the globe.
Clear as Mud: Planning for the Rebuilding of New OrleansRobert B. Olshansky and Laurie A. Johnson have been working to understand the difficult planning decisions in this unusual situation. As both observers of and participants in the challenging process of creating the Unified New Orleans Plan, they bring unparalleled detail and insight to this complex story.
Foreclosing the DreamThe housing foreclosures that have swept the nation since 2008 have had radical economic effects. This meticulous look at the latest data reveals shocking lessons that the mainstream discussion has overlooked.
Grid / Street / PlaceThe authors examined more than 100 successful projects and discovered universal elements that characterize sustainable urban districts. By applying these elements, designers and developers can recreate and extend the experience of successful places to their communities.
Planners Press actively welcomes submissions. Please e-mail a brief summary of what you have in mind to plannerspress@planning.org. Include a description of the book itself, its intended audience(s), and your qualifications for writing it.
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