EBOOK
Good Urbanism
Six Steps to Creating Prosperous Places
Nan EllinSeries: Metropolitan Planning + Design(0)
About
We all have a natural nesting instinct-we know what makes a good place. And a consensus has developed among urban planners and designers about the essential components of healthy, prosperous communities. So why aren't these ideals being put into practice?
In Good Urbanism, Nan Ellin identifies the obstacles to creating thriving environments, and presents a six-step process to overcome them: prospect, polish, propose, prototype, promote, present. She argues that we need to reach beyond conventional planning to cultivate good ideas and leverage the resources to realize them.
Ellin illustrates the process with ten exemplary projects, from Envision Utah to Open Space Seattle. Each case study shows how to pair vision with practicality, drawing on our best natural instincts and new planning tools.
For planners, urban designers, community developers, and students of these fields, Ellin's innovative approach offers an inspired, yet concrete path to building good places.
"In another tour de force for the urban planning profession, Nan Ellin delivers a 'how-to' book with theoretical muscle. Ellin supplies six creative yet straightforward steps to make good places happen by tapping collective wisdom and mining the 'gemstones' embedded in every community."---Emily Talen, Professor, Arizona State University and author of City Rules "[Good Urbanism] is one of a small set of books that go beyond the problem of determining what is desired in our urban environment and instead sets forth an agenda for how to achieve good urbanism." "Nan Ellin is an eloquent advocate for an urbanism of kindness. This book gracefully bridges the artificial divide between vision and practicality to show how we can co-create cities that produce and fulfill our desires for good lives-for 'prosperity'-by drawing inspiration from the gifts of our neighbors and our planet."---Michael Sorkin, President, Terreform, and Director of the Graduate Program in Urban Design, CUNY "Ellin has provided a much needed roadmap for achieving the kinds of places that urbanists aspire to create. She traces the route in six carefully delineated steps to destinations composed of vibrant, mixed use and well-connected metropolitan regions, cities, neighborhoods and blocks. Good Urbanism shows the way."---Eugenie Birch, Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research, University of Pennsylvania "Good Urbanism is a strong addition to any collection focusing on urban planning and policy, much recommended." "Ellin ably bridges the divide between theoretical vision and practical reality that has seen many great ideas for our communities fall short in the past... Experienced urban planners and practitioners and novice urbanists alike will find several new instruments in Good Urbanism to add to their toolkits. These will help enhance the health and well-being of our places and move beyond sustainability to a path towards prosperity." "...the passion and relentlessly up-beat manner in which Ellin makes her case is refreshing, and reading Good Urbanism is undoubtedly a rewarding experience..." "This book is a must read, now more than ever, for city planners, urban designers and architects as they vie to make cities around the world pleasanter habitats for their residents and visitors."---Jon Lang, Emeritus Professor, University of New South Wales, Sydney
In Good Urbanism, Nan Ellin identifies the obstacles to creating thriving environments, and presents a six-step process to overcome them: prospect, polish, propose, prototype, promote, present. She argues that we need to reach beyond conventional planning to cultivate good ideas and leverage the resources to realize them.
Ellin illustrates the process with ten exemplary projects, from Envision Utah to Open Space Seattle. Each case study shows how to pair vision with practicality, drawing on our best natural instincts and new planning tools.
For planners, urban designers, community developers, and students of these fields, Ellin's innovative approach offers an inspired, yet concrete path to building good places.
"In another tour de force for the urban planning profession, Nan Ellin delivers a 'how-to' book with theoretical muscle. Ellin supplies six creative yet straightforward steps to make good places happen by tapping collective wisdom and mining the 'gemstones' embedded in every community."---Emily Talen, Professor, Arizona State University and author of City Rules "[Good Urbanism] is one of a small set of books that go beyond the problem of determining what is desired in our urban environment and instead sets forth an agenda for how to achieve good urbanism." "Nan Ellin is an eloquent advocate for an urbanism of kindness. This book gracefully bridges the artificial divide between vision and practicality to show how we can co-create cities that produce and fulfill our desires for good lives-for 'prosperity'-by drawing inspiration from the gifts of our neighbors and our planet."---Michael Sorkin, President, Terreform, and Director of the Graduate Program in Urban Design, CUNY "Ellin has provided a much needed roadmap for achieving the kinds of places that urbanists aspire to create. She traces the route in six carefully delineated steps to destinations composed of vibrant, mixed use and well-connected metropolitan regions, cities, neighborhoods and blocks. Good Urbanism shows the way."---Eugenie Birch, Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research, University of Pennsylvania "Good Urbanism is a strong addition to any collection focusing on urban planning and policy, much recommended." "Ellin ably bridges the divide between theoretical vision and practical reality that has seen many great ideas for our communities fall short in the past... Experienced urban planners and practitioners and novice urbanists alike will find several new instruments in Good Urbanism to add to their toolkits. These will help enhance the health and well-being of our places and move beyond sustainability to a path towards prosperity." "...the passion and relentlessly up-beat manner in which Ellin makes her case is refreshing, and reading Good Urbanism is undoubtedly a rewarding experience..." "This book is a must read, now more than ever, for city planners, urban designers and architects as they vie to make cities around the world pleasanter habitats for their residents and visitors."---Jon Lang, Emeritus Professor, University of New South Wales, Sydney