1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910811054703321

Autore

Nivola Pietro S

Titolo

Laws of the landscape : how policies shape cities in Europe and America / / Pietro S. Nivola

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Washington, D.C. : , : Brookings Institution, , 1999

ISBN

0-8157-9159-3

0-585-03200-9

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (142 pages)

Collana

Brookings metro series

Disciplina

307.76/0973

Soggetti

Cities and towns - United States - Growth

Urbanization - United States

Suburbs - United States

Cities and towns - Europe - Growth

Urbanization - Europe

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

1. Introduction -- 2. Big and turbulent -- 3. The not-so-invisible hand -- 4. So what? -- 5. Shopworn solutions -- 6. Eight suggestions -- 7. Summing up.

Sommario/riassunto

For decades, concerns have been raised about the consequences of relentless suburban expansion in the United States. But so far, government programs to control urban sprawl have had little effect in slowing it down, much less stopping it. In this book, Pietro S. Nivola raises important questions about the continued suburbanization of America: Is suburban growth just the result of market forces, or have government policies helped induce greater sprawl? How much of the government intervention has been undesirable, and what has been beneficial? And, if suburban growth is to be controlled, what changes in public policies would be not only effective, but practical?   Nivola addresses these questions by comparing sprawling U.S. metropolitan areas to compact development patterns in Europe. He contrasts the effects of traditional urban programs, as well as "accidental urban policies" that have a profound if commonly unrecognized impact on cities, including national tax systems, energy conservation efforts,



agricultural supports, and protection from international commerce.   Nivola also takes a hard look at the traditional solutions of U.S. urban policy agenda involving core-area reconstruction projects, mass transit investments, "smart" growth controls, and metropolitan organizational rearrangements, and details the reasons why they often don't work. He concludes by recommending reforms for key U.S. policies--from taxes to transportation to federal regulations--based on the successes and failures of the European experience.   Brookings Metropolitan Series.