Legos, trains, blocks and books -- I'm certain my interest in urban planning was spurred by playing with toys like these that involved building and understanding how things work. With twin 5-year old boys at home, I'm intimately acquainted with the latest in toy trucks, games and DVDs for budding urban planners. I've gathered some of the best here, properly field tested by my boys, to help you with your holiday shopping list.
Bruder MB Garbage Truck ($55)
Books
Reviewing Recent Books on Cities
In reviewing a handful of new books looking at cities and how they work, this piece from The New Yorker glosses over the current thinking behind the urban conversation and wonders if city celebration has gone too far.
The New Yorker
Is Ed Glaeser an Antiplanner?
In his new book "Triumph of The City," Glaeser gives high regard to high-density urbanism and the city but criticizes planners and historic preservationists for over-regulation in land use planning.
WashingtonCityPaper
An Understandable Zoning Guide
New York City has released a new handbook of its zoning regulations in an illustrated, easily-comprehensible guide.
The New York Times
Revisiting Early L.A. Reviews
Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne begins a year-long series reading and reviewing 25 books all about L.A.
Los Angeles Times
Urban Favorites
The Polis Blog presents a huge list of "urban favorites" -- songs, movies, initiatives and places that explain or highlight the best of the world's urban areas.
The Polis Blog
The Jacobs Legacy
Jarrett Murphy reviews The Battle for Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs" by Roberta Brandes Gratz, and concludes that it is a nuanced interpretation of the classic showdown.
City Limits
A Giant of a Book on Urban Design
Ben Brown reviews Dhiru Thadani's new book, The Language of Towns and Cities. Weighing in at 800 pages, this encyclopedic urban design dictionary defines planning terms with extensive graphics.
PlaceShakers
Top 10 Architecture Books of 2010
Norman Weinstein of The Architectural Record selects his favorite architecture books of the year, which range from a coming-of-age memoir to a treatise on Turkish art and architecture.
ArchNewsNow
Top 10 Books - 2011
Planetizen is pleased to release its ninth annual list of the ten best books in urban planning, design and development published in 2010. This year's selection includes some big names, some big ideas -- and a book called "Toilet."
Urban Planning Gift Ideas For Children (Your Budding Planner)
Fri, 11/12/2010 - 11:27
The Beauty of Public Spaces
A new book by Robert Gatje gives public squares and piazzas the coffee-table treatment, meticulously detailing what makes these historic spaces work.
The Architect's Newspaper
Can We Get Utopia Right?
Salon interviews author J.C. Hallman about his new book "In Utopia," which explores modern-day utopian projects and how they differ from those of the past.
Salon.com
New Book Says Cars Are The Future
A review of the new book, Two Billion Cars: Driving Towards Sustainability, which argues that cleaner cars are the future of transportation and barely mentions bicycling, walking or transit.
re:place Magazine
City of 250,000 Has No Bookstore
Laredo, Texas is losing its only bookstore, a B. Dalton (the chain is going out of business).
CNN
Urban and Regional Mysteries: Not so Guilty Pleasures
Mon, 01/04/2010 - 10:32
With vacations upon us many students have been asking me what they should read over the winter break. Certainly it is possible to catch up with planning classics and thought-provoking books and several earlier blogs have highlighted these options. However,for those wanting to escape and learn something as well, a number of mystery authors write books that both investigate crimes and evoke a sense of place. The following list highlights just some of this range—there are hundreds more of course (and if you scroll for the bottom you will find links to other lists).
Top 10 Architecture Books of the Year
Norman Weinstein, architecture writer for The Christian Science Monitor, picks his top ten books on architecture that came out in 2009.
ArchNewsNow.com
Top 10 Books - 2009
Planetizen is pleased to release its eighth annual list of the ten best books in the planning field. With titles covering some of the most timely issues in planning -- from form-based codes to exploding growth in China -- the list gives readers an overview of the best ideas and writing in the field.
Reflecting on Planning and the Planet: Summer Readings that Help You Think
Sun, 06/29/2008 - 13:14
Lastmonth’s blog outlined how to find books recommended by many planners—important,classic, or accessible.
However,summer is also a time to push your viewpoint a bit further. For those wantingreadings that might push you tothink differently about planning, the following lists are useful startingpoints. (And a note to planners—we need more of these lists reflecting different placesand people and issues!)
Young Author Writes About Human Impact of Sprawl
Gina Olszowski's first book focuses on the personal stories of rural residents impacted by sprawl.
The Beacon News
Summer Reading about Planning: The Basics
Wed, 05/28/2008 - 06:22
As the northern summer starts, one of the questions I am asked most frequently by current and prospective planning students is: what should I read? A number of resources are available to answer this question. This month I look at general planning readings for a North American audience but in coming months I’ll explore readings about global planning issues, planning methods, and planning classics.
For those wanting an overview of planning issues, the following lists are good places to start:
