The Geography of Nowhere

After relocated to a large urban city, I have been spending large portions of time thinking about urban planning. A professor recommended The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler. as a quintessential read. Needless to say the book is an enlightening look into how America rejected traditional building practices and created the geography of nowhere because every community looks nearly identical.

The book goes into how functional communities are essential to one's quality of living. The suburb is the antithesis to the functional community because zoning laws end up requiring communities to be build requiring the automobile for transportation. The book argues that nearly all American communities are designed for one purpose--driving.

Kunstler argues for a revival of civic art and civic life in order to rediscover public virtue and a new vision of the common good. The book showcases a wonderful record of American urban blunders and plunders. Highly recommended read on the illogical American urban culture.