For a decade, Suburban Nation has given voice to a growing movement in North America to put an end to suburban sprawl and replace the last century's automobile-based settlement patterns with a return to more traditional planning. Founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism, Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk are at the forefront of the movement, and even their critics, such as Fred Barnes in The Weekly Standard , recognized that " Suburban Nation is likely to become this movement's bible." A lively lament about the failures of postwar planning, this is also that rare book that offers solutions: "an essential handbook" ( San Francisco Chronicle ). This tenth anniversary edition includes a new preface by the authors. “As compelling and important as Jane Jacobs's The Death and Life of Great American Cities and Venturi, Brown, and Izenour's Learning from Las Vegas . . . Everyone who cares about the future of our American way of life should read this book.” ― ROBERT A. M. STERN, Dean, Yale School of Architecture “Among the wittiest and most perceptive books about sprawl. You couldn't ask for a better trio to guide you through any part of the American built environment.” ― HAROLD HENDERSON, Planning Andres Duany , with Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, leads a firm that has designed more than 200 new neighborhoods and community revitalization plans, most notably Seaside, Florida. He is co-author of Suburban Nation . Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk lead a firm that has designed more than 200 new neighborhoods and community revitalization plans, most notably Seaside, Florida. Jeff Speck , coauthor of the landmark bestseller Suburban Nation , is a city planner who advocates for smart growth and sustainable design. As the former director of design at the National Endowment for the Arts, he oversaw the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, where he worked with dozens of American mayors on their most pressing city planning challenges. He leads a design practice based in Washington, D.C. Suburban Nation (10th Anniversary Edition) The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream By Andres Duany North Point Press Copyright © 2010 Andres Duany All right reserved. ISBN: 9780865477506 1 WHAT IS SPRAWL, AND WHY? TWO WAYS TO GROW; THE FIVE COMPONENTS OF SPRAWL; A BRIEF HISTORY OF SPRAWL; WHY VIRGINIA BEACH IS NOT ALEXANDRIA; NEIGHBORHOOD PLANS VERSUS SPRAWL PLANSThe cities will be part of the country; I shall live 30 miles from my office in one direction, under a pine tree; my secretary will live 30 miles away from it too, in the other direction, under another pine tree. We shall both have our own car. We shall use up tires, wear out road surfaces and gears, consume oil and gasoline. All of which will necessitate a great deal of work . . . enough for all. --LE CORBUSIER, THE RADIANT CITY (1967)TWO WAYS TO GROW This book is a study of two different models of urban growth: the traditional neighborhood and suburban sprawl. They are polar opposites in appearance, function, and character: they look different, they act differently, and they affect us in different ways. The traditional neighborhood was the fundamental form of European settlement on this continent through the Second World War, from St. Augustine to Seattle. It continues to be the dominant pattern of habitation outside the United States, as it has been throughout recorded history. The traditional neighborhood--represented by mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly communities of varied population, either standing free as villages or grouped into towns and cities--has proved to be a sustainable form of growth. It allowed us to settle the continent without bankrupting the country or destroying the countryside in the process.The traditional neighborhood: naturally occurring, pedestrian-friendly, and diverse. Daily needs are located within walking distance Suburban sprawl, now the standard North American pattern of growth, ignores historical precedent and human experience. It is an invention, conceived by architects, engineers, and planners, and promoted by developers in the great sweeping aside of the old that occurred after the Second World War. Unlike the traditional neighborhood model, which evolved organically as a response to human needs, suburban sprawl is an idealized artificial system. It is not without a certain beauty: it is rational, consistent, and comprehensive. Its performance is largely predictable. It is an outgrowth of modern problem solving: a system for living. Unfortunately, this system is already showing itself to be unsustainable. Unlike the traditional neighborhood, sprawl is not healthy growth; it is essentially self-destructive. Even at relatively low population densities, sprawl tends not to pay for itself financially and consumes land at an alarming rate, while producing insurmountable traffic problems and exacerbating social inequity and isolation. These particular outcomes were not predicted. Neither