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Thread: Does anyone have the book "Geography of Nowhere?"

  1. #1
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    Does anyone have the book "Geography of Nowhere?"

    Exqusme frind's ... I like to read the book of geography of nowhere but this book there is not in my country .
    do you have this book as pdf ? thank's

  2. #2
    Cyburbian DetroitPlanner's avatar
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    Here is a synopisis:

    Blah Blah
    I am great
    Everyone else is stupid.
    Detroit, Disney World, and Greefield Village suck.
    Lots of other places suck too.
    Saratoga Springs is great.
    I am great, smart as a whip too.
    Everyone else is stupid, and sucks.
    We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes - Fr Gabriel Richard 1805

  3. #3
    Cyburbian btrage's avatar
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    I have the book. Not a PDF though. I'll sell you the hard copy version.
    "I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany"

  4. #4
    Cyburbian ColoGI's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by DetroitPlanner View post
    Here is a synopisis:



    Detroit, Disney World, and Greefield Village suck.
    .
    Well...yes, that is why we move away and only come back for weddings and funerals. My poor wife will be subjected again to SE MI coming up soon.

    Nevertheless, he is a blowhard but with good points buried in the blowhardiness.
    -------
    Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.

  5. #5
    Cyburbia Administrator Dan's avatar
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    I recently recommended A Better Place to Live by Philip Langdon to someone as a less preachy, more practical alternative to Geography of Nowhere. A description from Amazon:

    American suburbs foster social isolation, dependence on the automobile, long commutes and segregation of land use, thereby contributing to family distress and civic decay. That damning verdict by Langdon ( Urban Excellence ), who crisscrossed the U.S. over the past 10 years, informs a much-needed and visionary critique of suburban planning and lifestyles. Among his proposals: organize communities around well-defined public spaces; create generous networks of streets and sidewalks that encourage people to explore their neighborhood; design houses oriented to facilitating residents' interactions and daily involvement in community. Policymakers and developers, in Langdon's view, ought to encourage pedestrian-scale, affordable suburbs--with shopping, services and employment close to home. Compelling reading for those concerned with the declining quality of life, his well-illustrated analysis will serve as a sourcebook for planners, architects, builders and designers.
    Suburban Nation by Andres Duany has a similar "call to action" spirit as Geography of Nowhere, but like A Better Place to Live, also offers practical solutions.
    Growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell. -- Edward Abbey

  6. #6
    Cyburbian jsk1983's avatar
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    Should have no problem finding someone willing to ship a used copy to your country. Look on Ebay or Amazon...

  7. #7
    Cyburbian Coragus's avatar
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    If you go to www.ted.com, and search for Kunstler, you can find a 20 minute video of him presenting a synopsis of the book.

    I've got the book, plus "The Long Emergency". I've also got "Home from Nowhere" but only because Mrs. Coragus bought it and I haven't read it.
    Hoping for a Natural 20 in life.

  8. #8
    Cyburbian Plus ofos's avatar
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    Kunstler...meh.
    “Nonconformity is the highest evolutionary attainment of social animals.” ― Aldo Leopold

  9. #9
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    Another option - Put the HEART Back In Your Community

    Kuntsler's book is angry and arrogant but provocative. A 2011 option is Put the HEART Back In Your Community which addresses similar issues in a positive manner with many examples from around the world. It's available as a Kindle book from Amazon as well as print. I will point out that I am a co-author of it and that reading Kuntsler's book was part of the impetus to write a more positive book. Also, this uses heritage interpretive planning principles to look at a city or community from the "software" side - not just population density, traffic management and zoning. It addresses the interests of people, history of the community, environmental values and how to balance the variety of options.

  10. #10
    Cyburbian DetroitPlanner's avatar
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    William Whyte and Roberta Gratz books are much better reads if you are interested in the social organization of urban spaces.
    We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes - Fr Gabriel Richard 1805

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally posted by DetroitPlanner View post
    Here is a synopisis:

    Blah Blah
    I am great
    Everyone else is stupid.
    Detroit, Disney World, and Greefield Village suck.
    Lots of other places suck too.
    Saratoga Springs is great.
    I am great, smart as a whip too.
    Everyone else is stupid, and sucks.
    Kunstler is intentionally controversial and has a sarcastic acid wit on top of that. He does a good job of getting people to recognize that in recent decades we've built a lot a crap that no one can be proud of. I have not read any of his books but have heard many of the podcasts and I've read the KunsterCast book, which is worth reading.

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