The American City: What Works, What Doesn't

The new third edition perfects and updates this towering achievement of American urban planning and real estate. Building on his original material and methodologies, Alexander Garvin adds hundreds of new color photographs, illustrations and diagrams, as well as updating and bringing the story of American cities to the present day. From the first edition, Garvin's work has served as the final word among those who study cities and endeavor to think seriously about real estate. Those who have followed the development of the text from the beginning will find it rewarding to see Garvin turn his attention to events of recent years, ranging from the 2008 economic crisis to Supreme Court zoning decisions to the latest developments in urban revitalization. The new photography and the new chapter on retrofitting cities are each major contributions in their own right to the field that could easily stand alone as separate works. Packaged with these new materials as well as with a comprehensive update to the original text, this edition of The American City will remain the definitive statement of its subject matter for decades to come.

I have used this text in my introduction to urban design seminar starting with the first edition. The current edition is an improvement over the last in particular the images he uses to support the text. I use other readings in the class, after all this is Alexander Garvin's point of view, and there is much other theoretical writing about the American city that places Garvin's opinions in a more broad context. For an introductory class this is a good text. I recommend reading his 2013 book, The Planning Game: Lessons from Great Cities, it adds value to content in The American City What Works, What Doesn't.

I am currently using this textbook in my Urban Geography course. I have found it to be a great text thus far and strongly recommend it. My students are enjoying it too.

Although this book is copywritten in 1996, all of the photos and graphics are black and white, many of which are poor resolution. On average, 75% of the book is writing (text), when a planning or design book should be the opposite. As I teach Urban Planning, my search for a good urban planning and design book continues.

Great book of knowledge. I hope it's written soon with updated information and stats.

Really amazing book!!

Alexander Garvin’s “The American City: What Works: What Doesn’t” is a holistic and disciplined account of the successes and failures of American urbanism. It is an excellent and definitive textbook for students of planning, design, urbanism, and public policy and equally valuable as a resource and reference for public officials and professionals in practice. Any citizen interested in understanding how change really happens in a city, and how they might play a part in it, will benefit enormously from reading this book. Alexander Garvin’s clear and concise writing guides the reader through some extraordinarily complex issues in a way that few other writers on the subject can match.The Third Edition of the American City is an up-to-date account, chronicling and evaluating new developments in American urbanism from New York’s High Line to the subprime mortgage crisis to the recent renaissance of neighborhoods like Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties. Dozens of photographs, maps and illustrations, most taken or prepared directly by Garvin himself, capture the changing character of American cities. The book is especially valuable because it conveys a profound and sophisticated appreciation for the complex interaction of forces that shape cities. No topic is examined in isolation. The chapters address the widest range of issues from politics to aesthetics to environmentalism to development. His carefully compiled observations, noting how cities have evolved, block-by-block, over decades, demonstrate outstanding scholarship.While Garvin skillfully addresses the major intellectual trends in urbanism and city planning of the past two centuries, unlike many planning or urbanism texts, The American City is more than an academic chronicle of “isms.” Instead, it is foundational: a thorough and trustworthy history, but also a guide of great practical utility. Of particular note, Garvin’s chapter entitled “The Life and Death of the City of Tomorrow” carefully evaluates the effects of twentieth century urban renewal from a refreshing and entirely 21st century perspective – a must read! Garvin is an astute observer of events with an eye towards identifying real-world outcomes. A chapter as innocuously entitled as “Reducing Housing Costs” can, with surprising brevity, equip one with a strong understanding of the the dizzying regulatory complexity of the low-income housing world: what’s been done, what works (and what doesn’t), and what may yet be done better.The American City is an active and engaging text: clearly the work of a person in practice sharing his outstanding professional expertise. While the book is objective and free from polemics, it is far from neutral. Instead, Garvin’s measured and thorough analysis challenges readers to think about their own capacity as agents in the process of shaping and transforming great American cities: this is the book’s greatest strength. It is well worth owning!

The American City is one of those books that I keep on buying again and again. As an unapologetic planning nerd, I am probably overly generous in lending out my books to friends and co-workers. Unfortunately, The American City is one of those books that borrowers "forget" to return. There are plenty of planners out there who are pure academics, which is fine. But Alex Garvin approaches the city from the perspective of those roles he has played over the years: planner, architect, developer, public official, and most important of, from the perspective of a citizen. This book gives readers the tools to be better observers of cities - the tools to understand why plans and projects succeed, and why they fail. As a real estate developer, I credit the methodology explained in Garvin's work for the success of my business. The new edition of the American City is actually much nicer than the old ones - almost all the photos are in color, and there is an entirely new chapter that is an inquiry into how cities can be re-thought in our evolving economy. A must read for anyone interested in local politics, planning, or real estate development.