Since 1945 North Americans have spent hundreds of billions of dollars on urban development, literally transforming the landscape of the continent. This development is disastrous, Edmund Fowler maintains, because it is inordinately expensive, destructive of the environment, and disruptive of healthy social life and authentic politics. Revealing the connections between our basic cultural beliefs and why we build the way we do, Fowler stresses that to build cities that work we must become aware of how our personal choices contribute to the form of the built environment. Contents Tables and Figures Preface 1 Postwar City Building from Above and Below The New Urban Environment The Areas of the Toronto Study PART ONE: THE LACK OF PHYSICAL DIVERSITY: ITS CONSEQUENCES 2 The Economic Costs of the New North American City The Costs of Municipal Services Housing Retail and Manufacturing Conclusions 3 The Social Consequences of the New North American City The Suburbs Likes and Dislikes Friendship Patterns Crime 4 Children Belonging to the Environment Socializing Juvenile Delinquency 5 Politics and the New Urban Environment Conventional Politics 115 Authentic Politics Local Government The Impact of the New Built Environment on Politics PART TWO: EXPLORING WHY WE BUILT THIS WAY: OPENINGS TO CHANGE 6 Why Did We Do It? Explanations for the Postwar Urban Environment Economic Explanations Political Explanations Culture Planners and Planning 7 Basic Assumptions Separation from Nature Economic Institutions Political Institutions 8 Our Cities, Our Selves Appendix The Areas and Their Scores on Physical Diversity Notes Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z Using Jane Jacobs' critique of postwar city-building as a starting point, Fowler shows that recent North American urban development has been characterized by development projects on a massive scale, an indiscriminate use of vast areas of land, and an increasingly evident homogeneity. These are characteristics, Fowler argues, of a perverse and unnatural way of building that is wrecking the planet and enfeebling our social and political networks. In exploring how the built environment contributes to social problems, Fowler used Toronto as a case study, conducting extensive field work in nineteen areas of the city. He shows not only that postwar building was the result of conscious public policy but goes further, arguing that our cities reflect deep-seated insecurities and cultural malaise in surprisingly direct ways. "Tower concludes on a positive note, with many examples of how people have rethought their values and, in cooperation with their neighbours, have organized their physical and social environments on a small, ecologically friendly scale."--Résumé de l'éditeur In exploring how the built environment contributes to social problems, Fowler used Toronto as a case study, conducting extensive field work in 19 areas of the city.
