|
Source #__1__ Bibliography
(MLA or APA)
10 pts
|
Kunstler, J. H. (1993). The geography of nowhere: The rise and decline of America's man-made landscape. New York: Simon & Schuster.
|
|
Annotation:
(Describe ALL info. that might be important for your paper. Explain to the reader and/or summarize what might be found in this source)
35 pts
|
This book gives relatively detailed accounts of the history of the American landscape. Each chapter is structured like a case study for a single topic. Despite the age of the novel, it covers issues such as autocentricism and suburban sprawl which still resonate within the contemporary planning landscape. Additionally, the book includes several personal testimonies and well researched historical narratives which could supplement further research in specific areas, such as the effect the Robert Moses had on public transportation in America. Mostly, the work focuses on the effect of suburban sprawl on the American landscape, and the negative repercussions that the population has faced since the end of World War 2.
|
|
Potential Quotes:
(Are there any significant quotes you can use or paraphrase from this source?)
15 pts
|
“We built so many terrible communities since 1945, and destroyed so much that was good, that there is very little to refer to.” (138)
“In almost all communities designed since 1950, it is a practical impossibility to go about the ordinary business of living without a car. This at once disables children under the legal driving age, some elderly people, and those who cannot afford the several thousand dollars a year that it costs to keep a car… This produces two separate classes of citizens: those who can fully use their everyday environment, and those who cannot.” (115)
“The two elements of the suburban pattern that cause the greatest problems are the extreme separation of uses and the vast distances between things… The separation of uses is also the reason why there are no apartments over the stores in the thousands of big shopping centers built since 1945, though our society desperately needs cheap, decent housing for those who are not rich” (117)
|
|
Assessment:
(Analyze and explain why this source is credible)
15 pts
|
While this is not a scientific article or journal, this source is able to provide a more lax and casual approach to the study of planning. The book is still highly credible, as pages 277-284 include detailed footnotes and a bibliography of a wide number of sources. Additionally, the author, James Howard Kunstler, has a reputation as an American journalist, writing for the Rolling Stone and New York Times, as well as a blogger. He had also published eight novels. This book, however, was published in 1993, so it is 25 years old. Despite this, it still retains applicable information an ideas to the contemporary field of planning.
|
|
Reflection:
(How will you potentially use it?)
25 pts
|
I can use this book as it provides personal testimony to the effects of suburban sprawl, and the necessity of redevelopment in the American landscape. It is well researched, so even if I do not cite it directly, I have the bibliography at the end at my disposal to retrieve even more sources on planning. This book can also be used as a comparison of what planning focused on 25 years ago and what it is doing today. Surprisingly, they are both very similar, as the novel emphasizes the need for walkable communities and the introduction of a mix of uses to revitalize the then dying American landscape.
|
Yasamin, 1/27
No comments:
Post a Comment