Reviews » Archives » August 2008

Another inconvenient truth: places with warm Januarys and cool Julys put out less carbon dioxide.

It seems so harmless. Who wouldn’t prefer to worship, play chess, or go shopping without having to deal with some knucklehead who thinks George W. Bush is a great president — or (alternatively) who blames Bill Clinton’s troubles on a vast conspiracy? . . . Then again, who wants to live in a country divided into two implacably hostile tribes?

The August 13 issue of the New Republic offers a double treat of pop urbanism.

“Complete streets” – welcoming to cars, bicyclists, transit, and pedestrians alike – are all the rage now, but who knew they had a history? Less than 90 years ago they were the standard. Now historian Peter Norton of the University of Virginia has told the forgotten story of how cars took them over.

Traffic congestion may be different than you think.

Form-based codes let communities set the standard for what new development should look like. They’re transparent and they don’t assume that homes and stores will ruin each other if they’re next door. Will they leave room for creativity and change? It’s hard to see how they could do worse than standard-issue Euclidean zoning has.