Freedgood, Julia. Cost of Community Services Studies: Making the Case for Conservation. Washington, D.C.: American Farmland Trust, 2002.

An evaluation of 83 studies conducted in 19 states that compare the net fiscal contribution of different land uses. The studies have found that on average, residential development generates significant tax revenue, but requires costly public services that surpass its tax contributions. In contrast, farm, ranch, and forest lands consistently generate tax surpluses. Reviewed in August/September 2003 issue of Planning magazine.

Goldberg, David. Choosing our Community’s Future: a Citizen’s Guide to Getting the Most Out of New Development. Washington, D.C.: Smart Growth America, 2005.

The guidebook is intended as a helpful companion to participants in design charettes, community planning processes, symposiums, and seminars on planning issues, education programs for newly elected officials and civic leaders, or for anyone who wants to get a leg up on development. Written in everyday language by a veteran journalist and citizen advocate in conjunction with experts in various arenas, the book is easy on the eye, with an appealing format, abundant photographs, and illustrative examples.

Figueres, Caroline M., Cecilia Tortajada, and Johan Rockstrom, eds. Rethinking Water Management: Innovative Approaches to Contemporary Issues. London: Earthscan, 2003.

In Rethinking Water Management, a new generation of water experts from around the world examines the critical challenges confronting the water profession, including rainwater and groundwater management, recycling and reuse, water rights, transboundary access to water and financing of water. They offer important new perspectives on the use, management and conservation of fresh water, in terms of both quantity and quality, for the domestic, agricultural and industrial sectors, and show how a new set of paradigms can be applied to successfully manage water for the future.

McLennan, Jason F. The Philosophy of Sustainable Design: The Future of Architecture. Kansas City, Mo.: Ecotone, 2004.

This book is intended as a starting point for anyone involved in the building industry on a journey to learn how he or she can build more responsibly. The book is rooted in practical knowledge but rather than being a "how to" book asks individuals to understand how the philosophy of sustainable design can affect their own work. Part Sustainable Design 101 and part manifesto, this book lays the groundwork and philosophical basis for more technical study. Reviewed in June 2005 issue of Planning magazine.

Sustainable City III: Urban Regeneration and Sustainability. Southampton, UK: WIT Press, 2004.

This book contains 70 papers presented at the Third International Conference on the Sustainable City. Reviewed in May 2005 issue of Planning magazine.

Schwanke, Dean. Mixed-Use Development Handbook. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: Urban Land Institute, 2003.

The latest volume in ULI's Development Handbook Series, this illustrated reference takes you step by step through the development of complex mixed-use projects. You will learn about the key points that can make or break a project, and get in-depth information on feasibility, financing, planning and design, regulatory issues, marketing, and management. Case studies describe how seasoned professionals developed projects with a wide range of densities — from suburban town centers to high-rise mixed-use towers.

Kohn, Margaret. Brave New Neighborhoods: The Privatization of Public Space. New York: Routledge, 2004.

Fighting for First Amendment rights is as popular a pastime as ever, but just because you can get on your soapbox doesn't mean anyone will be there to listen. Town squares have emptied out as shoppers decamp for megamalls; gated communities keep pesky signature gathering activists away; even most Internet chat rooms are run by the major media companies. Brave New Neighborhoods considers what can be done to protect and revitalize our public spaces. In recent years, courts have upheld prohibitions preventing homeless people from begging in the subway, tenants from distributing newsletters to their neighbors, and activists from leafleting in front of the post office. Brave New Neighborhoods lays out the blueprints of the future towns these changes have created, and in this new geography, the First Amendment comes from the wrong side of the tracks. Reviewed in May 2005 issue of Planning magazine.

Lind, Brenda. Working Forest Conservation Easements: a Process Guide for Land Trusts, Landowners and Public Agencies. Washington, D.C.: Land Trust Alliance, 2001.

Working Forest Conservation Easements is designed to help individuals and organizations craft conservation easements to protect the many values of working forestland. The book presents sample easement language from a variety of organizations.

Mandelker, Daniel R., ed. Planning Reform in the New Century. Chicago: Planners Press, 2005.

Planning has reached a turning point. Problems the profession has grappled with for years remain unsolved. Programs once heralded as panaceas are stumbling. Current legislation is inadequate for the demands of the new century. With tough criticisms and bold ideas, these planners, lawyers, and researchers offer their perspectives on the pitfalls and opportunities that await the profession. Their observations on statutory reform, affordable housing, growth management and the role of the comprehensive plan in land-use decisions are a blueprint for planning reform. The proceedings of a December 2004 conference sponsored by the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at the Washington University School of Law and the American Planning Association.

Merriam Dwight H. The Complete Guide to Zoning: How Real Estate Owners and Developers can create and Preserve Property Value. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.

Whether you're a home owner, investor, or developer, The Complete Guide to Zoning gives you a clear understanding of the sometimes complex zoning laws that apply to your property. In this plain-English guide, zoning wizard Dwight Merriam gives you the tools to not only prevent property depreciation, but add to its worth with improvements and renovations.

Salkin, Patricia E., ed. 2005 Zoning and Planning Law Handbook. St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West, 2005.

Stay on the cutting edge of all the latest land use law developments and trends. Opens with a survey of recent developments in zoning and land use law, including Supreme Court and lower court decisions and legislative and administrative activity. Gives you a cutting-edge perspective on the most critical land use, zoning law, and conservation issues of our time. Offers thorough, expert treatment of evolving and projected trends, significant developments, and relevant case law concerning such key topics as special zoning districts and discretionary development review, site plan review and approval, and neighborhood opposition as a factor in zoning decisions.

Peterson, Jon A. The Birth of City Planning in the United States, 1840-1917. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.

Co-winner of the 2005 Spiro Kostof Award given by the Society of Architectural Historians. A sweeping narrative history of the origins of city planning in the United States, from its 19th-century antecedents to its flowering in the early 20th century. Deeply researched, well written, and engaging, the text is supplemented by a selection of historic plans, illustrations, and photographs. Topics covered in detail include the McMillan Plan for Washington, D.C. (the first comprehensive plan for an American city), the City Beautiful movement, the major planners — Daniel Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., Charles Mulford Robinson, John Nolen, and others — who led the planning movement; the ascendancy of a generalist approach to the shaping of the physical city, the role of the Progressive Era reform, and the emergence of city planning as a novel field of public endeavor.

Levy, John M. Contemporary Urban Planning. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 2003.

This book gives students an insider's view of sub-state urban planning — the "nitty-gritty" details on the interplay of politics, law, money, and interest groups. The author takes a balanced, non-judgmental approach to introduce a range of ideological and political perspectives on the operation of political, economic, and demographic forces in city planning. Unlike other books on the subject, this text is strong in its coverage of economics, law, finance, and urban governance. It examines the underlying forces of growth and change and discusses frankly who benefits and loses by particular decisions.

Breen, Ann, and Dick Rigby. Intown Living: A Different American Dream. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2004.

After decades of abandonment, cities across North America are experiencing a renaissance. A new generation is seeking greater excitement and diversity than the typical suburban subdivision offers and many people are instead looking to make their homes in lively urban environments. In Intown Living, authors Ann Breen and Dick Rigby document this movement, arguing that if properly nurtured, it could help slow current patterns of sprawling development and help revitalize America's cities. They illustrate the many benefits of city living and offer strategies and encouragement for public officials and private developers to team up and expand central city housing opportunities. The authors present in-depth studies of eight cities — Atlanta; Dallas; Houston; Memphis; Minneapolis; New Orleans; Portland, Oregon; and Vancouver, British Columbia — that are experiencing this type of renaissance, and consider common elements shared by the cities, as well as their differences.

Immergluck, Dan. Credit to the Community: Community Reinvestment and Fair Lending Policy in the United States. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2004.

Immergluck takes issue with those calling for deregulation of financial services — especially in the arena of fair lending and consumer protection — and gives new voice to rationales for social contract policies such as the Community Reinvestment Act. He provides new long-term analysis of the failure of federal bank regulators to enforce the CRA, and also shows how increased community activism and media attention have led to sporadic periods of stronger CRA enforcement. Finally, he recommends a number of policy changes that are needed to modernize the nation's fair lending and community reinvestment laws and make them more relevant for the 21st century. Reviewed in December 2004 issue of Planning magazine.

Barnett, Jonathan. Redesigning Cities: Principles, Practice, Implementation. Chicago: Planners Press, 2003.

Barnett explains how design can reshape suburban growth patterns, revitalize older cities, and retrofit metropolitan areas where earlier development decisions went wrong. He describes in detail specific techniques, materials, and technologies that should be known (but often aren't) to planners, public officials, concerned citizens, and others involved in development.

Charlesworth, Esther, ed. City Edge: Case Studies in Contemporary Urbanism. Oxford, UK: Architectural Press, 2005.

This series of essays outlines a number of case studies from Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia and provides first hand accounts of the experiences that planners, architects, and politicians have had in reshaping cities. These insights provide a pragmatic assessment of the challenges and constraints posed by changing patterns of urban growth in a broad spectrum of urban environments. The reader will discover, through these multiple voices and views, the diverse forms of global cities, and will have a grasp of where the debate on urban design stands today, and where it may be going in the future.

Sucher, David. City Comforts: How to Build an Urban Village. 2nd ed. Seattle: City Comforts, Inc., 2003.

The "theory" of this book is that we don't pay attention to the small details of cities that really make the difference in our comfort. We spend a lot of time planning, a lot of time thinking about how wonderful it could all be. But we don't spend a whole lot of effort dealing with the thousands of small details that make up our daily experience. We are great on large-scale strategy and a bit inept at tactics. The simple patterns and simple details shown in City Comforts are not any panacea but they provide a framework for judging new construction, for separating the simple but crucial patterns from the trivial matters of style. This simple framework asks us to examine a very few elements of the urban landscape but it will go a long way to improve our cities. Reviewed in January/February 2004 issue of New Urban News. The author's blog.