Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

factually informative but could use a little more perspective
This book is a blow-by-blow history of zoning in Chicago, showing how zoning became more and more restrictive over time.In Chicago, as in suburbia, government regulation sought to make the city more suburb-like: to require lower density and more parking every decade.

For example, the authors describe the 1942 zoning code as part of "an era of great innovation."Why?Because the city limited the intensity of development and required off-street parking for apartment buildings. In 1967, the city put more teeth in these rules by becoming less permissive towards variances; in the first third of 1967, it granted 86 percent of all variance requests, while later in the year it granted only 49 percent.

In 1971, the city went even further, requiring one parking space per dwelling unit, limiting the number of efficiencies in an apartment building, and requiring sideyards for apartment buildings. Even the city's 2004 zoning code (which in some ways tried to make the city more pedestrian-friendly) limited density even further in some areas.In addition, the code required any downtown building over 440 feet tall, and some residential developments as well, to be submitted as "planned developments" (thus requiring developers to negotiate details with the city) rather than through a less bureaucratic "as of right" procedure.

As historically interesting as this book is, I wish the authors had been more critical of this trend.The authors seem to write from the point of view of anti-density, NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) neighborhood activists, overlooking some of the unintended consequences of Chicago's regulatory trends.For example, if a city limits density in a desirable neighborhood, fewer people can live in that neighborhood- and many of the people priced out of the most desirable city neighborhoods will move to suburbia rather than to less desirable city neighborhoods.And every bit of land devoted to parking is a bit of land that could have been devoted to commerce or housing, thus possibly contributing to Chicago's decline in the late 20th century.And where parking is free or cheap thanks to a government-mandated ample supply, driving to work becomes more tempting than public transit, with negative environmental consequences. And more broadly, if development in a city is a bureaucratic hassle, and development in suburbia is "as of right", suburbia will become more tempting.

Yet after writing about the numerous ways in which government limited height and density, the authors write that despite the city's population losses, the zoning code "continued to encourage high-rise, high-density development."Do the authors really believe that Chicago be better off at a Detroit-like density?The failure of Detroit suggests otherwise.

Great for People who Love Chicago
Reviewed by Kathleen Dowdell for Reader Views (6/06)

For people who love the city of Chicago or who are interested in the intricate details of how cities are laid out to accommodate diverse activity, this book was meant for you. This is a well written and thoroughly researched documentation of the history of zoning in the city of Chicago. Zoning, regulations that separate residential and industrial activity, is a complex process whose idea germinated from Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago, which supported the need for the city to control its cultural and economic identity. After years of planning and drafting, the Chicago City Council adopted the zoning ordinance on April 5, 1923, thus the beginning of the development of Chicago as we see it today.

As zoning needs changed in the 1950's, planners sought to establish Chicago as a world- class city and used zoning to do just that. They began to promote high-rise, high-density office and residential development based on population forecasts which predicted dramatic growth in the city. As controversial as zoning became over the years, the city gained much experience in working with developers, residents, and grass-roots organizations that wanted a say in how their neighborhoods were being developed. Skyscrapers were shooting up everywhere and many were concerned they would smother the openness of the retail districts and views of the lake. Over the years, height and volume limits increased making Chicago what it is today, the architectural genius and much coveted work/leisure city of the world.

Published in 2006, "The Politics of Place: A History of Zoning in Chicago" gives a brief overview of the early development of Chicago from the time it incorporated as a village in 1833 through today. There are some interesting aerial views of the city as well as residential and commercial developments. This would make a nice gift for an architectural historian or people who work in commercial or residential planning and development.

Strongly recommended for all readers with an interest in the culinary arts
A Cook's Guide To Chicago: Where To Find Everything You Need And Lots Of Things You Didn't Know You Did by Marilyn Pocius is expanded and updated second edition of an informed and informatively detailed exploration into the great city of Chicago's tasty delicacies and dishes. Inclusive of recipes ranging from Yucca With Marilyn's Mojo; Genna's Spinach Risotto; and Lee's Borscht to Pickled Pink; Double-Ginger Rhubarb Chutney; and Chef Tim's Vietnamese-Style Pork Tenderloin, A Cook's Guide To Chicago offers readers not only the addresses, histories, and tastes of remarkable restaurants, but easy-to-follow and "kitchen cook friendly" recipes from them as well. A Cook's Guide To Chicago is very strongly recommended for all readers with an interest in the culinary arts and for those wishing to discover the most intriguing culture of the amazing Chicago area.
... Read more

Product Description
Exploring the promise and limits of grassroots strategies for community organizing, development and planning, this book looks at how they can be used in the revitalization and maintenance of urban neighborhoods. The book presents a number of case studies from the United States, analyzing the reasons for success and failure, and concludes with recommendations in the form of a "tool kit" for planners and community leaders. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Significant Contribution
Scholars and interested parties critical of the presumptions and practicies of HUD's infamous HOPE VI program have often had a byzantine research path to follow.Part of the blame falls on the lack of institutional memory at HUD (referenced in the Zhang and Weismann paper in chapter 2 of this book), but serious critical insight into this program has been a long time in coming.Given the considerable impacts this program has had and continues to have on urban ethnic and racial minorities, that is a major public administration shortcoming.

Using the ongoing Chicago "Plan for Transformation" experience as a springboard, this volume furnishes the best one volume treatment of ongoing American public housing "transformations" currently available.This book is highly informative; in addition to containing chapters on the historical context of 1990's "transformation," the book also furnishes analysis of what the demolition of public housing actually looked like on the ground, who stood (and stands) to benefit from the gentrification engendered by the demolition of high profile public housing, and also contains some excellent critical analysis of the "new urbanist" premises that were built into the HOPE VI program in the early to mid 1990's.

This book is a much-needed critical antidote to the architectural determinism of much of the "smart growth" and "new urbanist" dogma still seeping out of this country's leading urban and regional planning schools.One noteworthy example:New Orleans, post hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Armed with the information this book contains, advocates and activists nationwide should be able to stand on more equal footing with the well compensated "consultants," professors, and graduate students that were responsible for the demolition of many historic public housing communities around the United States.

Note:This review refers to the paperback edition of this book, which is considerably more affordable than the hardcover version.The binding of the paperback edition is pretty flimsy (pages are already falling out of my almost new copy), but the lower price makes that acceptable. ... Read more

Product Description
This workbook is designed to guide the user through the formulation of the components of a future land use plan. It provides hands-on experience with the application of GIS technology for land analysis at various scales; guides the user through the process of working with factual land use, population and socio-economic data; as well as assessing land use policies to formulate alternative land use plans and designs. The workbook also includes a special CD containing GIS data files. New to this edition are many additional illustrative images, GIS exercise instructions written for ArcGIS with useful screenshots to facilitate the completion of exercises, and revised and new data sets on CD (including parcels, roads, water and sewer service boundaries, and streams). This new edition also includes updated and new exercises for identifying issues and constructing scenarios; communitywide land use design; creating a small area plan; land supply and demand acreages via generalized land use categories, and the plan quality evaluation protocol.The exercises in this workbook are designed to complement "Urban Land Use Planning, 5th Edition", but may also be used on their own in city planning, geography, and urban studies courses. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Workbook is a great to a class.
I have used the Hypo-City workbook in my Land Use and Growth Management course at the University of Virginia for several years. What I like about the workbook is that it is based on GIS layers and approaches plan making as a logical series of layered rounds reflected in eight exercises. These can be used selectively - I use four of them and actually use several texts rather than Urban Land Use Planning. Students/instructors can customize the exercises to emphasize particular issues or to partially replicate a real community. Students work in teams and welcome this applied addition to course readings and lectures. I have developed a modification to highlight the issue of exurban sprawl and would be happy to share that with anyone who is interested. Contact me at dotson@virginia.edu. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

my photo mentor!
Bob Thall happens to have been my Photo/Darkroom 1 teacher in college back in the late 80s. This gentleman is the bomb! Hey, I already got my grades, so I have absolutely nothing to gain here! Going into the class, I had, to put it mildly, a very poor eye for photography. I mean, anyone can use a camera. However Bob enabled me to acquire a real appreciation for photography as an art form, to the extent that I am still taking photographs, almost every day of my life, literally! In fact, I recommend to every serious student that I meet (I am still taking classes!) to enroll in a Photo/Darkroom 1 class with Bob Thall. He has helped imbue me with an artistic sense and keen eye that is helpful in any art class or artistic related endeavor. OK now about the book: It rocks! While some consider his work dry (he said it himself almost 20 years ago), if you take a close and careful look at every aspect of his work including content, composition, shooting, printing, etc., you may see what I see... Who else could make a photograph of a Chicago alley look so darn beautiful?!

meticulous revelations, gorgeous results
Bob Thall has been making marvelous photographic books from marvelous big-camera photographs for more than a decade.He's also been systematically investigating the city of Chicago as a test case for the 21st century city.PERFECT CITY began by looking at the creative destruction of an architecturally significant and economically vibrant American urban downtown;THE NEW AMERICAN VILLAGE then looked at the new "urbanism" of what Joel Garreau has called the Edge Cities that have sprung up along the interstates and tollroads at a safe distance from the old metropolis.Now with CITY SPACES, he's tackling the newest phenomenon of American urbanism:the nostalgic return of downtowns as places to work, live,and be entertained.It's Thall's quirky intelligence at work that a collection of photographs of alleys could become a book about the resurgence of the old city, but that's what he shows us-- the way the city's encrustations of history, its graffiti, old signs, strange corners, odd spaces, and once-vibrant functional loading docks have become objects of nostalgic reverie, and Thall offers to be our guide in this visual treasure-hunt.This is a photographer of decidedly modernist sentiments.The play of subtle light on worn brick, the way mirror glass recedes deceptively into a non-existent, yet absurdly convincing surreal skyscape, the delight you feel as things line up into sensuous arrays when you stand precisely THERE and tilt your head like THIS and bend your knees oh-so-slightly:these are the matters of this book.Such visual sleight-of-sight requires superb printing to work in a book;luckily the Icelandic printers have labored with Nordic determination and the results are astonishing:blacks as smooth as velvet but still retaining a sense of detailed dark space; silvery sheens to steel, walls that crumble as you look at them. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Review of 'City In Time: Chicago'
This collection of photographs presents an excellent introduction to many of the big figures and moments in Chicago's history. It also presents a dazzling display of photographs from about one hundred landmarks in the city, both in historical photographs and modern color. Each page gives a bit of information on the landmark featured. There is just enough type to keep readers interested, but not so much as to discourage turning the page--this is essentially an adult's picture book.

A Nice Pictorial History of the City of Chicago
This book combines history and photography. Many landmarks are featured, including the Art Institute, the museums, the Regenstein Library of the University of Chicago, the Sears Tower, Daley Center (formerly the Civic Center), Wrigley Field, and much more.

Chicago inventions are discussed, such as the Ferris wheel, the Chicago-style hot dog, the Hostess Twinkies, softball, etc. Besides, many "firsts" took place in Chicago, including the first man-made nuclear chain reaction in 1942.

Although Chicago is now the third largest city in the US, and is dwarfed by many urban complexes throughout the world, it still is ranked among the top "Alpha" 10 cities in the entire world in terms of its overall influence (p. 11).

A bibliography is provided for further reading about this exciting city.

City of the Broad Shoulders
If you love Chicago, you'll love this book, especially if you are no longer near Chicago.
We have here 140 pages of pictures of Chicago landmarks, sorted into "then" on the left page and "now" on the right, accompanied by about a hundred words of caption explaining what you are looking at and why it is significant.All are landmarks of Chicago and include at least one spot everybody who has ever been there must have gone by, stared at, gone in, or admired.
As a graduate of Illinois Tech., I did catch one awful clinker.To have the building on page 109 (the original Old Main of Armour Institute of Technology) called Crown Hall (it is really about two blocks from there) must have had Mies van der Rohe spinning in his grave for at least a month. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Cities of the United States, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 155 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Provides a wide range of hard-to-locate data to answer questions concerning American cities. Includes thorough coverage of the area's largest or fastest-growing cities, or those with a particular historical, political, industrial or commercial significance. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Cities of the United States, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 114 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Provides a wide range of hard-to-locate data to answer questions concerning American cities. Includes thorough coverage of the area's largest or fastest-growing cities, or those with a particular historical, political, industrial or commercial significance. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Valley City is a village in Pike County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14 at the 2000 census.According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²), of which, 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it is land and 4.76% is water.As of the census of 2000, there were 14 people, 4 households, and 3 families residing in the village. The population density was 71.5 people per square mile (27.0/km²). There were 7 housing units at an average density of 35.7/sq mi (13.5/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 100.00% White. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! GraniteCity is a city in Madison County, Illinois,United States, part of the Greater St. Louismetropolitan area. At the 2000 census, thepopulation was 31,301, with a total of about 67,000in the immediate area. Officially founded in 1896,Granite City was named by the Niedringhaus brotherswho established it as a steel making company townfor the manufacture of kitchen utensils made to looklike granite. Granite City is often simplycalled "Granite." ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Yates City is a village in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The population was 725 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the census of 2000, there were 725 people, 299 households, and 209 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,235.2 people per square mile (474.4/km²). There were 322 housing units at an average density of 548.6/sq mi (210.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.90% White, 0.41% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.28% from other races, and 0.28% from two or more races. There were 299 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.2% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.95. ... Read more

Product Description
Hardcover; gold cloth ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

A treasure for both Chicagoans and visitors
This is a rich book woven with many unexpected strands: gorgeous new photos and historic images; hidden places around the city alongside fresh insights on the familiar ones; maps and background pieces, along with captions and essays. It ambitiously considers both architecture and landscape, not simply as two related topics but as proof of the thesis that architecture and landscape uniquely merged in nineteenth-century Chicago. That merger is a dynamic process, and Chappell is unafraid to make contemporary observations. Note to Chicago's Olympic Committee: Here is Exhibit A for Chicago's status as a global city with long experience in welcoming the world. Even back in the 1980s, "I found members of nineteen different ethnic groups occupying a single acre [of Lincoln Park] on a warm summer day. When presenting my findings, I claimed that Lincoln Park had the greatest ethnic diversity of any park in Chicago. My colleague, Kenneth Fidel, a sociologist, later told me I had understated my case; I should have said 'in the world.'"

A Small Jewel
This book is a small jewel, reflecting all the riches of Chicago's fusion of architecture and landscape, with beautiful photographs, useful
maps and suggested tours. A real treasure! ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Style, published by Northern Illinois University on March 22, 2009. The length of the article is 1057 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Peter J. Kalliney. Cities of Affluence and Anger: A Literary Geography of Modern Englishness.(Book review)
Author: Ryan Hibbett
Publication: Style (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2009
Publisher: Northern Illinois University
Volume: 43Issue: 1Page: 132(3)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. Northern Illinois is dominated by the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Rockford, and the Quad Cities, which contain a majority (over 75%) of Illinois' population and economic activity, including numerous Fortune 500 companies and a heavy manufacturing, commercial, retail, service, and office based economy. Much of the economic activity of the region is centered in the Chicago Loop, the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor, and the Golden Corridor. However, rural sections of this region are highly productive agriculturally, and are part of the Corn Belt. ... Read more