Dolores Hayden
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A FIELD GUIDE TO SPRAWLPlanetizen Ten Best Books in Urban Studies Discover Top Twenty Books in Science The Independent (London) Pick of the Picture Books A lexicon of the colorful slang, from alligator investment to zoomburb, that defines sprawl in America today, illustrated with aerial photographs by Jim Wark. Duck, ruburb, tower farm, big box, and pig-in-a-python are among dozens of zany terms invented by real estate developers and designers today to characterize land use practices and the physical elements of sprawl. Sprawl in the environment, based on the metaphor of a person spread out, is hard to define. This concise book engages its meaning, explains common building patterns, and illustrates the visual culture of sprawl. Seventy-five stunning color aerial photographs, each paired with a definition, convey the impact of excessive development and provide verbal and visual vocabulary needed by professionals, public officials, and citizens to critique uncontrolled growth in the American landscape. ‘An eye-popping compendium of 51 ‘built conditions’ and the memorable terms that describe them.’ ––The Boston Globe ‘[A]landmark contribution to this literature.’ ––The Nation ‘A mere glance through the pages of this book offers a quick education about the excesses of the recently built environment. Hayden…provides a combination of informed but breezy text and 75 large, crisp color images that greatly simplify the task of 'decoding everyday American landscapes.'...This book is a concise guide to not only sprawl itself but to the powerful political and financial forces that sustain it.’ ––Publisher's Weekly ‘Americans do not have to tolerate sprawl…but act now, or forever clutch a survivor's copy of 'A Field Guide to Sprawl'.’ ––San Diego Union-Tribune ‘May well establish Ms. Hayden as the Roger Tory Peterson of Sprawl.’ ––The New York Times ‘Engagingly organized and splendidly photographed.’ ––Wall Street Journal ‘A wonderful guide to the terrible things being done to the American landscape.’ ––Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation ‘Novel...a compact, quirky, self-styled 'devil's dictionary'...fascinating color aerial photos.’ ––Library Journal ISBN: 0-393-73125-1 W.W. Norton $24.95 144 pages, cloth, 75 color illus. Dolores Hayden, A Field Guide to Sprawl Sprawl Quiz 1. An alligator is: A. a housemate who snaps at you B. a green appliqué on your date’s pink polo shirt C. a real estate investment producing no income 2. You talk to your friends about TOADS: A. the ugliest buildings you have ever seen B. because it is springtime C. temporary, abandoned, obsolete,or derelict structures 3. How many waste tires sit on tire mountains and tire dumps in the U.S.? A. 1,000,000 B. 100,000,000 C. 500,000,000 4. Litter-on-a-stick refers to: A. throwing away a popsicle B. failing to recycle newspapers C. outdoor advertising, especially billboards 5. Ball-pork has been defined as: A. hot dogs at the Yankees’ game B. too many pigs crowded into a pen C. a new stadium provided at taxpayers’ expense for a privately-owned ball team 6. “Rurban” describes rapid urbanization in rural areas. A sociologist coined the term in: A. 2004 B. 1994 C. 1946 7. A demographer has defined fifty-three “boomburbs” in the United States as: A. places with over 100,000 residents that are not the largest cities in their metro areas B. suburban places that have maintained double digit population growth in recent decades C. both A and B are required to define a boomburb 8. LOS-F is engineering jargon for “level of service, failing.” It is most commonly used to refer to: A. the effects of drought on water systems B. electrical blackouts on the power grid C. traffic jams 9. Businessmen and public officials participating in a “growth machine”: A. shorten the time from planting to harvest B. boost a stock C. promote real estate development 10. The “mansion subsidy” which promotes monster houses is a personal income tax deduction for home mortgage interest, points, and property taxes (covering up to two homes and a principal of $1 million). Every year it costs the U.S. government: A. $10 million B. $100 million C. $100 billion 11. A developer who creates a “pig-in-a-python” has built: A. a dump B. an overly wide intersection C. an edge city extended from a strip 12. “Dead worm” is used to critique: A. environmental pollution B. dangling wires C. cul-de-sac layouts in residential subdivisions (All answers are C.) |
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