A Better Place to Live: Reshaping the American Suburb

Front Cover
University of Massachusetts Press, 1994 - Architecture - 270 pages
"Training his eye on houses, streets, parks, gathering places, stores, employment and transportation, Langdon shows how these elements can generate frustration and isolation or, under better circumstances, contribute to a more congenial way of life. He points out the underappreciated virtues of older suburbs and takes a close look at the neotraditionalist movement in community design, whose advocates seek to emulate the most pleasing aspects of older suburbs. Without ignoring the obstacles to change, Langdon shows how suburbs could be designed much differently than they are today - with networks of walkable streets, neighborhood stores and gathering places, compact town centers, and more varied and affordable housing. His book provides both an incisive critique of existing practices and an intriguing glimpse of some of the best work being done by a new generation of community designers."--BOOK JACKET.