Halfway to Everywhere: A Portrait of America's First-Tier Suburbs

Rating:
Summary: This is MUST reading for community & business leaders!
Review: Everyone who is deeply involved in the health (economic, social, or environmental) of their community needs to read this book. "Halfway to Everywhere" lends brilliant clarity to a morass of complex issues, and opens a whole new dialogue on economic and community planning.

Suburbs are usually written-off as nothing more than a boring middle ground between the vibrant urban center and the bucolic countryside. Instead, it turns out that they have been (and still are) the proving ground for many of the most powerful trends that are shaping out world.

Only someone deeply intimate with the dynamics of metropolitan development could have written this pioneering book, which is the first to properly document the cultural significance of our older suburbs. As one of America's most successful mayors, and as Senior Fellow at the Urban Land Institute (a premiere thought-leader on development issues), Bill Hudnut is probably better qualified to write this than anyone. Period.

Hudnut shows how an understanding of first-tier suburbs leads to insights of tremendous value to anyone whose fortunes ride on community revitalization. You'll come away with a deep understanding of how our metropolitan areas arrived at their current condition. You'll see how the rapidly emerging disciplines of restorative development have been dramatically bringing dead and dying communities back to life. You'll also discover where current trends are likely to lead.

Anyone working in the global "restoration economy"--who needs rapid and deep insight into the problems and opportunities of our cities--will find it in this fascinating, well-written, and well researched work. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!