book data
126 ratings, 3.97 average rating, 19 reviews
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published
April 16th 1987
by Oxford University Press, USA
binding
Paperback, 432 pages
literary awards
Bancroft Prize (1986)
isbn
0195049837
(isbn13: 9780195049831)
description
This first full-scale history of the development of the American suburb examines how "the good life" in America came to be equated with the ...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 185)
Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
Anyone who's ever lived in or wants to live in a suburb (and anti-suburb sympathizers)
Another book in the series of seminal urbanist books I want to read instead of actually going to grad school, this book explains the economic, social, historical, racial, philosophical, etc. reasons for the propensity over its short history for American citizens to decentralize away from urban cores and what that did/does for people both remaining in cities and those who have "escaped" with their private vehicles to the suburbs. Having been written in the 1980s, the book anticipates, ...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
To put it bluntly, if you want to know how the American suburbs developed, this is the book for you. Kenneth T. Jackson is clearly a historian here, and this text is laced with plenty of citations, his observations backed by hard data and statistics. But he is also eager (and able) to develop a broad narrative about suburbanization as an evolving cultural desire. For example, in his fascinating discussion of the development of mass transit, he traces the evolution of various technologies while r...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
historians, urban history fiends
Do you love white picket fences? Do you love tract housing? Do you love the history of commuting? Then this book is for you.
This book is really for anyone who has ever lived in suburbia, scorned suburbia, or wants to live in suburbia. It really is the most complete historical account of American suburbs.
It's tremendously lively; there is plenty of sex and rock n'roll in Jackson's narrative. Learn about walking cities, the Great Depression, and ornamental lawns! (It's really more inter...more
This book is really for anyone who has ever lived in suburbia, scorned suburbia, or wants to live in suburbia. It really is the most complete historical account of American suburbs.
It's tremendously lively; there is plenty of sex and rock n'roll in Jackson's narrative. Learn about walking cities, the Great Depression, and ornamental lawns! (It's really more inter...more
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Read in May, 2005
It's an acknowledged classic in the field of Urban History, but it's twenty years old and the last quarter of Crabgrass reads like it. Delores Hayden has covered the same ground in her more recent "Building Suburbia". The approach is hisorical, Jackson takes each period of suburbanization in chronological order. In terms of explanation for why America is so surburban, he focuses on government policy and the unique characteristics of the american middle class mind. Also, the fact that l...more
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Professor Clement Price of Newark said that he doesn't trust what anyone has to say about Urban America if they haven't read this book.
Now i have, and it makes for a fascinating historical overview of the phenomenon of suburbia - starting long before the 'white flight' phenomenon of the fifties. it doesn't shy away from analyzing teh federal government's responsibilities in the decay of cities.
Now i have, and it makes for a fascinating historical overview of the phenomenon of suburbia - starting long before the 'white flight' phenomenon of the fifties. it doesn't shy away from analyzing teh federal government's responsibilities in the decay of cities.
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Read in April, 2005
recommends it for:
Everyone
Stunning and lucid history of the development of suburbs in the U.S. Jackson, a Professor of History at Columbia, examines how the modern landscape around cities emerged, how it is changing (or, rather, how it was changing c.a. 1985), and where it might be headed. An absolute must-read for anyone with any interest in modern American history, culture, cities, or sociology.
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Read in April, 1998
recommends it for:
people who love cities, history, social justice, or mass transit
I learned how public policy can fundamentally shift and shape culture, with huge consequences (intended and uninentended).
I learned about a specific part of US history that I would not have come across through the course of my normal reading.
I read this book for a politics class in college, and have re-read it several times since.
I learned about a specific part of US history that I would not have come across through the course of my normal reading.
I read this book for a politics class in college, and have re-read it several times since.
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This is a very broad history of the decentralization of the U.S. urban landscape. Jackson emphasizes the role of transportation innovations in bringing about suburban sprawl, but he also pays attention to the other factors, such as government policies that promoted homeownership and the American insistence on living near nature.
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Read in January, 2001
recommends it for:
planner types
probably one of the books that made me want to be a planner. if you love cities you should read it. probably at this point its not going to tell you too much you dont know but you'll learn about suburbs, streetcars, readlining, highways and all those things you love to hate about america.
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For those of you who wonder why American cities sprawl out whereas cities in Europe remain compact - this is the book for you. A well written political and social history of the suburbanization process. You'll never look at tract homes in the same way again!
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A great study of the connections between transportation and suburban development in the US. It's very clearly written.
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Read in January, 2002
continual search for the american dream of homeownership and suburban life away from the dangers of the city.
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Read in January, 2007
a little on the academic side, this is a valuable critique of america's reliance on automobiles.
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Argh, the new edition that was supposed to be released on October 30th keeps getting delayed.
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Read in February, 2008
awesome history of the social and physical development of suburban america.
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This book impacted much of the artwork that I made in my final 2 yrs. at RISD.
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Read in March, 2007
The author is real nice and fun to talk to....the books is thick.
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currently-reading (on 13 people's shelves)
history (on 11 people's shelves)
non-fiction (on 10 people's shelves)
american-history (on 2 people's shelves)
urban-studies (on 2 people's shelves)
urban (on 2 people's shelves)
culturalhistory (on 2 people's shelves)
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