Press Release
Innovative Book Proposes New Vision for Cities, Downtown Centers
The Inclusive City Challenges “New Urbanism," Supports Urban Planning that Promotes Social Equity, Interaction
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mindy Craig, MIG, Inc. 1-800-790-8444
Berkeley, California—A new book edited by an acclaimed urban planner and a renowned environmental designer presents a new vision for the future of America’s cities. Taking issue with many environments built under the rubric of New Urbanism, The Inclusive City proposes a more inclusive approach to planning that promotes social and economic equity and community development, with full interaction and accessibility for all residents.
The book is both a visionary manifesto and a practical handbook for planners, architects, developers, elected officials—and community members—to develop innovative and creative approaches to city planning.
“Planners and cities often rely on a physical-design approach,” says Berkeley-based co-editor Daniel Iacofano, Ph.D. “Inclusive design embraces New Urbanism—and then goes further. We need to move towards planning that is based on progressive economic, social, environmental and culturally sensitive policies.” Adds co-editor Susan Goltsman: “The objective is beyond making cities simply look more appealing; we need to ensure everyone improves economically as the physical area improves.”
Iacofano and Goltsman make the case that planning that focuses too heavily on physical elements such as walkability, mixed-use development and access to entertainment fails to address a wide spectrum of socially relevant issues. “The housing is expensive, the shops even more so,” they write in the introduction to The Inclusive City. “The people who live there don’t work there. The people who work there can’t afford to live there. Chic boutiques on the corners don’t make a social community.”
Drawing on over 50 years of innovative planning and design experience, Goltsman and Iacofano provide design criteria and illustrate their alternative vision for urban planning with fully illustrated in-depth analyses of 14 projects on two continents by thirteen experts and planners. Featuring scores of full-color photographs, renderings and designs, the analyses cover projects that range from a plan to revitalize downtown Spokane, Washington, to a children’s zoo in the Illinois, and an art museum for the blind in France.
A central tenet that ties all the projects together is the robust participation of community members in the planning process. “Too often, planners plan for communities, not with them,” notes Goltsman, “Cities need
planning that recognizes that every individual has the right to full and equal participation in the built environment—and that through their direct involvement they can shape their own environment to meet their own needs.”
Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Inclusive City also includes almost 70 pages of detailed design guidelines and plans to promote inclusion and accessibility on a range of projects, from schools, museums and children’s zoos to play areas, trail systems and cityscapes.
To learn more about The Inclusive City and to order copies, go to www.inclusivecity.com, or call 1-800-790-8444.
About the Editors
Susan Goltsman (FASLA) is renowned for applying social science to site-specific design for children, youth and families—creating unique environments that respond to the community. Her projects have won numerous awards from the American Institute of Architects, the American Zoological Association, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and The National Endowment for the Arts among many other organizations.
Daniel Iacofano (PhD, FAICP, ASLA) is recognized as an innovator in community-based urban planning and design, working with hundreds of cities and agencies to implement land use, urban design, economic revitalization and transportation projects. His projects have won awards from the National League of Cities, the International Downtown Association, the American Planning Association, the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Association of Environmental Professionals.
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