Book #9: The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape by James Howard Kunstler

Pages: 304

Published: 1994

From Library Journal: "In this spirited, irreverent critique, Kunstler spares none of the culprits that have conspired in the name of the American Dream to turn the U.S. landscape from a haven of the civic ideal into a nightmare of [gaudy] commercial production and consumption. Kunstler strips the bark off the utopian social engineering promoted by the machine-worshiping Modern movement of Gropius, Le Corbusier, and Frank Lloyd Wright and skewers the intellectual camps (e.g., Venturi) that have thrived on making academic glory of the consumer wasteland. With the [passion] of an investigative reporter and in the [pros] of a tabloid journalist, Kunstler [highlights] the insidious "car lobby" and gives case studies of landscapes as diverse as Detroit, Atlantic City, and Seaside, Florida, to illustrate both the woes and hopeful notes. The ideas in this book are not new (Jane Jacobs and William H. Whyte Jr. were bemoaning the loss of civic life a quarter-century ago), but Kunstler gives their case an urgent, popular voice. An eminently relevant and important book; highly recommended."

From Shannon B.: "Geography of Nowhere is a wonderful, life-changing book. I wish I could make every developer, every SUV owner and every town council read this book. Its main topic is the physical environments that Americans live in, in contrast to our historical environments and to [the environments of other countries]. Kunstler [demonstrates] how the advent of the automobile has changed the [image] of cities, small-towns and birthed the suburb. The choice to live without [a car] is now a very difficult one for most people, and also comes with certain social assumptions. Yet, after reading Geography of Nowhere, I am [searching for] ever more ways to take public transportation and reduce my reliance on a vehicle that both pollutes the natural environment and despoils the man-made environment.

Some chapters in the book focus on cities gone wrong, such as Detroit. Others discuss the ideal community, involving mixed-use neighborhoods (both purpose - commercial, residential, industrial - and class - working, professional, wealthy). Kunstler makes the case that prior to the development of suburbia and the reign of automobiles as our primary form of transportation, we had a kinder, cleaner, and [better organized] world. Disney World's Main Street was used as an example of how car-free neighborhoods have become an American dream, and at the same time, few people understand why cars have had such a negative effect. Geography of Nowhere has confirmed my [decision] to live in a city with public transportation, in a mixed-use neighborhood, within walking distance of most of my needs. It may be more expensive and it may be unconventional, but I now have the evidence to back up my convictions."

This book shows how geography itself is to some degree dynamic. It seems to give insight into how geography impacts the development of a political system within a specific country.