The Living City

"An intelligent analysis. Sensible, undoctrinaire, even good-humored. An appealing mixture of passion and clinical dispassion."
–Washington Post Book World

"The best antidote I’ve read to the doom-and-gloom prophecies concerning the future of urban America."
–Bill Moyers

"This is fresh and fascinating material; it is essential for understanding not only how to avoid repeating terrible mistakes of the past, but also how to recover from them."
–Jane Jacobs, author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities

From coast to coast across America there are countless urban success stories about rejuvenated neighborhoods and resurgent business districts. Roberta Brandes Gratz defines the phenomenon as "urban husbandry"–the care, management, and preservation of the built environment nurtured by genuine participatory planning efforts of government, urban planners, and average citizens.