12th Edition
Contemporary Urban Planning
Contemporary Urban Planning, 12e provides students with an unvarnished and in‑depth introduction to the historic, economic, political, legal, ideological, and environmental factors affecting urban planning today.
Planning is a highly political activity. Urban and regional planning decisions often involve large sums of money, both public and private, with the potential to deliver large benefits to some and losses to others. The extensively revised edition of this beloved text tackles the most pressing recent issues in urban development, including:
- current demographic, technological, and lifestyle changes and the possibility for a major turn toward reurbanization/urban revitalization after decades of decentralization;
- an expanded consideration of contemporary means of public participation in planning;
- the impact of contemporary social movements on planning, and the rising importance of social equity as a major planning objective;
- the affordable housing shortage facing cities in many large U.S. metropolitan areas; • making cities more adaptable to micro‑mobility;
- environmental goals and the role of planners in responding to global climate change, current public‑health challenges, and major environmental catastrophes; and
- the effect of varied applications of land use controls and other planning policies in different countries and under different political regimes, with case study examples from the UK, France, Eastern Europe, China, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
This thoroughly updated new edition also benefits from resources to help classroom instruction, both in the text and online. These include discussion and multiple‑choice questions, and links for students to online supplemental readings, websites, and media sources. Contemporary Urban Planning is an essential resource for students, city planners, and all who are concerned with the nature of contemporary urban development problems.
View the Instructor and Student Resources: www.routledge.com/9781032270531/
1. An Overview
Part 1: The Background and Development of Contemporary Urban Planning
2. The Urbanization of America
3. The History of Planning: Part I
4. The History of Planning: Part II
Part 2: The Structure and Practice of Contemporary Planning
5. The Legal Basis of Planning
With Sarah Schindler
6. Planning and Politics
7. Social Issues
8. The Comprehensive Plan
9. The Tools of Land-Use Planning
Part 3: Fields of Planning
10. Urban Design
With Charles Steger
11. Housing and Community Development
12. Transportation Planning
13. Economic Development Planning
14. Environmental Planning
Part 4: Larger Questions
15. Planning at the National, State, and Metropolitan Levels*
With C. David Loeks
16. Planning in Select Other Nations
With Johann Jessen, Clara Irazábal, and Sanjeev Vidhyarthi
Biography
John M. Levy is Professor Emeritus at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States.
Sonia A. Hirt is Dean and Hughes Professor in Landscape Architecture and Planning at the College of Environment + Design at the University of Georgia, United States. She has served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Planning History and has been on the editorial boards of nine other scholarly journals. She was a Guggenheim Fellow (2023–2024). Her research focuses on culture, cities, and space, especially in Europe and the United States.
Casey J. Dawkins is Professor of Urban Studies and Planning in the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, and a faculty member of the National Center for Smart Growth, at the University of Maryland, United States. He serves as an Associate Editor of the journal Housing Policy Debate and is an appointed member of the Maryland Board of Architects. His research focuses on U.S. housing policy; manufactured housing; the causes, consequences, and measurement of residential segregation; and the link between land use regulations and housing affordability.
“For generations of students, the venerable Contemporary Urban Planning has been their gateway into planning and the profession. Successive editions have updated material and added new dimensions, keeping pace with the evolution of planning challenges. The 12th edition does this and more by getting ahead of trends, especially those influenced by the pandemic of the early 2020s. There is no better source to become acquainted with planning than Contemporary Urban Planning.”
Arthur C. Nelson, Ph.D., FAICP, Emeritus Professor of Urban Planning and Real Estate Development, University of Arizona, USA"A must-read for anyone interested in the future of their communities, towns, cities, and regions. Through their eloquent writing and accessible style, John M. Levy, Sonia A. Hirt, and Casey J. Dawkins bring us a comprehensive account of urban planning, the economic, political, social, and environmental forces that mold planning theories and practices, and how urban planning can address the grand development challenges of the 21st century.”
Yang Zhang, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA“I have utilized multiple editions of the Contemporary Urban Planning text for almost a quarter century now, starting with when I was a student. Instructing introduction to planning courses, for years, I relied on the comprehensive and well-organized book to help students from a multitude of disciplines navigate the breadth of urban and regional planning. Today, as a program administrator, I encourage instructors of our intro to planning course to use the same. Staying true to its roots, each new edition becomes a modern classic, a staple.”
Huston Gibson, PhD, Professor & Head of Landscape Architecture and Regional & Community Planning, Kansas State University, USA
