The Building of Cities: Development and Conflict

In this classic book that records a moment in the history of urban planning, the architect and city planner Harvey H. Kaiser examines the city-building process from the time when a proposal for urban development is first conceived to the early stages of construction. Lysander (near Syracuse) and Gananda and Riverton (both near Rochester). These were brand-new developments and municipalities, and thus quite different from other trends of suburbanization that attached development onto existing municipalities. Step by step, he describes what happened in each of these communities during the presentation of the initial proposal, how parties interacted with each other, and how the climate of the community influenced the actions of the parties. Basing his work on hundreds of interviews, attendance at public meetings, and a review of many articles and documents, Kaiser shows that in each case the emergence of controversy and degree of acceptance was influenced by the developer's leadership, the characteristics of the developer's organization, and the method of presenting the proposal to the public. Kaiser brings to his comparative approach a background in the rough and tumble of day-to-day project management and the development of plans as well as their administration. The Building of Cities is an invaluable resource for developers, architects, public officials, and citizens involved in local government.

About the Author :
Harvey H. Kaiser is the President and founder of Harvey H. Kaiser Associates, Inc. (HHK), a consulting firm providing services in architecture, urban planning, and facilities management. He served for more than twenty years as a higher education administrator at Syracuse University, as a Senior Vice President and University Architect and as Associate Professor in the School of Architecture and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He is the author of many books, including Great Camps of the Adirondacks and Landmarks in the Landscape.

Review :
"Almost every age and civilization has had a fascination with new citiies.... Kaiser shows that such endeavors are not without significant conflict involving citizens, developers, and government officials. The story is not yet over, but this description of the developmental processes will interest both citizen and official."—Library Journal This succinct, well-organized account of three of the fifteen or more attempts at new town development in the last decade is a valuable contribution to the extensive 'new towns' literature as well as to the broader body of work on land use and urban planning in the U.S. (Choice) "We must be grateful to an author who puts a spotlight on something we need to see. Kaiser does this very tangibly in a structural analysis of the process of development in three new communities in upstate New York. He makes clear the centrality of the structure of the approval process, the nature and interaction of participants in the process, and the types of concerns evidenced by existing residents of the areas."—Contemporary Sociology