The writing is personal and accessible, and ... the book is knowledgeable and up-to-date. ... This book will be especially useful to people interested in improving their city, and for those who are contemplating going into planning or urban design as their profession.
Journal of Urban Design ...the book is about more than how neighborhoods and community's can survive ... Read moretimes of crisis; it's about how neighborhoods and community's can thrive in the midst of everyday life...
Can't Catch My Breath ...a refreshingly practical take on the power of urban design and its role in crafting the tools that guide and shape development.
This Big City Simply put, The Nature of Urban Design reads like an engaging story, through the eyes of a well-informed urban planner, who wants nothing more than to see good done in the world.
Spacing Washburn's attitude and incisive analysis give this book a rare combination of realism and hope.
Planning Washburn's generally straightforward organization allows readers to use the book like a design manual. He eschews technical jargon for an accessible and approachable tone and language. Beautifully produced with abundant color illustrations that effectively contrast worldwide approaches to urban design, this volume will appeal to a wide specialist and generalist audience.
CHOICE Washburn helps the reader look at the city differently, and care about its future. His approach works regardless of your city.
Urban Review STL It's perfect reading for a rainy, rainy day.
Grist Entertaining and attractively designed...a fantastic introduction to the discipline of urban design for non-designers. ...Washburn's approach to resiliency is both idealistic and practical.
ASLA's The Dirt blog [W]ith his first book, Washburn has accomplished, if not quite the impossible, then certainly the daunting: he's written a concise and accessible treatise on urban planning, blissfully free of jargon and clear enough to be understood by both professional and citizen-designers.
Metropolis a treat for anyone who loves living in cities and wants to make them better, including professional planners and architects.
Metropolis Sensibly organized and lavishly illustrated, the book will interest all urbanites, and especially urban planners.
Publishers Weekly [A] cri de coeur for action by cities
The New York Times Book Review Mr. Washburn takes lay people on an illustrated and highly accessible tour of urban planning, from the High Line to the subway system, which, he explains, emits little more in greenhouse gases than the city's streetlights.
The New York Times Alex Washburn shows planning in New York as it is really done: with the technical requirements, the political difficulties and the dreams. Urban leaders around the world will learn much from this insightful book about designing for greater resiliency to climate change.
Enrique Pe alosa President of the Board, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy of New York Alex Washburn performed the miracle of writing a book about cities that appeals to experts and general readers alike. His idea of urban design is convincingly inclusive, with buildings, people, nature, infrastructure, and public space playing prominent roles.
Jerold Kayden Frank Backus Williams Professor of Urban Planning & Design, Harvard Univ. Graduate School of Design Show Less