Home From Nowhere: Remaking Our Everyday World For The 21st Century
James Howard Kunstler's followup to his breakthrough Geography of Nowhere, this book continues his critique of "placelessness". Witty and engaging writing makes the book a quick, yet disturbing read - a must for anyone engaged in the struggle to preserve the appeal of urban living.

The Death and Life of Great American Cities - I read this book for the first time for an urban planning class in undergrad. As a recent transplant to St. Louis with little experience in urban living, I don't think I truly comprehended the depth of this book. Recently I dusted it off and poured through its pages once again - it was like I had skipped every other page before. The most troubling part is that we as a society have had decades to absorb and act on Jane Jacobs' wisdom (her ideas are so basic, so logically reasonable) and yet we continue to repeat the same mistakes again and again. This book is a tough read at times, but it represents everything a successful, vibrant city should strive for.

Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream
This book is an interesting counterpoint to Kunstler's Home From Nowhere, which critiques New Urbanism to some extent. However flawed New Urbanism may be as a solution to the placeless suburbanization of America, Duany and Plater-Zyberk persent a compelling case for the relationship between the physical environment and the development of a positive, healthy community.