Unsprawl: Remixing Spaces as Places examines one of the most pressing challenges confronting the planning community today – finding successful ways to unwind the decades-old patterns of development that encourage sprawl.

From Portland to Atlanta, the authors use a dozen case studies from throughout North America to examine the visionary and often controversial strategies used to introduce new patterns of development into unsustainable regulatory, cultural and financial landscapes.

Through a close investigation of the progressive projects leading the transition to a built environment more responsive to emerging demographic, economic and environmental trends, “the featured communities give us hope for a recovery from sprawl,” says architect Galina Tachieva.

As author Simmons B. Buntin contends, “though the obstacles to overcoming sprawl are many, these projects show that with creativity and dedication, even the most distressed communities can chart a new course for their future.”

“To create dynamic places takes dynamic leadership,” says Buntin, and the book’s in-depth interviews and frank commentary from those who’ve managed to develop vibrant districts, diverse neighborhoods and regenerated landscapes offer unique insight into how successful communities can be built–and built again.

As Tachieva notes in her foreword, “Whether they are downtown redevelopments, new greenfield villages, retrofits, or ambitious sustainability experiments, the projects in this book demonstrate the long-needed revival of our thinking about urbanism.”

About the Authors

Simmons B. Buntin is the founding editor-in-chief of Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built + Natural Environments, a quarterly online magazine publishing a mix of literary and technical work, including the Unsprawl case studies. He has published widely, including two books: Bloom and Riverfall.

Ken Pirie, AICP, LEED ND AP is an associate with Walker Macy Landscape Architects in Portland, Oregon. Originally from Quebec, via Scotland, then Seattle, Ken works on urban design and campus planning projects up and down the West Coast.

For more information, visit the book's webpage: https://www.planetizen.com/store/unsprawl