An ardent and articulate argument for expansive regulation of urban development.
The many benefits of land-use controls for cities and their residents.
Bronin, former chair of the Hartford, Connecticut, Planning and Zoning Commission and professor of law and city and regional planning at Cornell University, maintains that livable, prosperous, and sustainable cities require a sensitive, flexible application of zoning regulations. To make her case, and among numerous other examples, she tells of how zoning revitalized the Remington neighborhood in Baltimore by legalizing nonresidential uses, supported historic preservation in Galveston, nurtured urban farming in Boston, and manages Las Vegas’ unique signage. She also writes of instances when zoning has been problematic—e.g., stifling affordable, multifamily housing in West University Place, Texas, and squandering water resources in Scottsdale, Arizona. Although Bronin acknowledges that “zoning too often intrudes and imposes on deeply personal choices,” she believes that with “sensible reforms” it can realize its potential as “a tool that can be used creatively, imaginatively, and carefully to build community in an ethical and intentional way.” The author omits one important caveat: zoning does not initiate or execute development. If investment is absent and disinvestment has overwhelmed residents and property owners—cases she discusses—zoning loses its relevancy. Still, though it may not be “the key to our cities,” as she claims, it is hard to imagine a regulatory technology more critical for well-functioning and livable urban areas. Even Houston, known for its lack of a zoning ordinance, employs regulatory devices via other means. Bronin brings to life the impact of zoning on people and places and makes a convincing case for its importance.
An ardent and articulate argument for expansive regulation of urban development.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780393881660
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
For those satisfied with blame-the-victim tidbits of received wisdom.
The noted conservative economist delivers arguments both fiscal and political against social justice initiatives such as welfare and a federal minimum wage.
A Black scholar who has lived through many civil rights struggles, Sowell is also a follower of Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, who insisted that free market solutions are available for every social problem. This short book begins with what amounts to an impatient declaration that life isn’t fair. Some nations are wealthy because of geographical advantages, and some people are wealthy because they’re smarter than others. “Some social justice advocates may implicitly assume that various groups have similar developed capabilities, so that different outcomes appear puzzling,” he writes. In doing so, he argues, they fail to distinguish between equal opportunity and equal capability. Sowell is dismissive of claims that Black Americans and other minorities are systematically denied a level playing field: Put non-white kids in charter schools, he urges, and presto, their math scores will zoom northward as compared to those in public schools. “These are huge disparities within the same groups, so that neither race nor racism can account for these huge differences,” he writes, clearly at pains to distance himself from the faintest suggestion that race has anything to do with success or failure in America. At the same time, he isn’t exactly comfortable with the idea that economic inequalities exist, and he tries to finesse definitions to suit his convictions: “The terms ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ are misleading in another and more fundamental sense. These terms apply to people’s stock of wealth, not their flows of income.” As for crime? Give criminals more rights, he asserts, as with Miranda v. Arizona, and crime rates go up—an assertion that overlooks numerous other variables but fits Sowell’s ideological slant.
For those satisfied with blame-the-victim tidbits of received wisdom.Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9781541603929
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Basic Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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