military history and the geography of urban defence in order to question both the past and the future of the city at war.

Urban Regeneration in a Changing Economy, edi ted by Joanne Fox- Przeworski, John Goddard and Mark de Jong (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1991, 257 pp) presents a cross section analysis of the current issues and prog- rammes employed in the advanced industrial countries to restructure and diversify local urban e c o n o m i e s - thereby forming a base for urban re- generation. The first part examines policy issues, while the second pro- vides case studies from selected cities in North America and Europe.

John Templer 's two volume work The Staircase (MIT Press, 1992, Vol 1, 195 pp, US$27.50 hardback; Vol 2, 210 pp, US$32.50 hardback) presents a detailed study of stairs and ramps - 'the art and science of their design, their history, and their hazards'. The first volume examines the history of s t a i r s ' w h o s e s i g n i f i c a n c e fo r architecture has occupied theorists since Vitruvius and Alber t i ' . The second volume details the results of 'human factors research' on the causes of staircase falls.

Recent changes in housing and their implications form the subject of The Housing Service of the Future, edited by David Donnison and Duncan Mac- lennan (Longman, 1991, 250 pp, £13.95 paperback). This is the latest volume in the Housing Practice series published by the Institute of Housing and Longman. The previous volumes are Social Housing and the Social Ser- vices" (Paul Spicker), Housing Finance (David Garnett , Barbara Reid and Helen Riley) and Housing Practice and Information Technology (David Hunter). The series editor is Peter Williams, Professor of Housing Man- agement at the University of Wales, Cardiff.

The Global Region by David Sadler (Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1992, 274 pp, £30.00 hardback, £9.95 paper- back) investigates changes in the orga- nization and location of production during the 1980s. It relates processes of global restructuring in the coal, steel and automobile industries to UK government policies and the interac-

tion between different rounds of in- vestment in north-east England.

Urban Development: Theory, Fact and Illusion by J. Vernon Henderson, published in 1988 in a hardback edi- tion is now available in paperback ( O x f o r d Un ive r s i ty Press , 1991, US$13.95). The book develops a general equilibrium model of an eco- nomy composed of cities, towns and an agricultural sector. The model allows for different sizes and types of cities, economic growth, development and technological change, internation- al trade, and natural resource de- posits. An essential volume for eco- nomists and urban theoreticians.

The 'new landscape' in Designing the New Landscape by Sutherland Lyall (Thames and Hudson, London, 1991, 240 pp, US$29.95 hardback) is that which is patronized by business corporations or government bodies. The major part of this beautifully pro- duced book is devoted to 40 'case studies' illustrated with copious photo- graphs, plans and models. This is a book for design professionals, or - given its sheer weight clients in their waiting rooms.

Housing Finance in the UK by Ken- neth Gibb and Moira Munro (Macmil- lan, 1991, 266 pp, £40.00 hardback, £12.00 paperback) provides much more than the title suggests. Although the focus is on financial issues, the book deals with the major institutions of housing in the UK including local

Bookwatch/Book review

housing authorities, building societies and housing associations - and the major forms of tenure.

In Vancouver and its" Region edited by Graeme Wynn and Timothy Oke (University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver, 1992, 333 pp) leading Canadian geographers present a wide- ranging and accessible account of the physical, social, economic, historical and environmental development of the Lower Mainland Region. The volume is richly illustrated with maps, photographs and drawings.

David Savage's Turning Right: The Making of the Rehnquist Supreme Court (Wiley, New York, 1992, 473 pp, US$22.95 hardback) is (as the blurb correctly states) a captivating account of the new Supreme Court. It is an inside look at a US institution which has a major impact on cities. It is eminently readable for non-lawyers.

In Urban Alternatives: Public and Private Markets" in the Provision of Local Services (University of Pitts- burgh Press, 1992, 250 pp, US$39.95 h a r d b a c k , US$16.95 p a p e r b a c k ) Robert M. Stein asks whether the way cities are organized affects how well they provide services for their resi- dents.

J. Barry Cullingworth College of Urban Affairs and

Public Policy University of Delaware

Newark, DE, USA.

Book review Overcoming professional prejudices HOUSING WITHOUT HOUSES

Nabeel Hamdi

Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1991, 194pp, £20

It is becoming increasingly difficult to say, or write, anything new about housing, and the central thesis of this book - that building lots of houses for people and places one does not know

is neither efficient nor equitable is hardly original . Hamdi does not, however, claim originality, but bases his book on the need to encourage architects, and particularly architec- tural students, to develop practical and sensitive approaches to designing with local communities and house- holds.

The book is in two parts. In Part One, the author reviews the two para- digms commonly known as 'provision'

CITIES February 1993 85

Book review/Conference r~7~ort

and 'support" and discusses how the work of Turner and Iiabraken helped to expound the support approach from such different contexts as Latin Amer- ica and Europe. The analysis is well researched and balanced, providing a good introduction to the subject.

In Part Two, Hamdi describes a number of design methods mostly de- veloped from experience in London (working with the Greater London Council, GLC) and Sri Lanka (when teaching at Massachusetts Institute of Technology , MIT). To these are added other design methods, such as the Planning for Real exercises de- veloped by Tony Gibson. These all show how architects and planners can overcome the common problems of different perceptions to work with local people in developing affordable and appropriate forms of housing.

The emphasis upon design makes the book of particular interest to architects and the tone is very much that of someone who is encouraging colleagues to look over the barricades of professional prejudice and see that creative opportunities exist, providing they can change the way they work. It would have been more useful if great- er emphasis had been laid on the impact of land costs and tenure issues, services provision and the perennial difficulties of matching needs, costs and resources.

The book is attractively presented, well illustrated and, at £20 for a hard- back, extremely good value.

Geoffrey Payne The Bartlett

University College London

Conference report Environmental sustainability in Third World cities

'Planning for sustainable urban development - cities and natural resource systems in developing countries', Cardiff, 13-17 July 1992

This was an international workshop , the Natural Resources Institute (UK). held by the Department of City and Contributors included practitioners, Regional Planning, Universi ty of consultants, academics and the staff of Wales, Cardiff, in conjunction with international agencies . lTheworkshop the International Institute for En- was seen as a successor to an earlier vironment and Development ; De- event held in 1989 in Birmingham, in velopment Planning Unit, University which the lessons of urban planning College London; and Development and management over the past two to Administration Group, Institute of three decades were reviewed and the Local Government Studies, Universi- most promising approaches to tackling ty of Birmingham. Of the 29 partici- future challenges of coping with rapid pants, 11 came from a range of coun- urban development identified. 2 tries in Africa, Latin America and The aims of the workshop were Asia and from cities as diverse as fivefold. The f i rs twasto review know- Shanghai, Bangkok, Lagos, Nairobi, ledge about the relationship between Aligarh, Silo Paulo and Curitiba. Ma- urban development and the natural jor international agencies were repre- resource systems on which it depends, sented (UNCHS-Habitat , the World and the problems to which unsustain- Bank, the UN Institute for Social Re- able relationships give rise. This re- search and Development), as well as view took the form of city case studies national agencies and NGOs, such as (Lagos, Silo Paulo, Dakar and Bang- the Stockholm Environment Institute, kok) and analyses of the relationship the Mazingira Institute (Nairobi) and between urban development and a

variety of natural resources, including land, water, food, energy and air, which are affected by both resource use and exploitation and by waste generation and disposal. In each case, the natural resource scientist's under- standing of an environmental system needs to be matched with that of the urban planner and manager in order to incorporate issues of environmental sustainability into decision making.

Although a few Third World cities have attempted to deal with particular environmental problems, few analytic- al frameworks to guide assessments of the natural resource implications of urban growth are available. A second aim of the workshop was, therefore, to develop an analytical and concep- tual framework for those wishing to embark on an analysis of a city's natu- ral resource needs and impact. While it is unrealistic and perhaps undesir- able to suggest a single rigid analytical framework, a two-pronged approach was considered to be desirable. First, a better understanding is needed of the impact of urban development on natural resources, especially within the city and its region, but also more widely, as many cities import goods such as fuel from much further afield. In addition, urban growth, especially that associated with industrialization and high motor vehicle use, has an impact locally, regionally, nationally and internationally, in its contribution to pollution and global climatic change. Relatively few audits of the food or energy supply systems to cities have been carried out; studies of water supply are often divorced from analy- ses of waste disposal; while studies of air pollution are becoming much more widespread. Such studies are not pure- ly scientific or technocratic - the issues on which they focus and the actions to which they give rise reflect political agendas, which may not be those of the poor.

In parallel, therefore, an appropri- ate conceptual framework for under- standing environmental issues in de- veloping country cities must focus on the priorities of the poor. These are almost invariably likely to focus on their unsatisfied needs for basic en- vironmental services and other neces- sities of daily life, both economic and

86 CITIES February 1993