Customer Reviews:
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 great reading for urban planning September 19, 2008
City Comforts was interesting, informative, and easy to read. The book discusses simple planning and architectural changes that can make a city a more comfortable place. These changes revolve around bringing people together, creating pedestrian oriented neighborhoods and shopping centers, slowing down traffic, and making various services easily accessible to people.
To prove his points, Sucher uses both written ideas and pictures. The pictures are especially welcome because they give the reader a visual demonstration of his ideas. For instance, one of the suggestions Sucher makes in order to create a pedestrian oriented city is to put parking lots behind, above, or below (never in front of) the building in question. Rather than just discussing how this is done, Sucher puts in a color photo of a building that follows his advice in regards to parking lots. In addition to easily showing what Sucher means, the pictures also make the pages more colorful and the book easier to read.
One other thing that I liked about City Comforts was that the book explained every architectural and planning related detail in simple terms. Even someone with no experience with either of these subjects (like me) could understand this text.
Since Sucher's ideas have the potential to be very beneficial (in my opinion), I would recommend this book to anyone involved with city planning or architecture. However, anyone can enjoy City Comforts.
A real gem May 30, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is an absolutely wonderful little book. Don't let its small size and informal demeanor fool you - It is a very thorough, practical, and well reasoned guide (and yes, it is a guide, not just a bunch of theory with questionable applicablility in the real world) to designing urban areas with people in mind. Sucher has done a tremendous job of creating a book that is straightforward and easy to read, but still a serious work of planning and design. If you have any interest at all in those subjects, this is one book you should definitely have in your collection.
A readable, must-have handbook! April 26, 2005
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
A great book, no matter what your area of emloyment or study! Everyone who is interested in better neighborhoods and friendlier living within communities should read this book. It's easily accessible, upbeat, and totally practical. This slim volume offers wonderful soloutions to problems that face every community. I would recommend it to anyone, and have given it as gifts to several people I know. (I'm secretly hoping that there will be a follow-up to this book.) This is really a book you will be glad you've read!
A handbook for anyone building the world around us March 26, 2005
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
In the first couple of pages of this book, David Sucher captures the struggle of modern urban planning: how do you make a place feel "urban" (bustling, a degree of anonymity, culture and complexity) and like a "village" (friendly, natural, community-oriented) at the same time?
The answers are here, in refreshingly easy-to-understand language that is also easy to implement. Good planning isn't a mystery, but so many cities and towns have done it so poorly for so long. I like to think that American planning is at the beginning of a renaissance (I have to think that, I'm in planning school) and people like David Sucher are making it happen. This should be on your shelf next to Jane Jacobs and William H. Whyte.
The Planning Commissioner's Bible December 31, 2003
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I am so glad that David Sucher has revised and reissued this book. I used the first edition for several courses that I teach in community development and urban planning, and I know of no better single volume text on urban design issues. The new edition is even better. The book is particularly useful for those who have an interest in planning and design issues, but have limited technical training or experience. As a consequence, it makes excellent reading for city planning commissioners.
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