New Suburbanism: Sustainable Tall Building Development, by Kheir Al-Kodmany, London and New York, Routledge, 2016, 284 pp., Paperback, $77.99 (AUD), ISBN 978 11383 9282 3

[Extract] This is a book that has been needed since Joel Garreau alerted us to “edge cities” in his 1991 book of that name. Kheir Al-Kodmany, Professor of Sustainable Urban Design at the University of Illinois in Chicago, has produced a scholarly and important book that critically analyses the emergence of tall buildings in North America’s sprawling suburbs. The book is impressive in its
scope, covering a wide range of social, economic and environmental sustainability concerns from the scale of detailed building design to broader urban design and planning issues. Despite its US focus, this book is very relevant to similar trends emerging in the suburbs of cities in Canada, Australia and elsewhere. Al-Kodmany sets out a clear agenda, supported by extensive case study evidence, for how high-rise development might make a major contribution towards more sustainable suburbs and city regions.