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The Boulevard Book: History, Evolution, Design of Multiway Boulevards | 
 enlarge | Authors: Allan B. Jacobs, Elizabeth Macdonald, Yodan Rofé
Publisher: The MIT Press
Category: Book
List Price: $28.00
Buy New: $18.48
You Save: $9.52 (34%)
New (7) Used (11) from $14.46
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 152537
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 267
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 8.6 x 0.7
ISBN: 0262600587
Dewey Decimal Number: 720
EAN: 9780262600583
ASIN: 0262600587
Publication Date: October 1, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 3 to 6 weeks
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Product Description
Winner, Silver Award for Architecture
ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards
First built in Europe and grandly imported to the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, the classic multiway boulevard has been in decline for many years, victim of a narrowly focused approach to street design that views unencumbered vehicular traffic flow as the highest priority. The American preoccupation with destination and speed has made multiway boulevards increasingly rare as artifacts of the urban landscape. This book reintroduces the boulevard, tree-lined and with separate realms for through traffic and for slow-paced vehicular-pedestrian movement, as an important and often crucial feature of both historic and contemporary cities. It presents more than fifty boulevardsâ-as varied as Avenue Montaigne, in Paris; C. G. Road, in Ahmedabad, India; and The Esplanade, in Chico, California--celebrating their usefulness and beauty. It discusses their history and evolution, the misconceptions that led to their near-demise in the United States, and their potential as a modern street type.
Based on wide research, The Boulevard Book examines the safety of these streets and offers design guidelines for professionals, scholars, and community decision makers. Extensive plans, cross sections, and perspective drawings permit visual comparisons. The book shows how multiway boulevards respond to many issues that are central to urban life, including livability, mobility, safety, interest, economic opportunity, mass transit, and open space.
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| Customer Reviews:
Streets do more than just move cars April 26, 2007
Jacobs and Macdonald have created a great resource for people who recognize that streets can and must do more than convey cars. I get to see Chico's Esplanade everyday. Others will have to be satisfied with the book's wonderful treatment the Esplanade gets along side its big brothers in Barcelona and Paris.
 terrific source book for urban designers July 12, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is such an interesting book. Boulevards have been neglected for several generations because they somehow didn't fit into the vocabulary used by traffic engineers. But thanks to Allan and Elizabeth, we know that they are extremely efficient ways of carrying traffic and creating safe pewdestrian environments and that they creat beautiful cities. Look at Paris, Barcelona, Melbourne and even Chico!
Really nice drawings. The book is a delight top behold.
A Nice Companion to Great Streets March 1, 2002
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book belongs in the library of people who enjoyed GREAT STREETS by Allan Jacobs, et al, or anyone who designs modern streets. The authors have researched boulevards extensively, including their safety and utility.If you are interested in the topic, a video is available about the authors' research from the Institute of Urban and Regional Development of the University of California at Berkeley -- 510-642-5233. It believe it is called, "Boulevards: Great Streets for Great Cities."
Good Book - but some criticism February 4, 2002
22 out of 41 found this review helpful
This is simply an interesting book. I love the descriptions and the drawings. I understand the author's enthusiasm for great streets and boulevards. Much of what makes these great is the atmosphere (shops, restaurants, pedestrians, bustling activity). I agree. However, this book as well as many other publications out there regarding streets, traffic calming, automobile dependance,etc all seem to forget that streets are primarily for cars. The author is worried about the survival of one of the Spanish boulevards due to its emphasis on carrying traffic.Don't misunderstand me here. I'm all for traffic calming, neghborhood traffic management, cozy streets with many pedestrians, sidewalk cafes, and reducing the dependance on automobiles. As a traffic engineer, I need to consider what the streets are built for. The priority for some roadways is to move traffic, while others should accommodate vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, and a great atmosphere while maintaining safety. I feel many books, such as this one, expose us to great examples and ideas, but unfairly use traffic engineers as scapegoats for urban sprawl and the destruction of our urban landscape. Believe it or not, but some traffic engineers consider qualitative design aspects besides quantitative design aspects. I like the book, but I'm getting frustrated by architects, planners, and others criticizing transportation without much understanding or technical background. I'm sure most architects don't appreciate the laymen criticizing their works.
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