

For Immediate Release:
April 5, 2012
Contact: Robert Butler

Why drive? Why lives miles from where you work and play?

Why not have it all in one place?

Author Christopher B. Leinberger discusses a new approach to urban living in The Option of Urbanism:  Investing in a New American Dream on Wednesday, April 18, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

The presentation is part of the Library's What Makes a Great City series.   

According to developer and strategist Leinberger, Americans increasingly are voting with their feet to abandon strip malls and suburban sprawl, embracing instead a return to the type of community where they can live, work, shop, and play within easy walking distance.

In The Option of Urbanism Leinberger explains why over the last 60 years government policy has tilted the playing field toward the drivable suburb. Rooted in the powerful forces of the economy - car manufacturing and the oil industry - this type of growth has fostered the decline of community, contributed to urban decay, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and contributed to the rise in obesity and asthma.

Now, Leinberger argues, the American Dream is shifting to include cities as well as suburbs, with demands for the financial and real estate communities to build communities that are more environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable.



This event is co-sponsored by the Mid-America Regional Council, KCPT, and the Downtown Council.  
