Urban Land Institute Reviews “Railtown”

Cover imageULI, the national nonprofit of real estate professionals and others interested in downtown development, reviewed my book Railtown to find out just what is going on with rail in Los Angeles:

Railtown chronicles the latest chapter in the Los Angeles saga—the city’s transition from a smoggy, car-loving, freeway-dominated megacity to an emerging cluster of walkable urban centers linked by public transit, including light and heavy rail as well as buses. This saga resembles a Greek tragedy. The central figure’s fatal flaw—the political geography of metropolitan Los Angeles and the inability to agree on a plan—drives the narrative while optimistic local leaders who view rail as the solution to the region’s traffic and environmental problems struggle to convince politicians, 88 self-centered cities, and the county electorate to accept yet another reinvention.

The review is not all positive, as the reviewer seems to have challenges with what he calls a “dense” read, but he says “for those wanting to understand the details of Metro Rail’s checkered history, this is the book to read.”

About

Leave a Reply