Global Suburbs: Urban Sprawl from the Rio Grande to Rio de Janeiro (Cultural Spaces) - Softcover

"Despite the attention to the subject of global cities over the last few decades, few scholars have confronted the ways in which globalization is creating new forms of ‘sub-urbanization.’ Herzog’s new book cleverly confronts this important topic for the rapidly growing metropolitan regions of the Americas. His expansive observations, lively writing and keen photographic eye combine to form a compelling narrative."

-Leslie Sklair, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics

"This is a well-researched and powerfully argued account of a key urban trend – the combination of unbridled consumerism and urban sprawl with highly negative impacts on health and civility. The choice of city cases innovates by making comparisons between US and Latin American cities, showing the overall similarities in their market driven, automobile dependent pattern of contemporary development."

-Bryan R. Roberts, Sociology, University of Texas at Austin

"In the aftermath of the recent recession that seemed to hit suburban real estate hardest, it become popular to declare victory over America’s sprawling instincts. Hold on, writes Lawrence Herzog in Global Suburbs, not only have we not yet won the battle at home, but urban sprawl is accelerating internationally. A powerful rebuttal to suburban sprawl, made especially poignant by highlighting its now global dimension."

-Alex Krieger, Urban Design, Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Principal, NBBJ

"Will the twenty-first century city be dominated by suburban sprawl? If it is then, Global Suburbs predicts a grim future, with ecological breakdown, ill-health and diminished sense of place with the social city sacrificed for the 'quick buck' of 'fast urbanism'. Offering a brilliant critique of the suburb, starting in the US and moving through Mexico to Brazil, Larry Herzog makes an impassioned case for 'slow urbanism' and more convivial urban living."

-Gareth A Jones, Urban Geography, London School of Economics

"This is a depressing book. It is a story about the triumph not of the will but of the capitalist project... The take-home lesson is that the raw market model of urban expansion simply will not deliver the kind of urban living experience to which the new middle class aspire."

― Patrick Troy, Housing Studies

Global Suburbs: Urban Sprawl from the Rio Grande to Rio de Janeiro offers a critical new perspective on the emerging phenomenon of the global suburb in the western hemisphere. American suburban sprawl has created a giant human habitat stretching from Las Vegas to San Diego, and from Mexico to Brazil, presented here in a clear and comprehensive style with in depth descriptions and images. Challenging the ecological problems that stem from these flawed suburban developments, Herzog targets an often overlooked and potentially disastrous global shift in urban development. This book will give depth to courses on suburbs, development, urban studies, and the environment.