A Negotiated Landscape

Jasper Rubin not only provides the details of the many visions for the waterfront and the disagreements that led to San Francisco's current planning process, but he also points to trends in planning that have been influential in many other cities.

A fine addition to scholarship on the political economy of urban land use and development.

Informative both in the details of local plans and processes, and in providing the big picture of the development of a city that is considered to be one of the most attractive across the globe. This trajectory tends to expose a high risk to the natural environment and to the social coherence of the city, thus creating a tension that makes the book an informative read. Rubin's excellent work is cautious in its judgments and does not overlook the signs of hope evolving from current planning processes.

Rubin has done an excellent job of chronicling the twists and turns in the development of the San Francisco waterfront. . . . as Rubin reminds the reader, one cost is a loss of potential housing that might, or might not, have lifted a little of the extreme pressure current residents face in finding affordable housing. Ultimately, the book tells the story of an immense change that has affected many cities around the world.