Urban and environmental e-books arrive

In the past three years, the stream of books useful to new urbanists and smart-growth advocates has turned into a torrent. And now, something a bit different is being added to the flow of information: a series of short e-books on topics having to do with the environment (including urbanism, planning, and transportation).

In April, Island Press released its first e-book—Making Transit Fun! by Darrin Nordahl, who, until his return to Northern California this year, was city designer at the Davenport (Iowa) Design Center. Nordahl earlier achieved notice with two print books: My Kind of Transit (praised in the Dec. 2009 New Urban News) and Public Produce: The New Urban Agriculture (reviewed in March 2010).

In June, Island released its second e-book—Bedside Essays for Lovers (of Cities) by San Francisco architect and Congress for New Urbanism co-founder Daniel Solomon. A wry and learned observer of architecture and culture, Solomon, too, had earlier written well-received print books, most notably Global City Blues, reviewed in our pages in June 2003.

Nordahl’s 126-page e-book, subtitled How to Entice Motorists from Their Cars (and Onto Their Feet, a Bike, or Bus), asks questions like these: “How can we expect people to want to ride the bus

...