I find myself a bit ashamed that I haven't provided an UnSprawl book update for five months now. I'll chalk that up to being neck deep in the project. But know that we're still at it, your rewards will come when available, and the book is going to be fantastic!

Now that the new issue of Terrain.org is out the door (Issue No. 29, Migration), I can return my focus to implementing the copyedits on the last few chapters of the UnSprawl book. Planetizen Press editors have been hard at work. The introduction by New Urbanist town planner Galina Tachieva -- author of Sprawl Repair (excerpted recently in Terrain.org: http://www.terrain.org/articles/28/tachieva.htm) -- is in place. And layout and design, incorporating a rich mix of photos and other graphics, will begin soon. Though dates are not set, I'm thinking a fall book launch is about right.

Thanks again, very much, for your support -- and for your patience! I'll post an update once the book goes into full design and we have a better sense of publication date.

All best,

Simmons

It's been quiet here in the Kickstarter land of the UnSprawl case study book, and that's a good thing because it means I've been hard at work on completing the case studies. I'm happy to say that all twelve are now complete, and with brief section introductions and photographs and other graphics, will be shipped off to the publisher, Planetizen Press, on Monday.

Updating the Terrain.org case studies has been a wonderful experience. With your support, I was able to visit all of the ten projects I'm highlighting, sometimes for the first time. Ken Pirie successfully updated his two case studies, as well. Together, these dozen projects are among the most dynamic new communities -- whether brand new or redeveloped -- in North America. Walking their streets and paths and markets, and meeting with designers, developers, neighbors, and business owners has provided a deeper perspective, one that I think you'll find makes its way clearly into the book.

Some of the revised case studies have already resulted in active discussions. For example, over the last several weeks I've had an interesting and at times fiery conversation with the folks behind Longmont, Colorado's Prospect New Town: developer Kiki Wallace, town architect Mark Sofield, and particularly town planner Andres Duany. The point of contention has been architectural style, and specifically Prospect's transition -- early in its buildout -- from a traditional vernacular to a contemporary vernacular. If you've visited, you've no doubt seen the eclectic mix of architecture, particularly the single-family detached homes. See my 2009 photo gallery at http://www.simmonsbuntin.com/images/gallery/2008/nu/prospect/ for examples.

This transition -- or evolution, as Wallace calls it -- fascinates me, and since the case studies are heavy on project history and the development process, that's a primary focus of the Prospect New Town case study. For Duany, who's had to respond to questions about style as it relates to modernism since Prospect's transition -- and no doubt both before and after -- it's a "hoary old issue" that really shouldn't be an issue at all. Principal 20 of the Charter for the New Urbanism states, "Individual architectural projects should be seamlessly related to its surrounding areas. This issue transcends style." And yet style is the first thing on the tip of your tongue when visiting Prospect. Well, that and perhaps the tangy and altogether delectable BBQ offerings of The Rib House, located three blocks from Prospect's town square.

To me, that's one of the wonderful attributes of the UnSprawl book. It's not just a compendium of facts and figures for the projects, plus a lot of pretty pictures (though there will be that). It delves deeply into significant development, design, and resident interaction. What critical role does art play in Austin's Second Street District and Austin itself, for example? Why did residents in Tucson's Civano so distrust the developer, and what does that mean for neighborhood groups struggling to ensure their new communities build out as originally envisioned? How did the developer of Lenox Village in Nashville turn a potentially debilitating run-in with endangered species into the community's environmental centerpiece, and what are the lessons for similar greenfield projects, endangered species onsite or not?

If the adage that it takes a village to raise a child is true, then perhaps for the UnSprawl book we can take liberties and revise it: It takes a village to raise a village to raise another village. Each UnSprawl case study is utterly unique, and yet each provides meaning to other developments, and to our pursuit of living more equitably on and with the landscape.

Now that the fundraising period for the UnSprawl book has closed, I wanted to send a quick note of thanks. With the support of 48 backers, a total of $2,826 was pledged, exceeding the $2,500 goal and ensuring that enough funds were raised to pay for travel and photography costs associated with the book. Thank you!

Things will be quiet between now and my next trip, the third week of September to Colorado to visit Prospect New Town in Longmont and Belmar in Lakewood. They'll be quiet mostly because I'm working to get the next issue of Terrain.org out the door. It's our 28th, with the theme of "Image", and also hosts the winners and finalists of our 2nd annual contests in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. I must say, it's a pretty impressive issue! Look for it online at www.terrain.org on September 19th, the gods of the interwebs willing...

After issue launch, in addition to continuing to update here, I'll send a note requesting your contact information for your deliverables once available. The Terrain.org sticker, for example, will be available well ahead of the book and they will look quite excellent on your favorite personal (or public) mode of transport, or anywhere else for that matter!

Until then, feel free to comment here or send me a note if you have any specific questions or other feedback.

Thanks again.

Thanks to more than 40 supporters so far, the UnSprawl book project met its funding goal today. Thank you! Of course, there are still three and a half days left, so there's time to get your friends and neighbors in on the fun still, too...

Speaking of neighbors, the 12 case studies of the UnSprawl book are unique not just because of their mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented designs, but also because of their neighbors. These folks are usually passionate -- often beyond passionate -- about the communities in which they live, actively working not only to ensure the design guidelines and original community vision are met, but also to bring neighbors together in community-wide, community-building events.

The best examples I know of come from the community in which I live: Civano. Civano, located in southeast Tucson, Arizona, is one of the book's case studies -- a project that has morphed and evolved considerably since the Terrain.org case study on the new community appeared back in 1999, when Terrain.org itself was only a couple years old.

In Civano, we have a number of scheduled and unscheduled social events, and one that's cooking up now is the 1st Annual Civano Oktoberfest, October 15th. If you're in town, please join us from noon to 3 p.m. We'll have three grills churning out bratwurst, hot dogs, and veggie burgers (with yours truly working one of them); a potluck; root beer floats in commemorative mugs; live rock and roll; jumping castles and games; local vendors; and more. Serving as this year's annual picnic, we expect to draw about 350 neighbors.

Then later in the month, my wife, daughters, and I are hosting our biennial Civano Spooktacular Hallween Party and Haunted Garage. The Haunted Garage is something we've been doing every other year in Civano and before for more than 15 years now. The theme this year is Alcatraz -- having visited the island for the first time this summer when I also visited Suisun City Waterfront District, one of the book's case studies.

The point in all this is that each of these communities is unique and essential because they operate as real, organic neighborhoods. Design is critical, certainly, but so too is an active residency, an "intentional" community, if you will. The updated case studies of the UnSprawl book include these sustaining activities, as well.

Thanks again for your support in reaching our goal!

The annual Independence Day parade, a Civano tradition:

With one week remaining, the UnSprawl book project has just about reached its funding goal -- thanks to you!

I returned late last week from visits to Lenox Village and Glenwood Park and came away impressed with the progress and success both projects have had since the Terrain.org UnSprawl case studies first published.

As you can see by the six photos at the bottom of this post, the projects have matured nicely.

My next trip will take place the third week of September, when I'll visit Prospect New Town in Longmont, Colorado -- an old UnSprawl case study project -- and Belmar in Lakewood, Colorado, our new project for the book.

I'll continue posting updates throughout book development here, even after the fundraising period ends on September 5th.

But if you'd be so kind as to continue to spread the word, particularly over the next six days, I'd be much obliged!

Thanks, as always, for supporting this important project.

Lenox Village ~ Nashville, Tennessee (first three photos) + Glenwood Park ~ Atlanta, Georgia (second three photos