Anne Whiston Spirn is professor and chairman, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University
of Pennsylvania.
Review
"Deserves as wide a readership as Silent Spring. It is a softly written, easily read book, with an urgent,
powerful message."
--Ian Menzies,Boston Globe
"If you care about cities, as they are or as they might be, don't miss The Granite Garden. I am filled
with admiration for this book."
--Jane Jacobs, author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Submitted by Publisher July, 2001
Summary
This award-winning book by a Harvard landscape architect proves how important it is to understand the natural
settings of cities�their air, water, geology, plant, and animal life�to create better, more habitable urban environments.
Table of Contents
Prologue: The Granite Garden
City and Nature
City and Nature
Air
Dirt and Discomfort
Improving Air Quality, Enhancing Comfort, and Conserving Energy
Earth
Shifting Ground and Squandered Resources
Finding Firm Ground and Exploiting Resources
Water
Floods, Droughts, and Poisoned Water
Controlling and Restoring the Waters
Life
Urban Plants: Struggle for Survival
Nurturing the Urban Biome
Pets and Pests
Designing Wildlife Habitats
The Urban Ecosystem
The City as an Infernal Machine
Designing the Urban Ecosystem
