A Commonsense Legal Resource

Ok, I’m biased. I have the pleasure of knowing Dan Slone personally, and I can attest that those nasty lawyer jokes don’t apply to him. I’ve also had the opportunity to appreciate his clarity of thought and sharp wit, and it’s a pleasure to report that both are evident in his new book, which he coauthored with Doris Goldstein and a team of contributing authors.

Eminently readable, even for those of us not used to reading law books, A Legal Guide to Urban and Sustainable Development for Planners, Developers, and Architectsis packed with clear explanations of planning, zoning, and code concepts, and with practical tips and advice on getting pedestrian-friendly zoning adopted and smart plans approved. Slone notes, for example, that fire officials tend to become more reasonable when it is clarified that that local legislative bodies have the final say in street widths, and even devotes an entire chapter to negotiating “Fiefdoms and Fire Trucks.”

Recognizing from hard-won experience that new-urbanist planning solutions are not always welcomed by communities, the authors lay out a series of compromises and incremental approaches to the types of zoning they advocate. These approaches include finding flexibility to allow traditional neighborhood developments within conventional zoning regulations and hybrid zoning that specifically allows multiple approaches.

It’s rare to find a book that is both visionary and practical, both technically comprehensive and readable. This book is all of those, and will serve as an invaluable resource for many.

– Nadav Malin