Suburban Cultural Landscapes
Planning and Design for Place Identity
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 15. October 2026
Book
Hardback
250 pages
978-1-032-87619-1 (ISBN)
Description
This book shows how a cultural landscape perspective on suburban situations can improve quality of life for residents and provide positive impacts on long-term resiliency and sustainability. One of today's primary challenges for environmental planning and landscape architecture is accommodating competing land usage while providing the experience of a cultural landscape, i.e., a positive place connectiveness for people. This book develops new links between cultural landscape studies and the suburban planning discussion, showing how evolving cultural identities may have an impact on the sense of place. The book uses exemplary case studies from Europe and the US to present and compare underlying cultural narratives, focusing on the impact of these narratives of land use planning and design approaches on cultural landscapes within the suburban context. It will be of interest to students, researchers, and practitioners in Cultural Studies, Landscape Studies, Urbanism, Environmental, Urban and Regional Planning, and Landscape Architecture.
Reviews / Votes
"Many people, especially in North America, live in the suburbs. Wolfram Hoefer presents a helpful framework for considering this important type of cultural landscape. It is a pleasure to enthusiastically recommend this wonderful book."Frederick Steiner, Dean and Paley Professor, University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design
"Wolfram Hoefer offers a compelling and highly original perspective on the cultural dimensions of suburban landscapes. Drawing on rich historical analysis and perceptive case studies-from the search for 'good places to live' to the narratives embedded in everyday suburban environments-this book reveals how suburbs are shaped not only by planning and development but also by deeply rooted cultural meanings. The discussion of vernacular landscapes in Budapest, Vienna, and the Ruhr Region is particularly insightful, demonstrating how ordinary suburban spaces carry complex identities and histories. Suburban Cultural Landscapes is an important and thought-provoking contribution to contemporary debates in landscape architecture and environmental planning."
Istvan Valanszki, Head of Department and Associate Professor, Department of Landscape Protection and Reclamation, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences
"Suburban Cultural Landscapes by Wolfram Hoefer offers a thoughtful exploration of how suburbs shape (and are shaped by) cultural, historical, and environmental forces. The book connects cultural landscape theory with urban and environmental planning and uses case studies from the United States and Europe to show how suburbs influence identity, sustainability, and quality of life. This book is especially valuable for students and professionals in urban planning, landscape architecture, geography, and environmental studies who want to better understand the cultural and spatial dynamics of suburban areas."
Uli Paetzel, Emschergenossenschaft/Lippeverband, Chairman of the Board
"This fascinating book tracing the evolution of suburbs in the US and Central Europe is richly illustrated by case studies from New Jersey, Vienna, Budapest, and Germany's Ruhr region. By examining suburbs as cultural landscapes, landscape architect Wolfram Hoefer has provided a new perspective to study the past and inform the future of these ubiquitous landscapes. This book is a must-read for those involved in shaping the suburban landscapes that dominate our metropolitan regions."
Robert L. Ryan, Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Co-Author of Planning for Climate Change
"On the one hand, the American suburbia of New Jersey; on the other, the urban-rural peripheries of Vienna and Budapest, each with their own distinct Central European character; and finally, the intermediate city of the former mining region Ruhrgebiet - Wolfram Hoefer ventures an intriguing comparison. Through the eyes of an environmental planner and cultural landscape researcher, we learn to understand suburbia in all its differences as cultural landscapes, and we recognize planning opportunities to transform them sustainably into good places to live."
Sibylla Zech, Professor of Regional Planning and Regional Development, Head of Research Unit of Regional Planning and Regional Development of Technical University Vienna
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
General, Postgraduate, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core
Illustrations
4 s/w Zeichnungen, 50 s/w Abbildungen, 46 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder
4 Line drawings, black and white; 46 Halftones, black and white; 50 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 246 mm
Width: 174 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-032-87619-1 (9781032876191)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
approx. 10/2026
1st Edition
Routledge
€52.50
Not yet published
Person
Wolfram Hoefer is a Professor at the Rutgers of Department of Landscape Architecture. He received is doctoral degree from the TU Muenchen and serves as Director of the Rutgers Center for Urban Environmental Sustainability (CUES), his community outreach projects have a focus on suburban cultural landscapes.
Content
1. Introduction: The Concept of the Suburban Cultural Landscape 2. Nature, Landscape, and Settlement 3. In Search of Good Places to Live 4. The Industrial Landscape 5. Suburban Expansion 6. Suburban Cultural Landscapes in a Changing Climate