Urban Green Belts in the Twenty-first Century

'It is astonishing to realize that no book has attempted to compare international efforts to construct green belts around cities, despite the fact that this idea has been a powerful element of urban planning for the past 100 years. Marco Amati and his collaborators fill this gap with a wide ranging and important book that will be essential to students and to scholars, planners, and designers working on the emerging megacities of the world.' Michael B. Teitz, University of California, Berkeley, USA 'Sometimes provocative, sometimes rueful, the authors combine narratives of green belts in eleven cities around the world with critical reflection on the aspirations of 20th (and indeed 19th) century governments to stem the tides of urban expansion. Why the title ? So tomorrow's smart growth strategies can learn from yesterday's rather mixed fortunes.' Michael Hebbert, University of Manchester, UK '...those interested in greenbelts and how a planning ideal has fared across a range of cities will find this collection of material well chosen and able to readily be used as a resource to illustrate contemporary planning issues.' Urban Policy and Research '...offers new insights on the history and on the future of urban planning in the 21st century...For the future of green belts, these essays offer arguments in favour of a new policy, through the use of a renewed and more flexible "green belt" concept.' Urban Studies Journal