Product Description

Successfully navigate the confusing maze of land development

If you're looking for cutting-edge blockbuster coverage of the land development process, the search ends here! Written by one of the nation's premier consulting firms, this new edition delivers up-to-date coverage of planning, engineering, and surveying . . . all with over 700 illustrations, including diagrams, detailed drawings, plats, and reports generated at the various design stages, as well as charts, tables, and more.

This edition includes regulatory changes; new data on open space areas for landscape architects; coverage of the latest advances in GPS and GIS technology; new perspectives on urban growth; and updated case studies, plans, and details. You'll find a thorough description of the design and approval process for residential, commercial, and retail land development projects and access to valuable bottom-line information on:

* Environmental issues, including erosion and sediment control, storm water management, environmental impact studies and assessments, and water quality
* Types of local regulations; where to get necessary project approval; what to expect during the process
* Site analysis and selection criteria for feasibility studies
* Technical information on the design of suburban infrastructure components such as water treatment and supply systems, sanitary sewer systems, storm drain systems, and roads
* The complete spectrum of surveying methods, including Global Positioning System Surveys and Geographic Information Systems

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #431081 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-29
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1124 pages

Planning Magazine, Sept. 2004
Updated…how-to book that aspires to be both extensive and detailed…table of contents…runs 13 pages…engineering perspective is dominant...

Review
How to develop. "Forty years ago, for a typical suburban house, the cost of engineering, planning, and surveying, including fees paid to agencies, was about the cost of a refrigerator today. Today it is probably greater than the total cost of all of kitchen and other electronic appliances combined." So write Sidney Dewberry and Dennis Couture in the overview chapter that introduces the mammoth second edition of the Land Development Handbook: Planning, Engineering, and Surveying (2002; McGraw-Hill; 1,124 pp.; $150). A development and consulting firm, the Dewberry Companies, is listed as author, which seems appropriate since most of the 26 editors and contributing authors are employees of the firm.

The first edition of this handbook was published in 1996. For this version, several of the 41 chapters have been updated, and the order of presentation has been changed to reflect the way issues come up in a project. There are six sections: feasibility and site analysis, conceptual design, schematic design, final design, plan submission and permitting, and construction. This is a how-to book that aspires to be both extensive and detailed; its table of contents alone runs 13 pages.

As the title and cover photo suggest, the authors focus on development of greenfields. The engineering perspective is dominant, and the book's brief mentions of smart growth and new ways of designing feel largely extraneous to the business at hand. Thus, the 51-page chapter on suburban street design devotes two pages to pedestrians, and the list of suggested readings in the chapter on development patterns and principles includes no work published since 1990. (Planning Magazine )

Book Info
Delivers up to date coverage of planning, engineering, and surveying, including diagrams, detailed drawings, plats, and reports generated at the various design stages, as well as charts, tables, and more.

Customer Reviews

winner
very resourceful and informative.
highly suggest this book if land development is new, or even want something for reference.

A good guide from start to finish
As a general civil engineer in private practice this book has provided a good overview on the more abstract side of land development including financing, rezoning, and public involvement. All of which, are topics that typical engineers strugle with as it is not the enjoyable aspect of what engineers are trained to do. Nevertheless, these abstract components are just as real as the plans we develop. Of course, the book is excellent for hands on design and calculation support.

Learn a lot
As a novice developer, this book put me on the right track without all the confusion and terms I would have never understood. It was simple to understand and after reading it, I felt like I knew a lot more. Very interesting and satisfying. Great reference guide all the way around.