Product Description

A complete guide to city living for Boomers and young folks who want to leave the bland suburbs for the glittering lights and excitement of urban dwelling.

For millions who grew up in the suburbs or spent their working lives on endless highways commuting to and from, "Get Urban!" is a practical self-help guide to transforming your lifestyle––from a complacent suburbanite to an exhilarated urban dweller. City planner and dedicated urban dweller, Kyle Ezell is determined to bring people back to America’s urban centers where life is diverse and convenient. After travelling throughout the U.S. doing urban reconnaissance, he has identified 34 exciting cities that have the settings, ambiance, architecture, housing choices, and opportunities you crave––without the expense. He’ll help you determine your "urban personality"––from sleek post-industrial cultural community to gracious historic garden neighborhood; from diverse, trendy arts area to "blank canvas" neighborhoods in need of a rescue--and match your wants, needs, and aspirations to the urban setting you crave. Then learn urban survival skills, including searching for a city home, "schlepping," dealing with the threat of crime, preparing for unique urban weather conditions, blending into your new neighborhood, even how to walk again. More than 300 photographs, charts, quizzes, and maps make "Get Urban" an illustrated journey deep inside America’s revitalizing inner cities and a preview of what you can expect if you dare to make the move to an exhilarating urban lifestyle.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #696129 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
"...an illustrated journey deep inside America's revitalizing inner cities and a preview of what you can expect..." -- Green City Gazette, April 2004

"...goes into urban survival skills, including searching for a city home, dealing with the threat of crime..." -- Claudia Pearce, San Diego Union Tribune, March 14, 2004

"For suburbanites who yearn to take up urban living..." -- Richard Lawson, The Tennessean, April 1, 2004

"It is must reading for those concerned with revitalizing American cities or making their home there." -- Richard Florida, Author, "Rise of the Creative Class "

"Kyle Ezell shows how to live a fascinating urban life." -- Publisher’s Weekly, January 26, 2004

"This highly enjoyable and informative book offers people considering a move to cities helpful advice..." -- Ohio City Newsletter, May 2004

"Written as a self-help guide for Americans who want to find an urban lifestyle..." -- The Chattanoogan, March 31, 2004

About the Author
Kyle Ezell, A.I.C.P., is a certified city planner and fervent crusader for urban living. He is currently Project Coordinator for Urban Revitalization in Columbus, Ohio, working closely with the Mayor's office, local neighborhood commissions, non-profit corporations, and developers to revitalize the city's inner neighborhoods. He was city planner for downtown Chattanooga involved in the planning, design, and implementation of the nationally acclaimed Tennessee Riverpark and Coolidge Park projects; and a city planner in Maryville, Tennessee and Dublin, Ohio. Certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners, he has been a speaker at the American Planning Association's regional conferences, and been interviewed by numerous newspaper and television media as an expert on revitalizing cities. He has a BS in business administration from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and an MS in cultural geography from South Dakota State University. A dedicated city-lover, he lives in the eclectic Short North neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio.

Kyle is the founder of Get Urban American, an organization devoted to revitalizing cities with new urban dwellers and ideas. Get Urban America provides knowledgeable speakers for downtown business and residential development programs and organizations and consulting services to in-town developers who want to excite their potential residential buyers about city living.

Customer Reviews

I'll Never Look at Cities the Same Way Again
After reading Kyle Ezell's "Get Urban", when I drive through a city, I'll never look at it in the same way. The urban energy, the blank canvas, the garden district, all ripe for redevelopment and I want to be a part of it! I've now gained a full understanding of city life and why it can be such an exciting adventure.

What a useful book!
After driving through the decaying neighborhoods in D.C. today, I think every local politician and resident in the surrounding over-crowded suburbs should read this great book. Kyle Ezell tells you how to find the right neighborhood for your personality and teaches you the basic survival skills you will need to live in a city.

Going by the wonderful writing in "Get Urban!," I bet Kyle Ezell is going to be a superstar one day.

We got urban!
We were pleased when we passed the "Getting Urban 101" minicourse (chapter 3) with flying colors. We recently moved from the southern suburbs. We chose the "postindustrial urbs" and are living in Chicago's South Loop development called Central Station. Reading your book is full of good advice and is helping us get even more urban! And we're saving a load of money not paying high gas prices!