Endorsements

"Sounding an impassioned call to action and offering thoughtful, commonsense suggestions for repairing the damage we have inflicted on our landscape and our way of life, Morris has given us a useful addition to the growing body of anti-sprawl literature."

Richard Moe, President of The National Trust for Historic Preservation and author of Changing Places

"Morris has made a convincing argument connecting the breakdown of American society with suburban sprawl. His book is a challenge to sociologists, criminologists, and urban planners everywhere to begin serious study of the human costs associated with living in suburbia."

Ray Oldenburg, author of The Great Good Place and Emeritus Professor of Sociology at The University of West Florida

"In this cautionary tale of a landscape stretched to its limits, It's a Sprawl World After All simply yet eloquently illustrates how suburban sprawl has fractured social relationships and hastened the disappearance of civic-mindedness. Straightforward and convincing, Morris presents a book that is far from being just another critical account of the negative effects of sprawl. The author invokes an optimistic and pragmatic spirit aimed at getting people to embrace the virtues of walking, public engagement, and tight-knit communities."

Andy Hamilton, President, America Walks

"Land-use and crime are clearly intertwined. The places we build can either enhance the human spirit or destroy it by inviting ghoulish behavior. An example of this is the transitory landscape of strip malls and cheap motels along old Highway 99 in Washington State that provided Gary Leon Ridgway, the Green River Killer, with an ideal hunting ground. In It's a Sprawl World After All, Morris gives us a voice with which to understand this growing problem as well as solutions to help defeat it."

Aaron Corvin, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington

"In his compelling book, Morris poses serious questions that beg for immediate answers from each citizen who has concerns about the quality of life in our increasingly unstable, disconnected, and hostile society."

Leslie Charles, author of seven books, including Why Is Everyone So Cranky?

"Are you increasingly shocked by people's impolite behavior? Do you ever feel unsafe walking alone, even in your own neighborhood? If so, this book is for you. Morris shows how sprawl has reduced our overall quality of life and turned neighbors into strangers. Most importantly, he offers practical suggestions on how readers can create meaningful, fulfilling connections in their communities -- regardless of where they live. Read it and reap the benefits."

Sam Horn, author, Tongue Fu! and Take the Bully by the Horns

"Mr. Morris's new book, It's a Sprawl World After All reveals a litany of frightening details about America's failing economic, community and personal health; all tied to the unbearable auto dependency associated with our suburban and urban wasted places. As Director of Walkable Communities it has become abundantly clear to me that where we live impacts our soul, spirit and optimism. As a people and as communities we require a collective thump on the noggin. We need to rethink how we are building our nation. This book helps us do that."

Dan Burden, Director, Walkable Communities

"Mr. Morris offers readers a passionate and exhaustive critique of all that is wrong with the nation, along with a common sense course for individual and community action."

Helen Tangires, author, Public Markets and Civic Culture in Nineteenth-Century America

"With his engaging account of the American society's devolution, Douglas E. Morris has delivered a book that belongs in the town-planning canon alongside Suburban Nation, The Geography of Nowhere, and kindred volumes."

Michael Dolan, author,The American Porch: An Informal History of an Informal Place

"Mr. Morris' book points out that sprawl makes life less convenient, less attractive, and less fulfilling in so many ways. More importantly, he warns us that sprawl also makes us less safe. America's sterile suburbs - unlike true communities, where neighbors constantly meet and interact - do a bad job of civilizing the young and inducting them into the ranks of the empathetic. If he's right - and he presents a logical case - suburban sprawl may be an unintended nightmare spawned from the American dream."

Paul Akers, Editorial Page Editor, The Free-Lance Star, Fredericksburg, Va.

"Morris clearly demonstrates how our quality of life, personal safety and sense of fulfillment are diminished by suburban sprawl. Then through his practical solutions Morris reminds us that it's not too late to change the way we build and re-create community in our lives."

Michele Micalizzi McCarthy, Editor In Chief, Primo Magazine