Suburbia : an international assessment /

Rothblatt and Garr's study is narrowly focused on certain sociodemographic patterns and written in a rather inaccessible style, but any foray into this important underresearched topic is a contribution to the urban studies literature. The emphasis here is on comparing the suburban residential experience in the US, the Netherlands, and Israel. The study is based on the interpretation of surveys that queried respondents on matters relating to the quality of life in their respective suburban social environments. A serious shortcoming is the publisher's decision to use a camera-ready format in which the typewriter print style gives the whole work an unfortunate amateurish appearance, detracting further from its already limited readability. According to their own bibliography, the authors are newcomers to the study of suburbanization; their effort could have been enriched by a wider linkage to the multifaceted work produced in recent years by social sciences outside urban sociology. Graduate level.-P.O. Muller, University of Miami