Book Description

You expect the city of Al Capone and what you find are pleasant boulevards coursing up and down between the neo-classical buildings of the 1893 Universal Exhibition . . . The city center unfolds before you, an architectural miracle that is to twentieth-century urban planning what Venice must have been for the fifteenth century.

Like a cross between Philip Marlowe and Walter Benjamin, Marco d'Eramo stalks the streets of Chicago, leaving no myth unturned. Maintaining a European's detached gaze, he slowly comes to recognize the familiar stink of modernity that blows across the Windy City, the origins of whose greatness (the slaughterhouses, the railroads, the lumber and cereal-crop trades) are by now ancient history, and where what rears its head today is already scheduled for tomorrow's chopping block. Chicago has been the stage for some of modernity's key episodes: the birth of the skyscraper, the rise of urban sociology, the world's first atomic reactor, the hard-nosed monetarism of the Chicago School. Here in this postmodern Babel, where the contradictions of American society are writ large, d'Eramo bears witness to the revolutionary, subversive power of capitalism at its purest. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Naked City
Chicago as it is. The history of Capitalism and the history of American power have never been disected like this before. This is a good intro to those who are interested in cultural studies and their relevance to our every day lives. This is a superb work in the line of Braudel, Jared Diamond and Mike Davis.

Especially recommended reading for students of Urban Studies
Ably translated into English by Graeme Thomson, The Pig And The Skyscraper, Chicago: A History Of Our Future by Marco d'Eramo is a serious-minded and acutely insightful social analysis of Chicago as the penultimate example of the modern metropolis. From Chicago's humble origins to its towering rise in world prestige to the churning capitalism that keeps it running, The Pig and the Skyscraper looks closely at America's famous windy city and pulls no punches regarding the dark side of urban sprawl. A fascinating, in-depth account, The Pig And The Skyscraper is especially recommended reading for students of Urban Studies and the historical, contemporary, and future development of metropolitan Chicago. ... Read more

Book Description

Written by experts using case studies of latest practice, Sustainable Housing: principles and practice presents new perspectives on residential sustainability. This book is based upon the 'Housing and Sustainability' conference at the RIBA in October 1998. It is intended to guide action into the next century, setting down key principles, providing important new technical information, and setting UK practice in a European context. ... Read more

Book Description

The development of modern urban housing in China over the past 160 years is examined in this unique volume for the first time.From the beginnings of China's modernization after the Opium Wars to the latest trends adopted after the market reforms of the 1980's, this publication offers a broad overview of the developments in building construction and design.Extensively illustrated and written by a team of Chinese and Western experts, it is a must-have for anyone interested in the architecture of China. ... Read more

Book Description

In twelve engaging essays, William Fulton chronicles the history of urban planning in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, tracing the legacy of short-sighted political and financial gains that has resulted in a vast urban region on the brink of disaster. Looking at such diverse topics as shady real estate speculations, the construction of the Los Angeles subway, the battle over the future of South Central L.A. after the 1992 riots, and the emergence of Las Vegas as "the new Los Angeles," Fulton offers a fresh perspective on the city's epic sprawl.The only way to reverse the historical trends that have made Los Angeles increasingly unliveable, Fulton concludes, is to confront the prevailing "cocoon citizenship," the mind-set that prevents the city's inhabitants and leaders from recognizing Los Angeles's patchwork of communities as a single metropolis. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Fulton's Folly
Bill Fulton is often lionized by planning "professionals" and students for his writing in this book but the truth is that his foray into the application reality of his theory has Ventura on the ropes. Fulton is the architect of several local no-growth initiatives such as Save Our Agricultural Resources (SOAR) as well as spearheading a housing development-blocking effort a couple of years ago for Ventura hillsides. What has since happened as any college freshman taking Econ 101 would understand, is that the supply of housing has constricted as demand increased and resulted in the skyrocketing price of local housing. Fulton did nothing after pushing these no-growth initiatives to stoke the fires of development that is required to prevent this housing supply constipation.

Fulton has now gotten himself elected to the Ventura City Council and it has become easy to see his political agenda that before has been hidden and masquerading as thoughtful intellect. This guy is no responsible academic or planning God but merely another no-growth advocate pushing a political agenda. Don't waste your time reading his stuff unless you have nothing else with which to stock your water closet area.

The joke in Los Angeles
The joke in Los Angeles is 'I've never been to downtown Los Angeles'. This is book that tells all about the decentralization of LA. Unlike most cities in America, Los Angeles' decentralization is a product of the explained 'growth machine'. One of the most unique cities in America and possibly one of the most depressing. I would have given this book 5 stars but i award 5 stars to inspirational books. The politics of Los Angeles makes me want to curl into a ball and shove myself into a dark corner (no worries though, it's perpetually sunny here).

So that's how it really is...
This book is a must read for anyone willing to expose themselves to the stories behind the stories of Los Angeles. The stories reveal the apathetic and self-centered nature of some Los Angeles citizens (who will never really admit they are from "Los Angeles"), and sets the stage for an entire change of mindset among Los Angelenos. This mindset is one that takes notice of the community, and the larger metropolis that communities make up. For a graduate city planning student as I, these stories help shape some basic values of mine regarding the nature of cities and communities. I strongly recommend this book.

Fascinating
Excellent and fascinating read for anyone interested in Los Angeles. The first 20 pages are worth the price of the book.

Mike Davis without the dictionary
William Fulton's a rockstar...he's a planner, he's a journalist, he lives in southern California, and he writes about southern California. Damn.

This book is so well written. SoCal is very politically apathetic, so it takes some gripping prose to shake us out of our coma. He tackles bickering local agencies, squabbling egos, litigious neighboring cities, backlash against the entrenched growth "machine," opposition to mixed-use developments, and Chinatown water issues.

The paperback edition has an Afterword chapter that brings us up-to-date with the subject matter. Fools whine that there's no professional football team in L.A., but can you believe that downtown's last 2 Fortune 500 corporations, Arco and Times Mirror, were eaten up by out-of-state companies in the 1990s? ... Read more

Book Description

* How can cities around the world exploit their cultural and economic dynamism in the face of the daunting challenges of globalization * Explains how planning and municipal government can address these challenges and create dynamic and successful urban cultures*Essential reading and ideal course material for urban geography, planning and social scienceCities are facing enormous challenges, with rapidly growing urban populations, often worsening environmental conditions and deteriorating infrastructure, inequalities and housing shortages, unemployment, crime and violence. Yet they are the main drivers of cultural and economic development with the most concentrated resources and potential. This book, from the world’s leading research institute on cities, looks at how that potential can be used to address these problems and create dynamic, multicultural and inclusive urban cultures. It lays out the conditions for a new culture of planning, involving civil society as well as public authorities, to ensure participation of even the most marginalized sectors.With extensive examples and illustrations it will be essential reading for professionals and ideal material for course on urban geography and social science. ... Read more

Book Description

"Urban Life, Jim--But Not As We Know It"

The global digital network is a whole new urban infrastructure--one that will change the forms of our cities as dramatically as railroads, highways, electric power grids, and telephone networks did in the past. In this lucid, invigorating book, William Mitchell examines this new infrastructure and its implications for our future daily lives. He argues that we must extend the definitions of architecture and urban design to encompass virtual places as well as physical ones, and proposes strategies for the creation of cities that not only will be sustainable but will make economic, social, and cultural sense in an electronically interconnected and global world. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Better be called "e-today"
Mitchell provides a well description of today and very near future. Covering most of the ideas possible with the current state of technology. He tells us what is available today and perhaps what is available later today. However, he fails in telling what is going to be a little later, say next week. A reader expects more from a book called "e-topia". A better title for the book would be "e-today". If you are a stranger to the field, you can learn a lot from this book. Otherwise, you already have many ideas addable this book.

Gem of a book with one flaw
This is a great book, and you can't say 'great' without choosing the word carefully. Think of the book as very rich food, it is difficult to digest it at one sitting. The starter was like a think broth but it did help me settle into the author's writing style. The main course was enlightening but filling, and the desert comparatively light and attractive. This is no madman's ranting it is very well balanced and honest. I felt the author was sitting beside me reading the whole thing aloud as the style is friendly if a little bit too heavily laced with 'advanced English'. And this is it's flaw, this wonderful book is really only suitable for the native English speaker, I gave my copy to a Czech friend with excellent English and she was unable to enjoy it as I had. If you have an interest in what the physical shape of our existance might look like under the future influence of the virtual world we are creating then this is the book for you. This is not just a book for architects, it is a book for a very wide audience, it is not too heavily littered with technical jargon so native English speakers will be able to enjoy it.

Fresh/broad vision
The book helped me to put some commonsense about the Internet/technology and their impacts together. But it lacks of depth.

Great text
- (From Planeta Journal) E-topia is a joyous, philosophical joy ride on the Internet.

Author William Mitchell provides a history lesson about the role of information and technology. He examines the implications of the new digital infrastructure and provides some not-so-futuristic examples of things to come, including wearable technology and new urban infrastructure.

Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mitchell makes a convincing case that we must extend the definitions of architecture and urban design to include virtual realities as well as physical ones. His proposals are creative and practical and show the possibilities of increased interconnectivity on both a personal and a global scale.

While the entire book is a tour-de-force, the last two chapters of the volume shine. "The Economics of Presence" neatly summarizes synchronistic and asyncronistic communication. "Lean and Green" takes on the topic of green building techniques. E-topia is a superb introduction to the digital revolution at hand.

Coherent & Balanced Future Vision of Wired Cities & Life
E-topia presents a top-level, grounded look at a distant future through the impact of Internet technology specifically related to rich-nations urban spaces, architecture, work and leisure.

The concise, intelligently written, well-referenced chapters span:

* march of the meganets- digiphiles versus digiphobes, after the digital revolution, information infrastructure & opportunity, new networks and urban transformation, the big pipes, connected to the backbone, new global interdependence, from POP to your door, the network city extended, the end of rural isolation, residual wireless backblocks, public and private, behind the firewalls and filters, and the task ahead.

* telematics takes command- proscenium and display, screenspace, out of the box, center and periphery, up in the lights, virtual reality, and augmented reality.

* software- new genius of the place- embedded intelligence, instant networking, and form fetches function.

* computers for living in- wear ware, body nets, appliance intelligence, electronic teamwork, buildings with nervous systems, intelligent resource consumption, adaptive behaviour, reconceiving construction, the I-bahn, and smart cities.

* homes and neighbourhoods- displacement of space, reconfigured homes, rethinking planning/zoning, sociology of wired dwellings, localisation, renucleation, twenty-four hour electronic neighbourhoods, redistributed secondary relationships, and dual cities.

* getting together- online meeting places, shift in scale, invisible boundaries, virtuality, connectivity and sociability, electronic co-ordination, cyberturf, e-vox populi, civitas and urbs decoupled, and reinventing public space.

* reworking the workplace- exchanging intangible products, delivering information products, remaking making, value from knowledge, relocating production, make after buying, the recombinant workplace, and mobilising enterprises.

* the teleserviced city- typology of service systems, summoning assistance, keeping tabs, surveillance and seclusion, delivery at a distance, web of indirect relationships, telerobotics, the teleservice paradox, electronic fronts & architectural backs, and serving space.

* the economy of presence- the cost of being there, traditional limits, asynchronous alternative, information mobilization, remote interaction, modes and operations, costs and benefits, and power of place.

* lean and green- dematerialisation, demobilisation, mass customisation, intelligent operation, and self transformation.

Initially this reviewer was put-off by the sometimes obscure vocabulary, and relative-complexity of grammar (compared with a recent reading-list of simplistic e-business texts). By the end of the book, the synergy of contributions & style proved a key strength. Other strengths include: the coherence, attractiveness and power of future scenarios presented; and related discussion about the rich-poor gap within neighbourhoods and the World.

Improvements could include: better use of illustrations or tables in place of existing lengthier textual descriptions; deeper material in areas beyond the MIT professor-author's expertise of architecture & computer science (e.g. world class manufacturing, supply chain management, teleworking, appropriate technology, and development economics); and greater evidence of significant research & results beyond MIT.

Overall very highly recommended- 'E-topia' is a must-read for business-technologists seeking a bigger context, as well as "blue-sky futurists" seeking a balanced pragmatic view of possibilities. ... Read more

Book Description

To be outside allows one a fresh perspective on the inside. In these essays, philosopher Elizabeth Grosz explores the ways in which two disciplines that are fundamentally outside each another--architecture and philosophy--can meet in a third space to interact free of their internal constraints. "Outside" also refers to those whose voices are not usually heard in architectural discourse but who inhabit its space--the destitute, the homeless, the sick, and the dying, as well as women and minorities.

Grosz asks how we can understand space differently in order to structure and inhabit our living arrangements accordingly. Two themes run throughout the book: temporal flow and sexual specificity. Grosz argues that time, change, and emergence, traditionally viewed as outside the concerns of space, must become more integral to the processes of design and construction. She also argues against architectures historical indifference to sexual specificity, asking what the existence of (at least) two sexes has to do with how we understand and experience space. Drawing on the work of such philosophers as Henri Bergson, Roger Caillois, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida, Luce Irigaray, and Jacques Lacan, Grosz raises abstract but nonformalistic questions about space, inhabitation, and building. All of the essays propose philosophical experiments to render space and building more mobile and dynamic. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Let Down
Initially I was impressed with this book, it seemed to be well written and to raise some interesting questions concerning architectural ideas of the present and future. As the book progresses the author's rhetoric gets a bit thin, causually citing references that are never elaborated upon leaving many of her arguements baseless. If you suffer from the ability to develop your own questions concerning the future of architectural thought/theory, whether you are an architect or from the 'outside', buy this book. Otherwise find an author that can actual communicate an idea beyond an initial thought. ... Read more

Book Description

The provisional city is one of constant erasure and eruption. Through what Dana Cuff calls a "convulsive urban act," developers both public and private demolish an urban site and disband its inhabitants, replacing it with some vision of a better life that leaves no trace of the former structure. Architects bring their own utopian dreams to the process. In this book, Cuff examines those convulsions through two underestimated dimensions of architectural and urban form: scale and the politics of property. Scale is intimately tied to degree of disruption: the larger a project's scale, the greater the upheaval. As both culture and geography, real estate plays an equally significant role in urban formation.

Focusing on Los Angeles, Cuff looks at urban transformation through the architecture and land development of large-scale residential projects. She demonstrates the inherent instability of very large sites. Having created perverse renditions of the very problems they sought to solve, for example, public housing projects that underwent upheaval in the 1940s and 1950s are doing so again.

Cuff explores five cases that span the period from the 1930s, when federal support for slum clearance and public housing caused convulsions near downtown, to a huge 1990s' mixed-use development on one of Los Angeles's last remaining wetlands. The story takes us from the refined modernist architecture of Richard Neutra to the self-conscious populism of the New Urbanism. The cases illuminate the relationship of housing architecture to issues of race, class, urban design, geography, and political ideology. ... Read more

Book Description

The dominant architectures in our culture of development consist of generic protocols for building offices, airports, houses, and highways. For Keller Easterling these organizational formats are not merely the context of design efforts -- they are the design. Bridging the gap between architecture and infrastructure, Easterling views architecture as part of an ecology of interrelationships and linkages, and she treats the expression of organizational character as part of the architectural endeavor.

Easterling also makes the case that these organizational formats are improvisational and responsive to circumstantial change, to mistakes, anomalies, and seemingly illogical market forces. By treating these irregularities opportunistically, she offers architects working within the customary development protocols new sites for making and altering space.

By showing the reciprocal relations between systems of thinking and modes of designing, Easterling establishes unexpected congruencies between natural and built environments, virtual and physical systems, highway and communication networks, and corporate and spatial organizations. She frames her unconventional notion of site not in terms of singular entities, but in terms of relationships between multiple sites that are both individually and collectively adjustable. ... Read more

Book Description

Beyond Metropolis studies planning and governance in the regions surrounding the twelve cities in Asia with populations over ten million: Tokyo, Mumbai, Kolkata, Dhaka, Delhi, Shanghai, Jakarta, Osaka, Beijing, Karachi, Metro Manila, and Seoul. These regions are greater than cities plus suburbs: for almost all, development has sprawled into the surrounding countryside, enveloping villages, towns, and small and medium-sized cities, creating "extended metropolitan regions."

These areas, argues Aprodicio A. Laquian, are the centers of development for their countries: they represent huge markets; large and varied labor pools; and centers of politics, education, and culture.Beyond Metropolis examines these mega-urban regions in terms of governance and sustainability; water, transportation, and housing; and the twin questions of inner-city redevelopment and satellite area development. The author embraces, on one hand, unified regional planning and, on the other, cooperative efforts by urban residents for addressing their own problems.Beyond Metropolis builds on studies conducted during the 1990s under the Centre for Human Settlements at the University of British Columbia.

Book Description

Book Description

The Foch-Allenby and Etoile area of Beirut epitomizes the civic and business identity of the city, both as a national capital and as a port. Evolving from the traditional heart of intramural Beirut in the mid-19th century to be the showcase of the French Mandate in the Levant, it became the symbol of the city's reconstruction following the 1975-1990 Lebanese War. Archival, survey, planning, and design materials generated during the recovery of the city center and its conservation area reveal how urban design policies formulated in the 1920s and 1930s (the transition period between tradition and early modernity) were finally brought to their full potential. We see how international experience in urban and architectural conservation was adapted to local materials and know-how. The need to modernize infrastructure and upgrade public spaces was reconciled with the equally present need to preserve the cultural identity of place through the reuse of conserved structures, made possible due to the adoption of specific stone masonry repair techniques. Proceeding according to a pre-approved but flexible Master Plan, the recovery of the Beirut city center is a major postwar reconstruction and urban regeneration project.

ByRobert Sailba.

Clothbound, 9.5 x 13 in./274 pgs / 313 color and 86 b & w. ... Read more

Book Description

"Green Development is good for business. Tenants, owners, purchasers, and brokers are all becoming more sophisticated and are realizing the financial and social benefits of green product." --Gerald Hines, Chairman of Hines.

Environmentally responsible real estate development makes dollars and sense. Green Development describes an exciting new field in which environmental considerations are viewed as opportunities to create fundamentally better buildings and communities--more comfortable, more efficient, more appealing, and ultimately more profitable.

If you're a developer, architect, planner, contractor, lender, or city official, this book speaks your language. Every stage of the development process is examined in detail: market research, site planning, design, approvals, financing, construction, marketing, and occupancy. Also included are lists of project statistics and contacts, books and other information sources, and development strategies.

Based on 80 case studies drawn from Rocky Mountain Institute's extensive worldwide research and consulting work, Green Development distills proven procedures and practical lessons that work in the real world. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Throughly presents sustainable land development
This book throughly presents sustainable real estate development. It answers the basic questions of how, what, when, why and who with text and photos illustrating numerous case studies.

It is written for a wide and concerned audience, composed of real estate professionals, financiers and designers. This book is not technical. It is a conceptual book and guides the reader toward sustainable solutions.

This subject is very large and this book is necessarily a summary, which includes recent projects.

This book does not "preach to the choir". It addresses difficult obstacles to the sustainable development paradigm and provides workable solutions.
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Reviews (3)

It might be flawed, but it doesn't shy away from the ideal.
Flaws there might be. Logistical errors there might be. Totally impractical aspects there might be. But none of it detracts from what this book is. Some architects build to the practical present, and some build to the ideal future. Safdie does the latter. Genius does not require anything more than vision, and this book glows with that. A new way to live; a better way to exist. Humankind has never, in all the spans of history, moved forward. It has always been dragged by a few farsighted and great individuals. Buy this book. Read this book. And see an apsect of our future that will one day be a reality. It won't be Safdie's vision through and through. But it will be Safdie's vision. Leap in on the ground floor now, as humanity prepares to embark on its next stage of growth - without even realizing it.

An Architect's Inaccurate View of Urban Mobility
THE CITY AFTER THE AUTOMOBILE by Moshe Safdie.I found it an interesting review of urban architecture and what many might find as more desirable high density living, assuming your dream is high density living. However, in my opinion, this book offers little in the way of mobility solutions.One idea Safdie presents is the availability of U cars, presumably government provided, at airports, office buildings, park & ride lots, etc. His system would save time parking but that is so little to be gained in return for such massive trade-offs. He maintains that aspect alone would allow rail to displace airline usage in the northeast corridor, make urban rail greatly used, etc., failing to recognize the inherent weaknesses in the "transfer" system he would make worse. I could not determine how this improves on the present rental car or taxi system or why we would want to replace the existing system with a national system of providing cars for everyone everywhere. I found the logistical questions unanswered; the assignment of personal responsibility for bad driving unaddressed; as well the notion that every possible origin and destination would have to be provided with the maximum number of cars that would ever be needed at any one time at all times and in all places. The notion of all of our mobility provided by and maintained by the government is something that our society would not accept and could not afford.Mr. Safdie's demonstrated knowledge of transportation history, transportation, in general, and transit, in particular, leave much to be desired. He perpetuates that myth that streetcars were put out of business by car, oil and tire manufacturers. He believes that intercity high speed mag lev systems running at 300 miles per hour are applicable within urban areas. How many stations could you have in an urban area and allow for trains to get to and slow down from 300 MPH speeds. He talks about economies of scale disregarding the higher costs of living in dense "downtown" areas.Safdie's contention that communication and culture can exist only in high density appalls me. Melvin Y. Zucker

Interesting but nothing new in this book
Persons interested in finding ways to get cities out of the auto and rail transit mess will be disappointed - because Safdie doesn't know anything about urban transportation. He does know about humane architecture and his thoughts on this subject are very good. He suggests two new urban transportation modes. One is the Utility-car, a small rentable probably electric car that is sitting around everywhere ready for you to use - if you have the right smart card to make it go. This is not a new idea as it is already being done widely in Europe and even in the U.S. The other is the Conveyor which is highly similar to Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) which has been worked on by many people around the world since the early 1970's. The Raytheon Company is building a U.S. version right now called PRT 2000. Beyond transportation, Safdie suggests we need the New Cardo, a linear downtown that has lots of street life. This idea appears in a plan for the Urban Detroit Area prepared in the 1960's by Doxiadis and Associates for the Detroit Edison Company. The book highlights the fact that architects and urban transportation planners never talk to each other. Apparently, architect's don't read the literature either. Persons interested in a advanced transportation technologies can see what is available and learn the history of this field at a website called Innovative Transportation Technologies: http://weber.u.washington.edu/~jbs/itran ... Read more

Book Description

The great revolutionary architect’s probing analysis of urban problems and their origins, and his bold solutions, which include the "Voisin" scheme for the center of Paris, and the more developed scheme for a "City of Three Million Inhabitants." Introduction. Foreword. l33 black-and-white illustrations. 82 black-and-white halftones.
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Reviews (2)

A planner with a vision
Le Corbusier has a dream for Paris, and it is a really interesting and unusual one. He creates a model for the cities, and his model has been living for almost a century. Although, you may reject to see it built, put aside living in it, it is a complete (well, almost complete) model. In this book, Le Corbusier presents his model city in detail from streets to building codes. He not only talks about the physical structure, but also the life style it would create. The mass of the city scares you, but you admire how he defends his vision, which is strong and bold, just like the book itself.

Must-read for any architecture buff!
As an architecture student interested in the "art" of city planning, I found this book fascinating! Gives Le Corbusier's "radical" views and ideas plenty of substantive support. It is not only a book of design theory, but a book of urban history. Even if you're not too fond of Corbusier's work, this is a must-read for anyone interested in architecture! ... Read more

Book Description

*A practical guide to implementing New Urbanism principles in suburbs and small communities

*Case studies present clear solutions for typical suburban problems: the need for pedestrian access, the lack of parking, the presence of industrial-park eyesores, and the issue of how to create a "sense of place"

*Illustrations take architects and planners step-by-step through the design and development process ... Read more

Reviews (2)

For Novices Only
Community by Design is an introduction to the basics of community design and New Urbanism. It's useful if that's what you're after, but not an interesting read if you're anything but a novice on the the topic. It reads like a texbook for a freshman-level course in urbad design. Used for that purpose, I'm certain it would be more than successful. As a source of new, insightful commentary on the subject of New Urbanism it falls more than a little short.

Recommendation from the author
I wanted to take the opportunity to recommend this book to anyone who has wondered why every place in America looks like everywhere else. There's a funny line in the Rocky and Bullwinkle movie where "our heros" are traveling by car across America in a race against time to foil the plan of the arch villan. As they pass the same gas station and fast food franchise again and again Bullwinkle says, "Haven't we been here before?" That was the same reaction my seven-year old had this summer when we were on our family vacation. We were in Richmond, Virginia and he said we've been here before because I remember that place over there. I had to explain to him what franchise architecture was and how just about every town in America has one of those types of buildings. This is a sad commentary on the American landscape that we as consumers expect the to see the familiar sign of our favorite business. This is one reason why I wrote this book; to let folks know that there's a better way. In fact, we used to do it better. The types of places that capture our attention and long to live are the places that were built prior to World War II. The small towns that so many families idealize as the place they'd rather raise their kids are the same places that couldn't be built today because of "modern" zoning ordinances. And the sad thing is today's generation is the first to be raised totally in a suburban environment that requires owning an automobile just to survive. If you're intersted in how this could change and what the alternatives are Community by Design is your book! There's 250 illustrations and photos that show you what's possible right now. The book helps you understand why community can and should be designed and lets you see some places where it has been. If you ask me this is a great book. ... ... Read more

Book Description

As the most important public space in the United States, the Mall in Washington, D.C., has been a vital emblem of national spirit and ideals ever since Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant first envisioned it over two hundred years ago. Although the Mall has undergone numerous changes since its conception, it has retained centrality within the life of the capital and has emerged as an essential symbol of American national identity and an influential model of city planning worldwide.

Featuring fourteen essays by prominent historians, architects, and leaders of some of Washington, D.C.'s most important institutions, this book explores the Mall's origins and growth as well as the shifting political forces and cultural values that have shaped it. Over 140 illustrations help to tell the story of the site, including beautiful vintage maps, prints, and drawings, in addition to numerous contemporary documentary and historical photographs.

Originally published in 1991, The Mall in Washington features a new introduction discussing recent developments on the Mall. ... Read more