City and town planning: architectural aspects Books

Book SynopsisImagine waking up to the gentle noises of the city, and moving through your day with complete confidence that you will get where you need to go quickly and efficiently. Soft City is about ease and comfort, where density has a human dimension, adapting to our ever-changing needs, nurturing relationships, and accommodating the pleasures of everyday life. How do we move from the current reality in most cites--separated uses and lengthy commutes in single-occupancy vehicles that drain human, environmental, and community resources--to support a soft city approach? In Soft City David Sim, partner and creative director at Gehl, shows how this is possible, presenting ideas and graphic examples from around the globe. He draws from his vast design experience to make a case for a dense and diverse built environment at a human scale, which he presents through a series of observations of older and newer places, and a range of simple built phenomena, some traditional and some totally new inventions. Sim shows that increasing density is not enough. The soft city must consider the organization and layout of the built environment for more fluid movement and comfort, a diversity of building types, and thoughtful design to ensure a sustainable urban environment and society. Soft City begins with the big ideas of happiness and quality of life, and then shows how they are tied to the way we live. The heart of the book is highly visual and shows the building blocks for neighborhoods: building types and their organization and orientation; how we can get along as we get around a city; and living with the weather. As every citizen deals with the reality of a changing climate, Soft City explores how the built environment can adapt and respond. Soft City offers inspiration, ideas, and guidance for anyone interested in city building. Sim shows how to make any city more efficient, more livable, and better connected to the environment.

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Book SynopsisThe much-anticipated update to Jarrett Walker's seminal guide to public transportation.

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Book SynopsisFeaturing updates and revisions to reflect rapid changes in an increasingly globalized world, Readings in Planning Theory remains the definitive resource for the latest theoretical and practical debates within the field of planning theory.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments viii Introduction: The Structure and Debates of Planning Theory 1 Susan S. Fainstein and James DeFilippis Part I The Development of Planning Theory 19 Introduction 19 1. Urban Utopias in the Twentieth Century: Ebenezer Howard, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Le Corbusier 23 Robert Fishman 2. Co‐evolutions of Planning and Design: Risks and Benefits of Design Perspectives in Planning Systems 51 Kristof Van Assche, Raoul Beunen, Martijn Duineveld, and Harro de Jong 3. Authoritarian High Modernism 75 James C. Scott 4. The Death and Life of Great American Cities 94 Jane Jacobs 5. Planning the Capitalist City 110 Richard E. Foglesong 6. The Three Historic Currents of City Planning 117 Peter Marcuse Part II What Are Planners Trying to Do? The Justifications and Critiques of Planning 133 Introduction 133 7. The Planning Project 139 Patsy Healey 8. Urban Planning in an Uncertain World 156 Ash Amin 9. Arguments For and Against Planning 169 Richard E. Klosterman 10. Is There Space for Better Planning in a Neoliberal World? Implications for Planning Practice and Theory 187 Heather Campbell, Malcolm Tait, and Craig Watkins 11. Green Cities, Growing Cities, Just Cities? Urban Planning and the Contradictions of Sustainable Development 214 Scott Campbell 12. Disasters, Vulnerability and Resilience of Cities 241 Brendan Gleeson 13. Spatial Justice and Planning 258 Susan S. Fainstein Part III Implications of Practice for Theory 273 Introduction 273 14. The Neglected Places of Practice 277 Robert Beauregard 15. Home, Sweet Home: American Residential Zoning in Comparative Perspective 293 Sonia Hirt 16. Understanding Community Development in a “Theory of Action” Framework: Norms, Markets, Justice 324 Laura Wolf‐Powers 17. Participatory Governance: From Theory to Practice 348 Frank Fischer 18. Cultivating Surprise and the Art of the Possible: The Drama of Mediating Differences 363 John Forester Part IV Wicked Problems in Planning: Identity, Difference, Ethics, and Conflict 383 Introduction 383 19. Inclusion and Democracy 389 Iris Marion Young 20. Towards a Cosmopolitan Urbanism: From Theory to Practice 407 Leonie Sandercock 21. Advocacy and Pluralism in Planning 427 Paul Davidoff 22. The Minority‐Race Planner in the Quest for a Just City 443 June Manning Thomas 23. The Past, Present, and Future of Professional Ethics in Planning 464 Martin Wachs 24. Insurgent Planning: Situating Radical Planning in the Global South 480 Faranak Miraftab Part V Planning in a Globalized World 499 Introduction 499 25. Place and Place‐Making in Cities: A Global Perspective 503 John Friedmann 26. Urban Informality: The Production of Space and Practice of Planning 524 Ananya Roy 27. Seeing from the South: Refocusing Urban Planning on the Globe’s Central Urban Issues 540 Vanessa Watson 28. Global Cities of the South: Emerging Perspectives on Growth and Inequality 561 Gavin Shatkin Index 587

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Book SynopsisThe first Danish language version of this book, published in 1971, was very much a protest against the functionalistic principles for planning cities and residential areas that prevailed during that period. The book carried an appeal to show concern for the people who were to move about between buildings, and it urged an understanding of the subtle, almost indefinable - but definite - qualities, which have always related to the interaction of people in public spaces, and it pointed to the life between buildings as a dimension of architecture that needs to be carefully treated. Now 40 years later, many architectural trends and ideologies have passed by over the years. These intervening years have also shown that the liveliness and liveability of cities and residential areas continues to be a important issue. The intensity in which fine public spaces are used at this point in time, as well as the greatly increased general interest in the quality of cities and their public spaces emphasises this point. The character of life between buildings changes with changes in any given social context, but the essential principles and quality criteria to be employed when working with life between buildings has proven to be remarkably constant. Though this work over the years has been updated and revised several times, this version bears little resemblance with the very early versions, however there was no reason to change the basic message: Take good care of the life between your buildings.

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Book SynopsisIn 1970, Richard Sennett published the groundbreaking The Uses of Disorder, arguing that the ideal of a planned and ordered city was flawed. Fifty years later, Sennett returns to these still fertile ideas and, alongside campaigner and architect Pablo Sendra, sets out an agenda for the design and ethics of the Open City.The public spaces of our cities are under siege from planners, privatisation and increased surveillance. Our streets are becoming ever more lifeless and ordered. What is to be done? Can disorder be designed? In this provocative essay Sendra and Sennett propose a reorganisation of how we think and plan the social life of our cities. 'Infrastructures of disorder' combine architecture, politics, urban planning and activism in order to develop places that nurture rather than stifle, bring together rather than divide up, remain open to change rather than closed off.Trade ReviewIn this very readable essay, Sennett pushes on the ideas he developed in his 'Uses of Disorder'. The upshot seems to be the 'open city'; the antithesis of places like New York'sHudson Yards; a pre-determined, real-estate driven 'community' that can only degrade over time. Given contingent times, a necessary critical view of the modern urban realm. * RIBA Journal *The promotion of this sense of impotence, and the resulting inertia, are encouraged by a patronising capitalist "nanny state" on behalf of corporations for whom profits, not people, matter. The only antidote to that inertia is surely to start planning the "disorder" promulgated by Sendra and Sennett. * Morning Star *Timely and relevant...For both Sennett and Sendra, cities are at their best when they resist homogeneity and promote difference, and when they empower people to actively shape and reshape their built environment and its public uses. -- Eoin Ó Broin * Irish Times *A bold invitation to take sides ... a city of power (Hudson Yards) versus a city of the people (the Garment District in New York City), before formulating the no less audacious goal of the book: to enable urban spontaneity by means of design -- Plácido González Martínez * Journal of Urban Design *Evocatively, he paints a picture of brittle cities, which serve closed systems and whose buildings are destroyed rather than adapted as their use changes. -- Charmaine Chan * South China Morning Post *This book can be seen as an ongoing and open-ended conversation rather than a static presentation of the authors' points of view ... a very lively and engaging read. -- Judith Ryser * Urban Design *I thought of my home town, Dublin, while reading Pablo Sendra and Richard Sennett's Designing Disorder: Experiments and Disruptions in the City. Here, the authors explore ethical urban design in an age of privatisation, hostile architecture and widespread surveillance. -- Naoise Dolan * Observer, Best Books of 2020 *A good public space should offer the possibility of surprise. Sennett and Sendra contrast the idea of the "brittle city" or the "closed city" with the idea of the "open city": a place that can change as its residents', visitors', and workers' needs change. A building, street, or neighborhood should always remain "incomplete," so that it can adapt with the times. . . .worth reading as a guide to post-pandemic urban-space management. * City Journal *

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Book SynopsisHow do we accommodate a growing urban population in a way that is sustainable, equitable, and inviting? This question is becoming increasingly urgent as we face diminishing fossil-fuel resources and the effects of a changing climate while global cities continue to compete to be the most vibrant centres of culture, knowledge, and finance. Jan Gehl has been examining this question since the 1960s, when few urban designers or planners were thinking about designing cities for people. But given the unpredictable, complex and ephemeral nature of life in cities, how can we best design public infrastructure - vital to cities for getting for place to place, or staying in place - for human use? Studying city life and understanding the factors that encourage or discourage use is the key to designing inviting public space. In How to Study Public Life Jan Gehl and Birgitte Svarre draw from their combined experience of over 50 years to provide a history of public-life study as well as methods and tools necessary to recapture city life as an important planning dimension. This type of systematic study began in earnest in the 1960s, when several researchers and journalists on different continents criticized urban planning for having forgotten life in the city. City life studies provide knowledge about human behaviour in the built environment in an attempt to put it on an equal footing with knowledge about urban elements such as buildings and transport systems. Studies can be used as input in the decision-making process, as part of overall planning, or in designing individual projects such as streets, squares or parks. The original goal is still the goal today: to recapture city life as an important planning dimension. Anyone interested in improving city life will find inspiration, tools, and examples in this invaluable guide.

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Book SynopsisElements of Architecture focuses on the fragments of the rich and complex architectural collage. Window, façade, balcony, corridor, fireplace, stair, escalator, elevator and toilet: the book seeks to excavate the micro-narratives of building detail. The result is no single history, but rather the web of origins, contaminations, similarities, and differences in architectural evolution, including the influence of technological advances, climatic adaptation, political calculation, economic contexts, regulatory requirements, and new digital opportunities. It’s a guide that is long overdue—in Koolhaas’s own words, “Never was a book more relevant—at a moment where architecture as we know it is changing beyond recognition.” Derived, updated, and expanded from Koolhaas’s exhaustive and much-lauded exhibition at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale, this is an essential toolkit to understanding the fundamentals that comprise structure around the globe. Designed by Irma Boom and based on research from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the 2,600-page monograph contains essays from Rem Koolhaas, Stephan Trueby, James Westcott and Stephan Petermann; interviews with Werner Sobek and Tony Fadell (of Nest); and an exclusive photo essay by Wolfgang Tillmans. In addition to comprehensively updated texts and new images, this edition is designed and produced to visually (and physically) embody the immense scope of its subject matter: Custom split-spine binding: our printer modified their industrial binding machine to allow for the flexible, eight-centimeter thick spine Contains a new introductory chapter with forewords, table of contents, and an index, located in the middle of the book (where it naturally opens due to its unique spine) Printed on 50g Opakal paper, allowing for the ideal level of opacity needed to realize Boom’s palimpsest-like design Translucent overlays and personal annotations by Koolhaas and Boom are woven in each chapter to create an alternative, faster route through the book Printed at the originally intended 100% size for full readability Trade Review“A brilliant and stimulating exploration of the stories behind the most mundane and ubiquitous elements of architecture.” * Financial Times *“Rem Koolhaas explains it all in Elements of Architecture. With examples ranging from the Sydney Opera House to St. Peter’s Basilica, this beautiful book also works as a history of architecture.” * The New York Times *“…when it comes to learning about the differences in architectural evolution, this is the book.” * forbes.com *“A mammoth undertaking: smashing open the last 100 years of architecture and ripping out its innards for forensic analysis.” * The Guardian *“…exhaustive and exhausting, mad and maddening.” * Metropolis Magazine *“A fascinating compendium of cultural references, iconic design, and everyday history that work together to turn architectural theory on its head.” * Architectural Digest *

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Book SynopsisDesire lines are the paths that people create through regular usage. They appear where people repeatedly choose to walk and usually signify a route from A to B that’s quicker than the formal path provided. In most cases they indicate the mismatch between what local people want and what designers think people want. By employing some social research basics in the design development process, placemakers can work more meaningfully with local communities to meet their needs and aspirations. This is a practical guide to running public consultations, co-design and community engagement to help practitioners make the most of local knowledge and insight for the benefit of design. It offers guidance on managing community participation, and unapologetically aims to encourage designers to start thinking like social researchers when they undertake these programmes. It’s intended for placemakers - architects, urban designers, landscape architects, and other built environment professionals involved in the planning and design of public realm - who want to develop more people-centred, community-led design approaches. It’s also a valuable tool for students of these disciplines, both as guidance on projects involving primary fieldwork, and as general preparation for professional practice, where skills in working with local communities are increasingly important.Table of Contents1. Introduction2. Research essentials for community participation3. Observation4. Diary studiesA quick guide to qualitative data analysis5. Exhibitions and public meetings A quick guide to public events 6. Survey methods 7. Focus groups A quick guide to communications 8. Collaborative approaches A quick guide to reporting research 9­­­. Ethical and inclusive practice 10. Participants’ experiences

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Book Synopsis"Townscape" is the art of giving visual coherence and organisation to the jumble of buildings, streets and spaces that make up the urban environment. Its concepts were first developed by Gordon Cullen in The Architectural Review and were later embodied in the book TOWNSCAPE (1961) which instantly established itself as a major influence on architects, planners and others concerned with what cities should look like. Its interest, however, goes far beyond the professional sphere. Some may see it as an important contribution to art and architectural history since, for the first time, it explores the fact that certain visual effects in the grouping of buildings were based on quite definable, if often spontaneous, aesthetic principles. Others may find that it teaches them to appreciate, as no other book has done, what it is that makes a town "work" architecturally. A third group may want to study it for Cullen's superb drawings of city scenery - a skill at which he is the acknowledged masterTrade Review'A welcome reissue of this influential work, with acute observations on the English urban landscape, fully backed up with photographs and the author's characteristic drawings.' Soc. of Architectual & Industrial Illustrators NewsTable of ContentsAcknowledgements; Introduction; Introduction to 1971 Edition; Casebook: Serial vision; Place; Content; The functional tradition; General Studies: Squares for all tastes; Cross as focal point; Closure; Line of life; Legs and wheels; Hazards; The floor; Prairie planning; Rule of thumb; Street lighting; Outdoor publicity; The wall; The English climate; Casebook precedents; Trees incorporated; Change of level; Here and there; Immediacy; Endpiece; Index

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Book SynopsisThe only book that brings together all London's historic and contemporary Great Estates - documents a remarkable history, unique to England but with lessons for landowners and communities around the world. - Shows how they shape the way development takes place in England providing essential lessons to all those wishing to understand city planning, whether practitioners or academics. - Provides a model example of corporate modernisation following the impact of leasehold reform. Much of the story of London''s development can be traced through the historic ownership of large pieces of land which, through the ongoing ownership of freehold assets and their lease terms, have created a resilient cycle of change and renewal. Today this long-term attitude to investment, development and management has influenced the development of new large-scale and mixed-use areas of the capital, such as King''s Cross, Canary Wharf, and the Olympic Park. This book provides a comprehensive picture on all of

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Shortlisted for the 2017 Urban Design Book Award, Urban Design Group""Before our cities were grids of asphalt, brick, and steel, they were islands, wetlands, and deserts. For centuries, urbanism relied on the engineer to reconstruct the natural environment around the built environment. But in our era of populist environmentalism, urbanism looks more than ever to the landscape architect. This book reflects on the transformation in which the landscape architect, by adapting human infrastructure to nature, is really the ultimate urbanist." * Metropolis *"In Landscape as Urbanism, one of the field's pioneers presents a powerful case for rethinking the city through landscape. Generously illustrated, [the book] examines works from around the world by designers ranging from Ludwig Hilberseimer, Andrea Branzi, and Frank Lloyd Wright to James Corner, Adriaan Geuze, and Michael Van Valkenburgh." * ArcSpace *"Rich in bold ideas."---Jared Green, The Dirt"For decades, New Urbanism was the only acceptable form of urban planning in the United States. In the past 15 years, however, several challengers have appeared on the scene, none bolder than the landscape urbanism movement. Spearheaded by Charles Waldheim, who chaired the Department of Landscape Architecture at Harvard's Graduate School of Design (GSD) from 2009 to 2015, the movement and its protagonists argue that landscape, more than buildings, has fundamentally changed the way cities urbanize in the 21st century. Waldheim's new book, Landscape as Urbanism . . . reflects on the origins of landscape urbanism and theorizes about its continued cultural relevance."---Samuel Medina, Metropolis"Talking about landscape urbanism is more like telling a story than theorizing a practice, and Waldheim tells this story well, with an authority arising from his key role in developing landscape urbanism. . . . As a history teacher faced with endless questions from students who love the idea of it but can't really work out what it is, I am grateful to Waldheim for his new book: Now I can give some readings that have some clarity, accompanied by great writing."---Julian Raxworthy, Landscape Architecture Magazine"Charles Waldheim, Irving professor of landscape architecture, advances a theoretical underpinning for breaching the barriers that have separated urbanism and landscape; the aim is a more coherent view of what cities can be." * Harvard Magazine *"[A] thorough and highly researched book."---David Sisam, Canadian Architect"A timely and fascinating book."---National Urban Design Awards 2017"Suffice to say, as one of the leading voices and purveyors of landscape urbanism, there is no better guide to the subject than Charles Waldheim. As such, Landscape as Urbanism: A General Theory stands in a league of its own, not only as a summary of Waldheim's work on the subject to-date, but also as a convincing and powerful argument for the relevance of landscape as a lens through which the contemporary city must be engaged."---Erick Villagomez, Spacing

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Book SynopsisThe acclaimed exploration of the iconic ‘park in the sky' in New York that reshaped global perceptions of urban space - back in print Since opening to the public in 2009, the High Line has rapidly become one of New York City's most popular and beloved attractions. Phaidon's bestselling The High Line was the first book to document the creative process behind this remarkable architectural achievement comprehensively from concept to completion. Seven chapters offer a multidimensional perspective from the minds behind the iconic structure. Now back in print, and featuring over 1,000 images, including drawings and plans, this visual masterpiece captures the High Line's very essence.

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Book SynopsisCities are under increased pressure to be resilient and resistant to the effects of climate change and rapid urbanisation. However, this idea has still not been fully integrated in to practice. This book presents a practical approach to masterplanning the city and its areas (existing and new) as urban environments for the 21st century, addressing the design of cities as complex adaptive systems.Table of ContentsPart I: Towards an Ecology of Urban Form 1. Design and Change: Reconciling the Paradox 2. From System Ecology to Urban Morphology Part II: Masterplanning for Change: The Design Approach 3. Towards a Design Agenda 4. The Design Approach 5. Towards the Resilient City

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Book SynopsisA visionary of sustainable urbanism reflects on the innovative projects that uplift cities in this meditative journey through vibrant communities around the world. During his three terms as mayor of Curitiba, Brazil in the 1970s and '80s, architect and urbanist Jaime Lerner transformed his city into a global model of the sustainable and liveable community. Through his pioneering work, Lerner has learned that changes to a community don't need to be large-scale and expensive to have a transformative impact, in fact, one street, park, or a single person can have an outsized effect on life in the surrounding city. In Urban Acupuncture, his first work published in English, Lerner celebrates these "pinpricks" of urbanism, projects, people, and initiatives from around the world that ripple through their communities to uplift city life. With meditative and descriptive prose, Lerner brings readers around the world to streets and neighbourhoods where urban acupuncture has been practiced best, from the bustling La Boqueria market in Barcelona to the revitalisation of the Cheonggyecheon River in Seoul, South Korea. Through this journey, Lerner invites us to re-examine the true building blocks of vibrant communities, the tree-lined avenues, night vendors, and songs and traditions that connect us to our cities and to one another.

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Book SynopsisWhat type of cities do we want our children to grow up in? Car-dominated, noisy, polluted and devoid of nature? Or walkable, welcoming, and green? As the climate crisis and urbanisation escalate, cities urgently need to become more inclusive and sustainable. This book reveals how seeing cities through the eyes of children strengthens the case for planning and transportation policies that work for people of all ages, and for the planet. It shows how urban designers and city planners can incorporate child friendly insights and ideas into their masterplans, public spaces and streetscapes. Healthier children mean happier families, stronger communities, greener neighbourhoods, and an economy focused on the long-term. Make cities better for everyone.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Urban Planning and Children Chapter 2: What is Child-Friendly Urban Planning and Why Does it Matter? Chapter 3: Transforming A Failing City Chapter 4: Child-Friendly Cities Around the World Chapter 5: Making it Happen: Principles, Building Blocks and Tools Chapter 6: What Next?

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Book SynopsisSusan Fainstein's concept of the "just city" encourages planners and policymakers to embrace a different approach to urban development, combining progressive city planners' earlier focus on equity and material well-being with considerations of diversity.Trade Review[Fainstein's] work deepens, enriches, and extends deliberative planning theory in complementary rather than antagonistic ways. Like the idea of justice itself, The Just City is not the last word concluding a debate. More important, it is a trenchant, penetrating, and reasoned contribution to precisely that discursive and contested, but necessary and fruitful deliberative process that fuels the hope for progress toward realization of the just city. -- Sarah J. Peterson * Journal of Planning Education and Research *The just city is one in which equity, democracy, and diversity are important considerations. This is in contrast with the city as growth machine. Fainstein examines three cities: New York, London, and Amsterdam. She provides a history of post–World War II planning and then focuses on fairly recent cases of development in each. Her goals, though modest, are important if growing inequality in urban areas is to be reversed. Recommended. * Choice *Susan Fainstein's book is the result of some 20 years of intense research and thinking on the subject of the 'just city,' and it seems likely to me to become something of a classic.... Fainstein's slightly deadpan style serves only to make her accounts more compelling. A recent history of planning in London, written with equality, democracy and diversity in mind, is really useful as a teaching tool. Here the Docklands development, Coin Street and the 2012 Olympics are placed under scrutiny, with the last of those three, perhaps not surprisingly, receiving poor marks on the grounds of equity not least because the 'huge expenditure involved took away resources from other parts of London and the country more widely without providing them any benefits beyond the glory of hosting the Games.'... She notes that there are two possible responses to the injustices illustrated by the book. The first is to recognize the impossibility of achieving even small amounts of justice within the dominant system of global capitalism. The second, which is one that Fainstein herself adheres to, is that much can be achieved through incremental change. The book's final chapter is therefore devoted to a discussion of policies that are conducive to social justice in cities. Her vision is of a world where market forces no longer dominate decisions about city planning and justice drives the world of policy. -- Flora Samuel * Times Higher Education Supplement *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: Toward an Urban Theory of Justice 1. Philosophical Approaches to the Problem of Justice 2. Justice and Urban Transformation: Planning in Context 3. New York 4. London 5. Amsterdam: A Just City? 6. Conclusion: Toward the Just City References Index

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD. A definitive classic, Lewis Mumford''s massive historical study brings together a wide array of evidence — from the earliest group habitats to medieval towns to the modern centers of commerce — to show how the urban form has changed throughout human civilization. Mumford explores the factors that made Greek cities uniques and offers a controversial view of the Roman city concept. He explains how the role of monasticism influenced Christian towns and how mercanitile capitalism shapes the modern city today. The City in History remains a powerfully influential work, one that has shaped the agendas of urban planners, sociologists, and social critics since its publication in the 1960s.

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Book SynopsisThe NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, Second Edition is based on the experience of the best cycling cities in the world. The designs in this book were developed by cities for cities, since unique urban streets require innovative solutions. To create the Guide, the authors conducted an extensive worldwide literature search from design guidelines and real-life experience. They worked closely with a panel of urban cycleway planning professionals from NACTO member cities and from numerous other cities worldwide, as well as traffic engineers, planners, and academics with deep experience in urban cycleway applications. The Guide offers substantive guidance for cities seeking to improve bicycle transportation in places where competing demands for the use of the right of way present unique challenges. Each of the treatments addressed in the Guide offers three levels of guidance: Required: elements for which there is a strong consensus that the treatment cannot be implemented without; Recommended: elements for which there is a strong consensus of added value; and, Optional: elements that vary across cities and may add value depending on the situation. First and foremost, the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, Second Edition will help practitioners make good decisions about urban cycleway design. The treatments outlined in the Guide are based on real-life experience in the world's most bicycle friendly cities and have been selected because of their utility in helping cities meet their goals related to bicycle transportation. The Guide is an indispensable tool every planner must have for their daily transportation design work.

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Book SynopsisRegenerative design and architecture What will it take to restore balance to our world, repair past injustices, and support future generations' survival? Reaching beyond 'sustainability', 'regenerative' practice is increasingly named as a new goal, but what does this emerging term really mean? And which key mindset shifts might enable truly regenerative transformation? Looking deeply into the web of life that created and supports us, and drawing inspiration from diverse cultural traditions and perspectives, spirited thinkers Michael Pawlyn and Sarah Ichioka propose a bold set of regenerative principles with potential to transform how we design, make and manage our buildings, infrastructure and communities. Whether you're a built environment professional or client, an activist or a policymaker, Flourish offers an urgent invitation to inhabit a new array of possibilities, through which we can build a thriving future, together.

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Book SynopsisA handbook that lists and illustrates key principles in the field of landscape ecology, presenting specific examples of how the principles can be applied in a range of scales and diverse types of landscapes around the world.

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Book SynopsisTypology, volume 2 of the new series 'Christ & Gantenbein Review', presents more than 150 buildings located in Rome, New York, Hong Kong and Buenos Aires that have been analysed by the chair of Emanuel Christ and Christoph Gantenbein at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich. This selective and subjective inventory of metropolitan and essentially anonymous 20th-century building production provides a basis for urban project creation. In this new book, the buildings are documented with floor plans, axonometric projections, recent photographs and key information. The theoretical essay by Emanuel Christ and Christoph Gantenbein and four texts by other authors explain the interactions between the contexts, especially the governing urban rule sets and the buildings, and show the potential for the design of a contemporary urban architecture. Text in English and German

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Book SynopsisPeter Ackroyd is an award-winning historian, biographer, novelist, poet and broadcaster. He is the author of the acclaimed non-fiction bestsellers London: The Biography, Thames: Sacred River and London Under; biographies of figures including Charles Dickens, William Blake, Charlie Chaplin and Alfred Hitchcock; and a multi-volume history of England. He has won the Whitbread Biography Award, the Royal Society of Literature's William Heinemann Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Guardian Fiction Prize, the Somerset Maugham Award and the South Bank Prize for Literature. He holds a CBE for services to literature.Trade ReviewIt would be no exaggeration to say that Peter Ackroyd's 'biography' of our capital is the book about London. It contains a lifetime of reading and research-but this huge book is light and airy and playful-[He] leads us on a journey both historical and geographical, but also imaginative. Every street, alley and courtyard has a story, and Ackroyd brings it to life for us - marvellous -- A N Wilson * Daily Mail *Nothing can quite match the huge strange echo chamber of life-stories, folktales, and urban myths conjured up in Peter Ackroyd's epic vision of his native city. Sparkling, witty scholarship is constantly transformed into smoky mystical street-history, with dark hypnotic meditations on fog, fire, sewage, suicide and civic resurrection -- Richard Holmes * Daily Telegraph *Ackroyd is the most effortless guide. You wander by his side through the streets of the old city, savouring its bustle, colours and its smells, the stink of living. This is much more than history; it is a tapestry of inspiration and love. You will not find a better, more visionary book about a place we take for granted * Observer *It's this decade's finest work of non-fiction -- Jude Rogers * The Word *[London] may be several years old but it remains one of the leading narratives as he cleverly weaves through centuries of history to reveal to us the hundreds of different cities within a city -- Fiona Hamilton * The Times *

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Book SynopsisWondering where to live in your later years? This strategic and thoughtful guide is aimed at anyone looking to determine the best place to call home during the second half of life. Place plays a significant but often unacknowledged role in health and happiness. The right place elevates personal well-being. It can help promote purpose, facilitate human connection, catalyze physical activity, support financial health, and inspire community engagement. Conversely, the wrong place can be detrimental to health, as the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted. In Right Place, Right Time, Ryan Frederick argues that where you live matters enormouslyespecially during the second half of your life. Frederick, the CEO of SmartLiving 360 and a recognized thought leader on the intersection of place and healthy aging, provides you with tools to evaluate your living situation, ensuring that you weigh all the necessary factors to make a sound decision that optimizes your current and future well-being. He exTrade ReviewFrederick's book could not be arriving at a more critical time...this topic is more important than ever.—Kerry Hannon, MarketWatchTable of ContentsForeword, by Paul IrvingAcknowledgmentsIntroduction. Why Place Matters in the Age of LongevityPart I. Are You in the Right Place for Now? Chapter 1. Place as a Key Component of Successful AgingChapter 2. Evaluating Whether You Are in the Right PlaceChapter 3. Moving from Aging in Place to Living in CommunityPart II. Where Is the Right Place for You?Chapter 4. Regions, States, and Metro AreasChapter 5. Neighborhood and CommunitiesPart III. What Is the Right Place for You?Chapter 6. Single-Family HousingChapter 7. ApartmentsChapter 8. Age-Restricted HousingChapter 9. Senior LivingChapter 10. Emerging Options, from Cohousing to Tiny HomesChapter 11. Living with or near FamilyPart IV. The Evolution of PlaceChapter 12. Place as a Hub for TechnologyChapter 13. Place as a Hub for HealthPart V. Taking ActionChapter 14. Making the Most of Your Current PlaceChapter 15. Selecting a New PlaceConclusion. Choosing the Right Place at the Right TimeAppendix: Personal DashboardsResourcesNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisThe high street is in crisis. How did we get here and what happens next? The global pandemic has made the crisis immeasurably worse but it wasn’t the cause. The crisis was already raging in 2019 with thousands of store closures. Large retailers became complacent and failed to respond to changing consumer behaviour. Town centres are the victims of these changes rather than the cause of them. To understand the current crisis and how it might be addressed, this book takes a long view of retailing based on a hundred case studies. It looks at the way town centres responded to previous crises and explores current trends affecting town centres and how places are responding. The message is optimistic: adaptable town centres can once more become the diverse, characterful, independent places that existed before they were homogenised by big retail. Explore the past – understand the present – find a better future.Table of ContentsIntroduction PART 1: The Roots of the Crisis Chapter 1: Places of exchange Chapter 2: Death by supermarket Chapter 3: Heading Out of Town Chapter 4: From Boom to Bust PART 2: Future Retail Chapter 5: Independent and Creative Chapter 6: Grocers and Purveyors of Fine Food Chapter 7: Food and Beverage Chapter 8: Online and e-Commerce Chapter 9: Sound and Vision Chapter 10: Home and GardenChapter 11: Fashion and Beauty PART 3: Future High Street Chapter 12: The City Chapter 13: The Mall Chapter 14: The Town Chapter 15: The High Street Part 4: ConclusionsChapter 16; Conclusions

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Book SynopsisWhat if, even in the heart of a densely developed city, people could have meaningful encounters with nature? While parks, street trees, and green roofs are increasingly appreciated for their technical services like storm water reduction, from a biophilic viewpoint, they also facilitate experiences that contribute to better physical and mental health: natural elements in play areas can lessen children's symptoms of ADHD and adults who exercise in natural spaces can experience greater reductions in anxiety and blood pressure. The Handbook of Biophilic City Planning & Design offers practical advice and inspiration for ensuring nature in the city is more than infrastructure, that it also creates an emotional connection to the earth and promotes well-being among urban residents. Divided into six parts, the Handbook begins by introducing key ideas, literature, and theory about biophilic urbanism; followed by chapters that highlight urban biophilic innovations in more than a dozen global cities; the final part concludes with lessons on how to advance an agenda for urban biophilia and an extensive list of resources.As the most comprehensive reference on the emerging field of biophilic urbanism, the Handbook is essential reading for students and practitioners looking to place nature at the core of their planning and design ideas and encourage what pre-eminent biologist E. O. Wilson described as "the innate emotional connection of humans to all living things."

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Book SynopsisThis book is a critical reappraisal of contemporary theories of urban planning and design and of the role of the architect-planner in an urban context. The authors, rejecting the grand utopian visions of total planning and total design, propose instead a collage city which can accommodate a whole range of utopias in miniature.

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Book SynopsisThis book is an essential primer to help those involved in the planning process secure higher standards of urban design and the delivery of better places. The UK Government’s policy for design in the planning system is contained in the National Planning Policy Framework, with expanded guidance being provided in the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG). This book supports and extends the PPG by providing explanations and examples of design guidance with a range of advice and illustrated examples that are structured, accessible and reproducible. Written by a team of experts overseen by Urban Design London, together, the contributions combine knowledge and expertise to showcase an established, common and practical approach to delivering better urban spaces, not just in London but throughout the UK.Table of ContentsPrefacePart 1Chapter 1: What is Design?Chapter 2: The Characteristics of Well-designed PlacesChapter 3: Aspects of Development FormChapter 4: Legislation, Planning and Decision-makingChapter 5: Who is Involved?Chapter 6: Processes Related to DesignPart 2Chapter 7: Understanding Plans and DrawingsChapter 8: Small-scale DevelopmentChapter 9: HousingChapter 10: LandscapeChapter 11: Environmental IssuesChapter 12: Historic EnvironmentChapter 13: StreetsChapter 14: Public SpaceChapter 15: Tall BuildingsChapter 16: Town Centres and Transport InterchangesChapter 17: Town Extensions and Large-scale Schemes

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Book SynopsisRecent societal changes have brought about renewed interest from architects, town planners, housing officials and the public in terraces and townhouses.  The small footprint that this style of house occupies allows a sustainable high density approach to habitation, slowing sprawl and creating energy-efficient affordable living.Townhouses have been used for hundreds of years, and their evolution is covered from their inception right up to the present day.  With the changing demographics of buyers in mind, Avi Friedman details how the design of these houses can be adapted to keep-up with contemporary needs.Friedman uses a systematic approach to cover the many facets of townhouses from interior design and construction methods, to urban planning issues like adjusting to the site's natural conditions, street configurations and open spaces.  This approach creates a book which will be a valuable resource for those involved in the planning, design and creTrade Review"Friedman’s book deserves to be read by architecture students with an interest in low-rise housing. This also goes for housing policy researchers who are interested in low-rise housing in a somewhat denser form. For non-architects, this book provides insights in architects’ motives for specific design decisions and might therefore stimulate a better understanding and collaboration between architects and policy-makers." - Kees Dol, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, International Journal of Housing Policy"This book explores in details, using a systematic approach, the main elements of this style of housing. The book concluded with lessons learnt throughout this research, and demonstrates in ten wide ranging case studies how aspects of townhouses could be put into useful practice."— Lonaard, Issue 15, Volume 3, May 2013Table of Contents1. Terms and Motives 2. Roots and Evolution 3. Forms and Prototypes 4. Interiors 5. Construction Methods, Utilities & Resources 6. Siting a Project 7. Circulation and Parking 8. Open Spaces 9. Infill Housing 10. Projects

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Book SynopsisDynamic Patterns explores the role of patterns in designed landscapes. Patterns are inherently relational, and the search for and the creation of patterns are endemic to many scientific and artistic endeavors. Recent advances in optical tools, sensors, and computing have expanded our understanding of patterns as a link between natural and cultural realms. Looking beyond the surface manifestation of pattern, M'Closkey and VanDerSys delve into a multifaceted examination that explores new avenues for engagement with patterns using digital media. Examining the theoretical implications of pattern-making, they probe the potential of patterns to conjoin landscape's utilitarian and aesthetic functions. With full color throughout and over one hundred and twenty images, Dynamic Patterns utilizes work from a wide range of artists and designers to demonstrate how novel modes of visualization have facilitated new ways of seeing patterns and therefore oTable of ContentsForeword by James Corner, Preface, Introduction, 1. Topological Patterns, 2. Behavioral Patterns, 3. Ornamental Patterns, Afterword

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Book SynopsisThis book highlights radical urban transformation in eight cities spread across continental Europe. The point of departure, and the foundation of European urbanisation, is the Roman colonial town. In every case social dynamics guided the urban transitions in a traceable way, such that it has been possible to deduce the intellectual underpinnings of the contemporary built environments, as featured in these pages. Differing contexts of time and place show the overarching march of European history and related themes at the urban level. Fundamental changes are brought to light. Each story demonstrates a separate and fundamental transition, ranging from earlier collective configurations to the more institutionalised structures of later periods.

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Book SynopsisWe are marching towards a future in which three-quarters of humans live in cities, more than half of the landmass of the planet is urbanized, and the rest is covered by farms,pasture, and plantations. Increasingly, as we become ever more city-centric, species and ecosystems crafted by millions of years of evolution teeter on the brink of extinction - or have already disappeared.A growing band of 'urban ecologists' is beginning to realize that natural selection is not so easily stopped. They are finding that more and more plants and animals are adopting new ways of living in the seemingly hostile environments of asphalt and steel that we humans have created. Carrion crows in the Japanese city of Sendai, for example, have learned to use passing traffic to crack nuts for them; otters and bobcats, no longer persecuted by humans, are waiting at the New York City gates; superb fairy-wrens in Australia have evolved different mating structures for nesting in strips of vegetation along roads; while distinct populations of London underground mosquitoes have been fashioned by the varied tube line environments.Menno Schilthuizen shows us that evolution can happen far more rapidly than Darwin had dared dream.Trade ReviewInvigorating and beautifully written. - BBC WildlifeMy eyes and ears have been opened to the emerging science of urban ecology by Menno Schilthuizen - Financial TimesDelightful and charmingly written - Daily TelegraphSpellbinding and important - Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisNearly every US city would like to be more walkable—for reasons of health, wealth, and the environment—yet few are taking the proper steps to get there. The goals are often clear, but the path is seldom easy. Jeff Speck’s follow up to his bestselling Walkable City is the resource that cities and citizens need to usher in an era of renewed street life. Walkable City Rules is a doer’s guide to making change in cities, and making it now. The 101 rules are practical yet engaging—worded for arguments at the planning commission, illustrated for clarity, and packed with specifications as well as data. For ease of use, the rules are grouped into 19 chapters that cover everything from selling walkability, to getting the parking right, escaping automobilism, making comfortable spaces and interesting places, and doing it now! Walkable City was written to inspire; Walkable City Rules was written to enable. It is the most comprehensive tool available for bringing the latest and most effective city-planning practices to bear in your community. The content and presentation make it a force multiplier for place-makers and change-makers everywhere.Table of ContentsTable of Contents Introduction: Making Change Now Sell Walkability Mix the Uses Make Housing Attainable Escape Automobilism Get the Parking Right Let Transit Work Start with Safety Optimize Your Driving Network Right-Size the Number of Lanes Right-Size the Lanes Invite Biking Park On-Street Don’t Forget Geometry Fix Your Signals and Signs Make Great Sidewalks Make Comfortable Spaces Make Sticky Edges Do It Now

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Book SynopsisFlood risk is increasing across the UK and globally. This book provides a highly visual guide to flood resilience, and the ways in which the built and natural environment can be adapted to the threat of flooding. It offers advice on how to better understand the nature of flood risk, highlighting the key approaches and principles necessary for developing community and property flood resilience. Offering clear visual examples of the variety of resilience strategies that are appropriate and applicable to a range of flood risk contexts, this book is an invaluable practical manual for architects and professionals across the built environment. Highly practical handbook for architects, students, engineers, urban planners and other built environment professionals Richly illustrated with practical examples and case studies Draws on research from government, academic and industry experts as well as first-hand experiences from flood affected communities Table of ContentsChapter 1: Flood Risk Contexts & Consequences Chapter 2: Types of Flooding Chapter 3: Tools & Techniques for Understanding Flood Risk & Resilience Chapter 4: Catchment & Community Flood Risk Management Chapter 5: Building Level Strategies Chapter 6: Pathways to a Flood Resilient Future

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Book Synopsis“Once there was a nation that went to war, but after they conquered a continent their own country was destroyed by atom bombs... then the victors imposed democracy on the vanquished. For a group of apprentice architects, artists, and designers, led by a visionary, the dire situation of their country was not an obstacle but an inspiration to plan and think... although they were very different characters, the architects worked closely together to realize their dreams, staunchly supported by a super-creative bureaucracy and an activist state... after 15 years of incubation, they surprised the world with a new architecture—Metabolism—that proposed a radical makeover of the entire land... Then newspapers, magazines, and TV turned the architects into heroes: thinkers and doers, thoroughly modern men… Through sheer hard work, discipline, and the integration of all forms of creativity, their country, Japan, became a shining example... when the oil crisis initiated the end of the West, the architects of Japan spread out over the world to define the contours of a post-Western aesthetic....” —Rem Koolhaas / Hans Ulrich Obrist Between 2005 and 2011, architect Rem Koolhaas and curator Hans Ulrich Obrist interviewed the surviving members of Metabolism—the first non-Western avant-garde, launched in Tokyo in 1960, in the midst of Japan’s postwar miracle. Project Japan features hundreds of never-before-seen images—master plans from Manchuria to Tokyo, intimate snapshots of the Metabolists at work and play, architectural models, magazine excerpts, and astonishing sci-fi urban visions—telling the 20th-century history of Japan through its architecture. From the tabula rasa of a colonized Manchuria in the 1930s, a devastated Japan after the war, and the establishment of Metabolism at the 1960 World Design Conference in Tokyo to the rise of Kisho Kurokawa as the first celebrity architect, the apotheosis of Metabolism at Expo ’70 in Osaka, and its expansion into the Middle East and Africa in the 1970s: The result is a vivid documentary of the last moment when architecture was a public rather than a private affair. Oral history by Rem Koolhaas and Hans Ulrich Obrist Extensive interviews with Arata Isozaki, Toshiko Kato, Kiyonori Kikutake, Noboru Kawazoe, Fumihiko Maki, Kisho Kurokawa, Kenji Ekuan, Atsushi Shimokobe, and Takako and Noritaka Tange Hundreds of never-before-seen images, architectural models, and magazine excerpts Layout by award-winning Dutch designer Irma Boom Further reading Trade Review"Project Japan features hundreds of fantastic never-before-seen images that tell the 20th Century history of Japan through its architecture." * Yellow Magazine *

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Book SynopsisIn a positive departure from modernism, the work of the art critic and urbanist Ludwig Hilberseimer offers schemata towards the design for the city itself: its mereological composition. The resonance of parts unfolds to an alternative of a purely contrasting equation of form and content. It reminds us, that when the ground (gr.: logos) of the city is defined by its parts (gr.: meros), its architecture, the city in turn always also is part of the architecture as its desire. "The Mereological City" introduces a mereological methodology and contributes to an ongoing discussion about an ecological form of urban design.

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Book SynopsisIn the writing of urban design history of the twentieth century, functionalist and avant-garde models of the dissolution of the city are dominating. In contrast this book presents projects whose goal is the ideal of a dense and urbane city. Drawing on plans, built examples and theories of dense and urban cities and city districts in the twentieth century, modern examples of urban design are analysed and highlighted, which until now have been evaluated more as fringe phenomena. These include examples characterized by functional mixture, social openness, spatially defined public spaces, urban architecture, historical reference and a cultural understanding of the city. The book's new evaluation of modern urban design history creates opportunities for current planning by offering best-practice models, which better reflect the striving for urbanity and density.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“It’s no surprise that architect and urbanist Witold Rybczynski fell under the spell of Charleston, S.C., one of the most beautiful cities in the United States. Nor is it a shocker that this prolific author was inspired to write a book about Charleston in an attempt to get at the heart of what makes it special. What is surprising, and pleasantly so, is the circuitous route he takes to get us there.”—Logan Ward, Wall Street Journal“The writer of a new book on architecture in South Carolina’s oldest city praises past glories and rues recent developments.”—Steven Kurutz, New York TimesAwarded The Athenaeum of Philadelphia’s 2019 Literary Award for Architecture and Preservation “It is in the search for beauty, the careful execution of each detail, that the ensemble of her buildings creates a city that is admired and loved. Charleston Fancy teaches us this is still possible.”—Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Mayor of Charleston (1975–2016)“Rybczynski brings Charleston alive, architecturally, journalistically, humanly.”—Paul Hendrickson, author of Hemingway's Boat“In this engaging and fascinating account of development and urban conservation in and around Charleston, Rybczynski masterfully tells a series of interconnected stories that, like a complex Russian novel, involve a variety of characters, bound together by the place itself and its unique history and culture.”—Steven W. Semes, author of The Future of the Past

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Book SynopsisPermaculture is more than just the latest buzzword; it offers positive solutions for many of the environmental and social challenges confronting us. And nowhere are those remedies more needed and desired than in our cities. The Permaculture City provides a new way of thinking about urban living, with practical examples for creating abundant food, energy security, close-knit communities, local and meaningful livelihoods, and sustainable policies in our cities and towns. The same nature-based approach that works so beautifully for growing food—connecting the pieces of the landscape together in harmonious ways—applies perfectly to many of our other needs. Toby Hemenway, one of the leading practitioners and teachers of permaculture design, illuminates a new way forward through examples of edge-pushing innovations, along with a deeply holistic conceptual framework for our cities, towns, and suburbs. The Permaculture City begins in the garden but takes what we have learned there and applies it to a much broader range of human experience; we’re not just gardening plants but people, neighborhoods, and even cultures. Hemenway lays out how permaculture design can help towndwellers solve the challenges of meeting our needs for food, water, shelter, energy, community, and livelihood in sustainable, resilient ways. Readers will find new information on designing the urban home garden and strategies for gardening in community, rethinking our water and energy systems, learning the difference between a “job” and a “livelihood,” and the importance of placemaking and an empowered community. This important book documents the rise of a new sophistication, depth, and diversity in the approaches and thinking of permaculture designers and practitioners. Understanding nature can do more than improve how we grow, make, or consume things; it can also teach us how to cooperate, make decisions, and arrive at good solutions.Trade ReviewBooklist- "For the past six years, Hemenway’s acclaimed first book, Gaia’s Garden (2009), has been the world’s best-selling guidebook on home and garden permaculture. He now continues to champion this environmental philosophy that involves working with nature, instead of against it, for maximum sustainability. Although permaculture practices originally began with small-scale farms and gardens in mind, in his latest work Hemenway presents a much larger vision of applying them to metropolitan settings. In what is more than simply a handbook on finding space to grow fruits and vegetables in the concrete jungle, the author demonstrates just how widely the permaculture net can be cast by including advice on sustainably managing critical urban resources such as water, shelter, electricity, and even community centers. After introductory chapters on permaculture principles and the history and evolution of cities, Hemenway covers the basics of designing urban home gardens before moving on to discuss “water wisdom” and home energy solutions. An invaluable resource for city planners and dwellers alike, as well as an optimistic exploration of the possibilities for ecological well-being in our future urban landscapes.”Library Journal- "Permaculture refers to a method of agricultural design that uses natural approaches. While several chapters address the unique challenges and opportunities in creating an urban garden, Hemenway refers often to his first book, Gaia’s Garden, the initial major volume published in North America on permaculture principles, for further detail. Here, the author’s focus narrows to an urban setting, where permaculture means more than having a sustainable garden but can generate powerful change and community growth. Combining anecdotal stories of local U.S. neighborhoods practicing permaculture principles with black-and-white and color photos, Hemenway describes ways in which urban dwellers can not only create their own backyard oasis but join with their neighbors to build shared spaces in which to produce food, culture, and identity. Valuable tips on water conservation via rain harvesting and graywater collection mingle with advice on reducing energy consumption, producing local energy resources, and decreasing your foodshed and carbon footprints. Notes and index provide a reliable reference for further reading. VERDICT: An enlightening read for anyone interested in green gardening, environmental ethics, social justice issues, and seeking positive community change.”Publishers Weekly- "This eagerly awaited book from West Coast permaculture expert Hemenway, author of the classic Gaia's Garden, pushes permaculture design beyond its usual realm of homesteading and gardening, applying it to the complex systems that make up contemporary urban life. Other permaculturalists are also exploring these ideas, but Hemenway's intelligent, down-to-earth analyses, astute systems thinking, and clear organization offer a particularly comprehensive, open-ended, and sophisticated yet understandable overview to readers who want to discover, evaluate, utilize, and integrate the untapped resources abundant in any city or town. Hemenway focuses on the philosophical, ‘whetting appetites' and providing toolkits rather than in-depth instruction, with the goal of teaching readers 'to become adept at a whole-systems approach to living in and finding solutions in cities, towns, and suburbs.' Referencing livable-city innovators such as Jane Jacobs and human-scale design thinkers such as Christopher Alexander, Hemenway shows how permaculture concepts can be stretched and rethought in an urban setting to include not just one's house, garden, and yard but also neighbors, parks, and city agencies.”"Many people who are searching for a more fulfilling life, wanting to reduce their ecological footprint and build resilience for uncertain futures, grasp that permaculture might be part of the solution but are often unsure how it applies to their particular situation. For residents of towns and cities in the modern affluent world, The Permaculture City shows how permaculture design makes common sense."--David Holmgren, co-originator of the Permaculture concept"Toby Hemenway’s Gaia’s Garden is the go-to book I always recommend for those interested in permaculture. His new book, The Permaculture City, is the much-needed urban version, a great introduction and full of important information on adapting permaculture to an urban environment."--Starhawk, permaculture designer and author of The Empowerment Manual“The Permaculture City is a triumph in bringing the wisdom of permaculture practices to city dwellers. This book is a ‘bridge book’ for greening our urban landscapes. Rich in practical knowledge, Toby Hemenway is a trailblazer in demystifying the art of living sustainably within ecosystems: teaching how YOU can be a collaborative partner in a healthy urban biosphere. This book’s impact will be increasingly significant as we inevitably march toward living in built environments. For urban planners, architects, green builders, and simply citizens who want to enjoy a higher quality of life, The Permaculture City is The Book to lead the way.”--Paul Stamets, author of Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World “Permaculture is applied ecology, and its practice is evolving as society becomes more urbanized. As Toby Hemenway puts it, ‘We’re not just gardening plants but people, neighborhoods, and even cultures.’ Whether you’re new to permaculture or a seasoned ‘permie,’ The Permaculture City is essential: it captures the explorative state of the art in readable, often delightful prose. And, like all good permaculture books, it is eminently helpful at solving a myriad of practical problems in the home and garden.”--Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute “Toby Hemenway combines the skill of a storyteller with the vigour of experience and insight. He shows us an urban landscape with gardens, food, energy systems, and architecture that can ensure genuine sustainability. Beyond these vital elements, he also creates a template for a new kind of city: a human scale collection of village communities where quality of life is valued above quantity of output. With the majority of the human race becoming city dwellers, this is vital information for a more collaborative, intelligent, and resilient urban landscape, one that will enable us to face serious challenges now, and in the future.”--Maddy Harland, co-founder and editor of Permaculture magazine and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts "Toby Hemenway is among the true visionaries who can turn vision into practical action. The Permaculture City is a landmark book that will be used for decades as a compass and field guide to regenerate our world and communities. Toby depicts the virtuous circle people are already creating across the country and world, from small acts an individual can take, to larger systemic changes that only communities and societies can make. This is the gospel of building resilience from the ground up, and Toby is a true hero of our age—he shows us we’re all invited to the party.”--Kenny Ausubel, cofounder and CEO of Bioneers“Half the world’s people now live in cities, and as Toby Hemenway convincingly demonstrates, they can be at the very forefront of the revolution in how we live. This book will thrill you!”--Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy“I'm someone with a strong bias towards country living and I've always thought that the phrase 'urban permaculture' is oxymoronic. I've often thought master planners should be working to revive small towns, not build more cities. Toby Hemenway has shown me the error of my ways. The function of a well-conceived city, he says, is to inspire. His book inspires.”--Albert Bates, president, Global Village Institute for Appropriate Technology"We stand at a crossroads where long-held societal beliefs are shattered and assumptions fall before knowledge and reality. Human civilization is in the balance. Few people have grasped the significance of the moment in the way that Toby Hemenway has. His voice is particularly important at this time. The Permaculture City is his attempt to understand what we are confronted with and to skew the discussion toward sustainability. There is no doubt that his message is timely and relevant. Read this book like the life of your children depended on it … because it does.”--John D. Liu, director of the Environmental Education Media Project and visiting fellow at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology"What a great, accessible, and timely book! The Permaculture City is a must-read for anyone who loves where they live, wishes to deepen their relationship and pleasure in and with it, and realizes that our food, water, and community resilience may depend upon it. Toby Hemenway offers great guidance for applying the lens of intentional design to increasing food self-reliance (and pleasure!), improving water efficiency and usage, and growing community, three elements that promise to improve the quality of relatedness to place as well as resilience in the face of weather and other uncertainties. "Whether the topic is gardening in a window box or creating a community garden, catching and channeling rainwater, or redesigning an edible landscape around a suburban home, this timely book offers everyone a window into the joy and longterm fulfillment of permaculture."--Nina Simons, co-founder of Bioneers and founder of Everywoman’s Leadership

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Book SynopsisIn the first half of the twentieth century, urban elevated highways were much more than utilitarian infrastructure, lifting traffic above the streets; they were statements of civic pride, asserting boldly modern visions for a city's architecture, economy, and transportation network. Yet three of the most ambitious projects, launched in Chicago, New York, and Boston in the spirit of utopian models by architects such as Le Corbusier and Hugh Ferriss, ultimately fell short of their ideals. Modern Mobility Aloft is the first study to focus on pre-Interstate urban elevated highways within American architectural and urban history. Amy Finstein traces the idealistic roots of these superstructures, their contrasting realities once built, their impacts on successive development patterns, and the recent challenges they have posed to contemporary urban designers. Filled with more than 100 historic photographs and illustrations of beaux arts and art deco architecture, Modern Mobility Aloft provides a critical understanding of urban landscapes, transportation, and technological change as cities moved into the modern era.Trade Review“Like the elevated railroads before them, elevated highways have generally been viewed in negative terms by urban dwellers. Yet the elevated highway represents an important, if not altogether welcome, phase in the daunting challenges to reconcile the demands of accommodating motor vehicles to city fabric on a large scale. Amy Finstein’s beautifully researched and written book examines the seminal early stages of implementing this complex and costly infrastructure in Chicago, New York, and Boston during the first half of the twentieth century. Modern Mobility Aloft is an important analysis of the visionary schemes first devised to address the issue and the myriad factors involved in conceiving and implementing actual projects. Economic considerations, local politics, architectural design values, and changes in building and transportation technology are all addressed in a seamless, engaging narrative.”—Richard Longstreth, Professor of American Studies Emeritus, George Washington University“In Modern Mobility Aloft, Finstein looks deeply at the historical intersection of civil engineering, technology, and urbanism and comes up with a major topic that no one has seen before. She is exactly right in her assertion that the elevated highway as a specific mode of technological response to the problem of automobile congestion has not been treated systematically. More importantly, she sees the connection between the elevated highway and elements of modernist urbanism and culture. Her extensive, original archival work and case studies of downtown congestion and early highway design point to a new integration of the history of technology and urban history.”—Robert Fishman, Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning, Taubman College, University of Michigan"This handsomely produced, well-written book is about how three cities—New York, Chicago, and Boston—used elevated roadways well into the 20th century to alleviate the growing crush of traffic on surface roadways. Finstein chronicles the reconciliation of competing interests of political, engineering, and architectural remedies in the solutions offered and in what was either not built, built and later rebuilt, or demolished. Notable is Finstein's attention to issues of architectural style in projects thought of as mere engineering.... Well-illustrated with charts, plans, and photos, and supported by lots of endnotes and bibliographic information, this is an important scholarly resource. Summing Up: Recommended."—Choice"Modern Mobility Aloft focuses on the aesthetics of the structures, the design decisions that went into these highways, and their legacies.... [It is a] strong design-oriented history of elevated highways."—Technology and Culture"Finstein develops a clear and detailed narrative of the history and design of the three elevated highway projects, and presents an impressive amount of information, including numerous images, collected through extensive archival research. This makes the book an enjoyable read…. [T]he book offers important and relevant insights for urban planning and design professionals."—Journal of Planning History"[A] timely book.... Finstein offers an important addition to our understanding of the roots of America’s current transportation systems and of modern American cities.... One of the greatest strengths of Finstein’s work is the effective job she does of showing how a diffuse group of proponents viewed the elevated highways as the perfect solution to a range of issues faced in inter-war cities.... This book firmly and convincingly asserts that the period, the projects and the people who made them a reality influenced a great deal of the post-war world." —Urban History"A welcome addition to the growing body of literature on the impact of automobiles on the American built environment that includes suburbanization and large-scale highway systems.... Modern Mobility Aloft effectively broadens and deepens our understanding of highways as built form."—Buildings & Landscapes

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Book SynopsisThe title of this book is taken from Ebenezer Howard's visionary tract To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform. Published in 1898 as a manifesto for social reform via the creation of Garden Cities, it proposed a new way of providing cheap and healthy homes, workplaces and green spaces in balance in cohesive new communities, underpinned by radical ideas about collective land ownership. While Howard's vision had international impact, in this book planning historian Stephen Ward largely honors the special place that Hertfordshire occupies on the peaceful path, beginning with the development of Letchworth and Welwyn Garden Cities.Table of Contents1. Ebenezer Howard2. Letchworth Garden City3. Welwyn Garden City4. Finding other paths5. Stevenage6. Hertfordshire's other New Towns7. Wider Perspectives8. Where the path led

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