Description
Book SynopsisIn his 1959 essay "Philadelphia in the Year 2009," Edmund Bacon described a city remade, modernized in time to host the 1976 Bicentennial celebration and Philadelphia World's Fair. Imagining Philadelphia assesses Bacon's vision, discussing what has been accomplished and what might have been.
Trade Review"
Imagining Philadelphia offers an insightful exploration of the ideas and impact of the Philadelphia city planner Edmund Bacon, but it is much more. Readers will see that urban development involves personalities beyond one 'great man' and will be challenged to participate themselves in the next set of big ideas to reshape the city." * Charlene Mires, author of
Independence Hall in American Memory *
"Illuminating. . . . The first book to assess the ideas and impact of Philadelphia's legendary city planner." *
Philadelphia City Paper *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Revisiting Edmund Bacon's Vision for the City
1 Philadelphia in the Year 2009
—Edmund N. Bacon
2 Salesman of Ideas: The Life Experiences That Shaped Edmund Bacon
—Gregory L. Heller
3 A Utopian, a Utopianist, or Whatever the Heck It Is: Edmund Bacon and the Complexity of the City
—Guian McKee
4 Staying Too Long at the Fair: Philadelphia Planning and the Debacle of 1976
—Scott Gabriel Knowles
5 Philadelphia in the Year 2059
—Harris M. Steinberg
Afterword
—Eugenie L. Birch
Notes
List of Contributors
Index
Acknowledgments
