Description
Book SynopsisBeautifully illustrated,
Improbable Metropolis is one of the few books to use architecture and urban planning to explain the growth of a major world city, and the only one of its kind on Houston or any other city in Texas.
Trade ReviewBradley conveys [the story of Houston through its buildings and places] in an even and accessible writing style...
Improbable Metropolis is a visual treat...the book object would hold its own on any Houstonian’s coffee table. * Cite Magazine *
Throughout
Improbable Metropolis, Bradley intertwines Houston’s two dominant and diverging narratives of southern gentility and aggressive economic policies to reveal an often contradictory and yet incredible architectural history that challenges our assumptions about the generative principles of a metropolis. * ARRIS *
[
Improbable Metropolis] is big, beautiful and comprehensive...starting with the startling book jacket, which shows the downtown skyline from an unexpected angle at night, it is a feast for the eyes...I cannot imagine how much labor went into this magnificent book. * Austin American Statesman *
Bradley has spent a lifetime dedicated to architecture, planning, and historic preservation in Houston and her encyclopedic knowledge of the city makes this ambitious work possible. The text is richly accompanied by a wealth of color maps and photographs that increase the depth of documentation...
Improbable Metropolis provides further argument that Houston should not be treated as a regional subject, but one that reflects the central importance of private capital, rather than public planning, in shaping the modern American city. * Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum *
Although Houston has been the fourth-largest city in the United States since 1969, it does not receive the scholarly attention from historians that its size deserves; Bradley’s handsome volume helps rectify this neglect...Bradley’s deep familiarity with her subject will enthrall lay readers and will inspire specialists to enrich Houston’s story by exploring numerous topics further. * Journal of Southern History *
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction
Chapter 1. Bayou City, 1830–1865
Chapter 2. Magnolia City, 1866–1899
Chapter 3. Progressive Houston, 1900–1919
Chapter 4. Energy Capital of the World, 1920–1939
Chapter 5. Golden Buckle of the Sunbelt, 1940–1959
Chapter 6. Space City, 1960–1979
Chapter 7. H-Town, 1980–1999
Chapter 8. Petro Metro, 2000–2017
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
