Design of Cities, Revised Edition (A Studio Book) [Hardcover]

Edmund N. Bacon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 1974

From dust jacket notes: "Design of Cities, praised by critics as the most significant and comprehensive study ever made of the historical development of the modern city, has now been revised and enlarged. In forty new pages of text and color illustrations, Edmund N. Bacon seeks to communicate the forces behind his work as a city planner and the processes that result in construction on the ground....The author's thesis that city design is a people's art leads him to urge that citizens should have a role in the development of the three-dimensional plans in the initial stages of a city-planning project. This provision for democratic feedback or review is also important for the designer, to assure that his plans really meet the needs of the people. That the center of cities should and can be pleasant places in which to live, work, and relax is illustrated in the photographs of such cities as Rotterdam and Stockholm. The author cites the work in his own city of Philadelphia, in which historic buildings worthy of preservation mingle with twentieth-century structures, and where provision is made for both pedestrians and automobiles in the city center. In examining the work of great architects and planners such as Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Sixtus V, and Sir Christopher Wren, the author shows how any great work can influence subsequent development and can be continued by later generations. He analyzes the revolutionary ideas of Le Corbusier, with their effect on a city such as Chandigarh, and takes a close look at Brasilia and the work of Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer. The author emphasizes that the artist can help one to understand the basic principles in city design, and he draws on the work of Paul Klee for many stimulating examples."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Viking Press; Revised edition (February 28, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670268623
• ISBN-13: 978-0670268627
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,746,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Quintessential book on Urban Design, January 4, 2007

By 

D. Brown "d.brown" (aspen, co, usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Design of Cities: Revised Edition (Penguin Books) (Paperback)

This is my favorite book on urban design....how cities work, history of city design, and the key elements that make a city exciting, livable, and functional. A key insight of Mr. Bacon is the potential for the integration of various movement systems (train, car, pedestrian, etc.), and the vitality possible at the intersections and nodes of those systems.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well designed book, February 8, 2008

By 

Miles (DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Design of Cities: Revised Edition (Penguin Books) (Paperback)

A very informative and well designed book. I am currently a grad. student in architecture and the ideas presented in this book are very intriguing. It takes a very practical approach to urban design. If this book were coupled with Jane Jacob's The Death and Life of Great American Cities, one could get two different but relevant viewpoints regarding this very important debate, especially in the wake of Modernism.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, June 7, 2008

By 

Kieran D - See all my reviews

This review is from: Design of Cities: Revised Edition (Penguin Books) (Paperback)

This book is an excellent introduction to the nature of urban design.

It illustrates, in a concise and simple way, most of the major interventions in urban design beginning with early settlements, and finishing with modern cities. E.G the route to the Acropolis, the extension of the garden of Versailles, the reorientation of Georgian London.

Every point is explained clearly using great plans, sections and photographs.

The book features many references to the conceptual sketches of artist Paul Klee, which Bacon uses as comparisons for urban concepts.

This book had a very positive effect on my understanding of architecture and urban design, and i would recommend it to anyone interested in the field.

Bear in mind that it is not a standard history book. It is more light-hearted but that is why i enjoyed it so much.