Direction of Cities [Hardcover]

John Guinther (Author), Edmund N. Bacon (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1996

The author of the authoritative urban study book Design of Cities collaborates with architect Edmund Bacon to embark on a thorough discussion of Bacon's holistic urban development philosophy related to the growth of American cities and the evolution of modern architecture. 12,500 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One of the more interesting things about this book, as city designer and architect Bacon, author of the classic Design of Cities (1967), comments in his foreword, is that Guinther is a political writer, not a city planner. Here he sets out to describe Bacon's philosophy in the context of U.S. cities. Some readers may find that focus a bit narrow, but Guinther makes many arresting observations. He surveys the development of American cities from earliest days to the present, with frequent references to New York City and Philadelphia. Ever mindful of what has worked for or against making cities livable, attractive places, he takes to task modernist icons such as Le Corbusier and Gropius: "They removed the art from architecture and made of it a technology." He excoriates New York's Robert Moses and his Cross-Bronx Expressway: "Few figures in the history of cities have been more influential progenitors of chaos." He largely writes off urban renewal, quoting urbanologist Charles Abrams: "Urban renewal is Negro removal." He cites numerous instances of such "renewal," charging that it filled developers' pockets while destroying otherwise viable black communities, with little restraint imposed by city hall. Those concerned about the fate of our cities will find this a challenging and engrossing read. Photos.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In his book that might be subtitled "The Failure of Modern Architecture," political writer Guinther explores classical examples of successful city planning and includes unfinished designs, such as Burnham's plan for Chicago. The perspective is that of a journalist, self-described as "holistic," and the approach is eclectic, drawing together urban design principles, architecture, social policy, and political history. Throughout, Guinther develops the concept of horizontality, not only in terms of spatial relationships but also in terms of government. Guinther's distaste for modern architecture is evident in several places, and he succumbs to the misapprehension that modernism embraced technology entirely at the expense of aesthetics. Despite its broad approach, the work does not achieve the insight or originality of Kevin Lynch's seminal The Image of the City (LJ 9/15/60), Edmund N. Bacon's Design of Cities (Penguin, 1976. rev. ed.), Tony Hiss's The Experience of Place (LJ 7/90), or Witold Rybczinski's recent City Life: Urban Expectation in a New World (LJ 9/15/95). Although written with a general audience in mind, the book, with its modest number of illustrations, may be of interest mainly to libraries that collect comprehensively in the area of urban planning and policy.?Paul Glassman, Pratt Inst. Lib., Brooklyn
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; 1ST edition (November 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670841986
• ISBN-13: 978-0670841981
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,220,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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