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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An outstanding compendium of "some of the brightest urban minds of today" (Manuel Castells), May 17, 2008
This review is from: New Urbanism and Beyond: Designing Cities for the Future (Hardcover)
This book, which brings together an impressive array of 67 leading thinkers in urbanism today, is likely to become a classic resource for students, instructors, professionals, policymakers, activists, and anyone who is fascinated with cities and their future. It is also a rewarding treasury of ideas, drawings, photographs and case study information, offering a delightful browse or more careful study.
The book, an outgrowth of a 2004 conference at the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, presents a provocative range of thought from many of the most legendary thinkers of the last half-century on cities, architecture and urbanism, including Christopher Alexander, Bill Hillier, Peter Hall, Leon Krier, Jan Gehl and many others. Its specific focus is the movement of New Urbanism, and key founders present their case here (Peter Calthorpe, Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk et al). Critics also have their say (Edward Soja, Ayssar Arida et al) with additional thoughtful analysis from many in between (Emily Talen, Christopher Alexander et al).
The discussion goes far deeper than the usual stereotyped discussions that often pass for informed debate about a movement that Herbert Muschamp of the New York Times called "the most important phenomenon to emerge in American architecture in the post-Cold War era" - in large part because it challenges the view that architects are "incapable of collective action." Editor Tigran Haas argues here that that importance is now global, and therefore it's even more important to understand and to discuss its merits and shortcomings in a more incisive way.
Moreover, the book's scope does indeed go far "beyond" the professional movement of New Urbanism per se, taking into account broader contemporary issues in sociology (Robert Putnam, Ray Oldenburg, David Brain), economics (Robert Gibbs, Christopher Leinberger), ecology (Tim Beatley, William McDonough), engineering and street design (Allan Jacobs, Rick Hall) transit-oriented development (Robert Cervero), complexity and connectivity (Michael Batty, Bill Hillier), gloablization and sprawl (Richard Florida, Dolores Hayden) and much, much more.
Editor and conference leader Tigran Hass argues that the New Urbanism, thanks to its inter-disciplinary nature, offers a very useful lens with which to examine these broader issues. As he puts it in the introduction, "This is not an anticipatory work, a book of dreams, or a nostrum for the future design of cities and our communities; it is simply a solidly grounded collection of ideas and thoughts addressing our urban condition (and beyond) written by an exceptional group of individuals never before assembled in one place."
[Disclaimer: The reviewer is one of the 67 authors featured in this work. But the above remarks may be applied solely to the other 66!]
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Massive!, June 30, 2009
This review is from: New Urbanism and Beyond: Designing Cities for the Future (Hardcover)
Though published in April 2008, this massive book results from a Conference on New Urbanism held in Sweden in 2004. Sadly some views presented are already clearly outdated.
The book includes articles by over 60 of today's leading figures in the field of planning, with, unsurprisingly, a strong Swedish representation. Of course, the quality and depth of writings vary significantly but the abundance of material is such that one is bound with a little effort to find elements of interest.
The illustrations are well printed but often their pertinence, their quality and their importance in the lay-out are more than questionable.
In the 21st century, one wonders why an Internet site was not used to present this information. The product would have been more timely, could have evolved through time and given readers the possibility of reacting directly.
Is such an attachment to old ways of doing things an omen of New Urbanism's future?
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
New Reviews on the Book..., February 25, 2009
This review is from: New Urbanism and Beyond: Designing Cities for the Future (Hardcover)
This book is an outstanding compendium of "some of the brightest urban minds of today" - Professor Emeritus Manuel Castells (University of California, Berkeley)
"This book, which brings together an impressive array of 67 leading thinkers in urbanism today, is likely to become a classic resource for students, instructors, professionals, policymakers, activists, and anyone who is fascinated with cities and their future. It is also a rewarding treasury of ideas, drawings, photographs and case study information, offering a delightful browse or more careful study." - Publisher (Rizzoli, New York)
"Haas has assembled one of the most stimulating books yet published about New Urbanism...and has gathered writings from what amounts to a who's-who of architecture, planning, urban design and related fields...This is a book that every new Urbanist should have." - Philip Langdon (New Urban News)
"Inspired by a Swedish conference on urbanism, this coffee table style tome could be easily mistaken for sociology textbook. It is unabashedly academic, both in its format and content, integrating topics from sociology, economics, ecology, architecture, engineering, global politics and beyond. Despite its looming size and academic lexicon, the book is above all fascinating, accessible and incredibly relevant...maybe it's about time for city planners to connect social equity, sustainability, and human connection into the places we live." - Jackie Chiquoine (Tokion)
"With 69 contributors and 61 essays, the book is ambitious...it's worth a look. Many of its contributions make valuable points about new urbanism and potential new versions of it". - Sylvia Lewis (Planning, American Planning Association APA)
"This is not an anticipatory work, a book of dreams, or a nostrum for the future design of cities and our communities; it is simply a solidly grounded collection of ideas and thoughts addressing our urban condition (and beyond) written by an exceptional group of individuals never before assembled in one place." - Assistant Professor Tigran Haas (Book Editor)
"Broken into eleven themed sections (theories, sprawl, sustainability, digital spaces, social capital, etc.), it's more accurate to call the collection a `primer on urban design' -- as the book does call itself....Ultimately the book is as valuable a collection of voices on urbanism as the recent Endless City. While each has different intentions, the results -- and parties involved -- have substantial overlap, something indicative of the trend towards thinking on the urban and regional scale." - John Hill (A Weekly Dose of Architecture)
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