Customer Reviews

X-Urbanism: Architecture and the American City

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Both eloquently and clearly, X-Urbanism explores the historical and continuing development of the American City through the lens of an eye opening thesis: fantasy and desire have been pivotal factors in the shaping of Urban Space. As the author illustrates, the implications of this point of departure reach far beyond the conventional boundaries of urban studies to include a wealth of other disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, and popular culture. Through the course of this book, the affects of fantasy on the Renaissance City, the Baroque City, the Modern City, and the Post-modern City are charted. Without being dogmatic or judgmental, Mr. Gandelsonas frames the City as a simultaneous object and subject that is influenced by the desires of architects while also influencing its inhabitants with its own wishes.

After reading the text and viewing the drawings that conclude this book it was as though I was walking around an object that until now I had only understood from a stationary position.

This book is a must read for anyone who lives inside or outside of a city.

It is a rare moment when text and image collaborate to tell a story that could be told by neither alone. X-Urbanism is one of these moments. The dialog between the writing and drawings in this book is brilliant. The ultimate result of the conversation between the two is a nuanced understanding of the relationship that cities have with the subconscious of their inhabitants.