Big Plan - The Charm and Absurdity of Urban Design

Author: Kenneth Kolson [USA]
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-02-01
Features: This book is a critical theoretical work on urban planning and design. The author, from the perspective of the user, explores urban design issues in depth using unique methods, including architectural hand drawings, three-dimensional models, maps, and computer graphics. It presents various fantasies about cities, discusses the role of novelty in urban experiences, interprets the dynamic changes of rationality in urban life, and highlights the failure of social engineering and the adaptability of humanistic spirit. The author uses the following case studies of urban spaces to narrate the urbanization process in North America: the Puritan planning concept in Connecticut, the master plan of Paris, the L'Enfant Plan of Washington Square, the planning map designed by Burnham for Cleveland, and the representation of Native American residential areas drawn by Lloyd K. Thompson. The concepts and principles of design theory proposed in this book, along with its critical comments on issues in urban planning and design, play a very important role in inspiring and guiding the development of urban planning and design theory in China.
[Target Audience] This book is suitable for urban planners, architects, government officials, and relevant professional students in China to read and reference.
[Table of Contents] Preface. Chapter 1: A Funny Trip to Trajan's Square; Chapter 2: The Vanishing Cities of Ancient North America; Chapter 3: Cleveland in the City Beautiful Movement; Chapter 4: Utopian Ideals of the Lawn Frontier; Chapter 5: Urban Renewal: Cockroaches Cleared Away; Chapter 6: The Strange Journey of Advocacy Planning; Chapter 7: Two Cheers for Sprawl; Chapter 8: When Will Government Dare to Dream; Chapter 9: The British Library—From a Master Plan Disaster to Settling Dust; Chapter 10: Widening the Gates of the City; Chapter 11: Virtual Cities and Our Towns.