Title: The Evolution of American Urban Design: A Chronological Anthology
Abstract: The Evolution of American Urban Design: A Chronological Anthology, David Gosling with Maria Cristina Gosling, Chichester, John Wiley, 2003, 280 pp., £34.95 (p/b) After reading the brief introduction to this book you can be in no doubt that David Gosling was frustrated with how the discipline of urban design is evolving in the USA. He points to '... a woeful lack of any coherent urban design policy ...' (p. 7) in most urban areas and suggests that decisions about planning applications often have little regard at all to any aspect of their context. It is interesting to reflect therefore on the extent to which academics and development precedents from the USA have impacted on the development of the discipline within an international context even if general practice has not kept pace. American academic writers form staple elements of urban design degrees at least in English speaking countries, and many of the precedents such as the Rockefeller Plaza, the San Francisco Urban Design Plan or the New Urbanist development of Seaside in Florida are well known beyond the shores of the USA. At the beginning and the end of The Evolution of American Urban Design, therefore, there is a note of frustration, and a sense that possibly in contrast with continental Europeans, in particular, many people in the USA are not in love with urban form or urban life. This anthology starts in 1950 and reviews the evolution of urban design thinking, education and development precedents during the subsequent decades. The book starts with 'definitions of urban design' which also considers American precedents such as Charlottesville, subdivisions influenced by the Garden City movement and also Radburn. Chapter Two then examines the 1950s, locating the emergence of contemporary urban design within wider cultural trends. It is suggested that the first urban design conference was held in 1956 at Harvard University, and a review of the individual speakers provides insight into the nature of the emerging discipline. Schemes like Bacon's and Kahn's plans for downtown Philadelphia are discussed, while emergent critiques of the cities in the USA are also considered. The 1960s saw the publication of many of the key polemics and studies that were to shape academic thinking within the discipline, including work by Kevin Lynch, Donald Appleyard, Jane Jacobs, Christopher Alexander and Robert Venturi. Chapter Three discusses how and why this work emerged and reflects on its influence, while also considering for example whether and how work by Gordon Cullen in particular influenced the thinking of Kevin Lynch. In addition there is also a review of shopping malls as a developing typology and urban utopias are also explored, including projects like Drop City, where self-sufficiency and anti-materialist lifestyles were pursued in the Arizona and Colorado deserts. Social unrest towards the end of the 1960s influenced the contrasting agendas and forms of development emerging during the 1970s. In particular the work of Richard Sennett and Christopher Alexander are examined, along with approaches to collaborative planning. This is contrasted with Oscar Newman's work on defensible space and the emergence of gated forms of development. The 1970s is characterised by a wide range of contrasting initiatives which Gosling systematically reviews, but they include the emergence of urban design in public policy, covering work in both New York and San Francisco, as well as inner-city retail schemes such as Ghiradelli Square in San Francisco and the Faneuil Hall Market Place in Boston. …
Publication Year: 2003
Publication Date: 2003-12-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 7
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