Designing Cities: Critical Readings in Urban Design

Designing Cities is the first reader to be published in the thriving field of urban design. It has been assembled to appeal to a broad range of readers interested in how the design of cities comes about. The volume has been carefully structured to help students gain an understanding of the theoretical context from which urban design has emerged. At the same time, it promotes a particular theoretical paradigm, suggesting that urban design is best viewed as a branch of spatial political economy. The selection of articles advances this idea as far as possible, both in its organization and in its content. The reader includes work from the past 30 years by such world famous authors as Manuel Castells and David Harvey, as well as writing by lesser known scholars which deserves a wider audience. The overall organization of the book is carefully explained in relation to the subject matter by the editor.

Part I: Theory:. 1.The Process of Urban Social Change: Manuel Castells. 2. The Economic Currency of Architectural Aesthetics: Paul Walter Clarke. 3. The Post modern Debate over Urban Form: Sharon Zukin. Part II: History:. 4. The New Historical Relationship Between Space and Society: Manuel Castells. 5. Urban Landscapes as Public History: Dolores Hayden. 6. Harmonies of Urban Design and Discords of City Form: Abraham Akkerman. Part III: Philosophy:. 7. Social Justice, Postmodernism and the City: David Harvey. 8. The Phenomenon of Place: Christian Norberg Schulz. 9. Recapturing the Center: Mark Gottdeiner. Part IV: Politics:. 10. Why are the Design and Development of Public Spaces Significant for Cities?: A. Madanipour. 11. Cast in Stone: Monuments, Geography and Nationalism: N. Johnson. 12. Reflections on Berlin : The Meaning of Construction and the Construction of Meaning: Peter Marcuse. 13. Tilted Arc and the Uses of Democracy: Rosalyn Deutsche. Part V: Culture:. 15. Place–Form and Cultural Identity: Kenneth Frampton. 16. The Urban Landscape: Sharon Zukin. Part VI: Gender:. 17. Sexuality and Urban Space. A Framework for Analysis: L. Knopp. 18. Gender Symbols and Urban Landscapes: Liz Bondi. 19. What Would a Non Sexist City Be Like?: Dolores Hayden. Part VII: Environment:. 20. The Concept of Sustainability and its Relationship to Cities: Peter Newman and John Kenworthy. 21. Conservation as Preservation or as Heritage : Two Answers and Two Paradigms: G. H. Ashworth. 22. Zoopolis: Jennifer Wolch. Part VIII: Aesthetics:. 23. Aesthetic Theory: Jon Lang. 24. The Urban Artefact as a work of Art: Aldo Rossi. 25. Aesthetic Ideology and Urban Design: Barbara Rubin. Part IX: Typologies:. 26. The Third Typology: Anthony Vidler. 27. Typological and Morphological Elements of the Concept of Urban Space: Rob Krier. 28. Heterotopia Deserta: Sarah Chaplin. Part X: Pragmatics:. 29. The Design Professions and the Built Environment in a Postmodern Epoch: Paul Knox. 30. A Catholic Approach to Organizing what Urban Designers Should Know: Anne Vernez Moudon.

Alexander Rankine Cuthbert is Professor of Planning and Urban Development at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. He has lived and worked in the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia and has experience in large–scale urban design projects in a variety of different countries. He has studied architecture, urban design, urban planning, and political science, and his interest in ‘designing cities′ is therefore informed by a broad intellectual base.