Cities for People

285 pages

English language

Published Sept. 19, 2010 by Island Press.

ISBN:
978-1-59726-574-4
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4 stars (2 reviews)

2 editions

Review of 'Cities for People' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A look at how the architecture of a city affects its livability. It starts off examining how cities work at human speeds (i.e. walking speed) and at ground level. Livable cities are those in which much interaction happens in public spaces. Those things are influenced by what the spaces between buildings are like and whether people would actually want to linger there.

Modernism emphasizes tall grand buildings with sheer blank facades surrounded by vast open public spaces which are designed to fit the buildings and look good from helicopter level. These areas fail because of their cold sterile nature and are unused by people. More importantly, top priority given to motor traffic movements through cities have streamlined roads for fast car movement and have stripped the livability out of streets and cities.

This book examines those issues and urges a reversal of current planning practices of designing buildings first and …

Subjects

  • City planning
  • City and town life

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