2nd Edition

Shaping the City Studies in History, Theory and Urban Design

Edited By Rodolphe El-Khoury, Edwards Robbins Copyright 2013
    376 Pages
    by Routledge

    376 Pages
    by Routledge

    Taking on the key issues in urban design, Shaping the City examines the critical ideas that have driven these themes and debates through a study of particular cities at important periods in their development. As well as retaining crucial discussions about cities such as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Brasilia at particular moments in their history that exemplified the problems and themes at hand like the mega-city, the post-colonial city and New Urbanism, in this new edition the editors have introduced new case studies critical to any study of contemporary urbanism – China, Dubai, Tijuana and the wider issues of informal cities in the Global South.

    The book serves as both a textbook for classes in urban design, planning and theory and is also attractive to the increasing interest in urbanism by scholars in other fields. Shaping the City provides an essential overview of the range and variety of urbanisms and urban issues that are critical to an understanding of contemporary urbanism.

    Contributors Acknowledgments Introduction Rodolphe El-Khoury and Edward Robbins 1 Abu Dhabi and Dubai: World City Doubles 2 Atlanta Rem Koolhaas 3 Barcelona – Rethinking Urbanistic Projects Joan Busquets 4 Brasilia – The Project of Brasilia Farès el-Dahdah 5 Chicago – Superblockism: Chicago’s Elastic Grid Sarah Whiting 6 Detroit – Motor City Charles Waldheim 7 Hong Kong-Aformal Urbanism 8 Los Angeles – Between Cognitive Mapping and Dirty Realism Paulette Singley 9 New Orleans – Ecological Urbanism 10 Oslo-The Triumph of Zombie Urbanism 11 Philadelphia – The Urban Design of Philadelphia: Taking the Towne for the City Richard M. Sommer 12 San Francisco – San Francisco in an Age of Reaction Mitchell Schwarzer 13 San Diego/Tijuana: an Urbanism Beyond the Property Line 14 Shenzhen-Topology of a New-Liberal City 15 New Urbanism Edward Robbins Bibliography Notes Index

    Biography

    Rodolphe El-Khoury is an urban designer and historian. He is Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Architecture and Urban Design at The University of Toronto. El-Khoury is also a partner in Khoury Levit Fong, an award winning practice that has gained international recognition for innovative design.

    Edward Robbins, trained as an anthropologist, is Professor of Urbanism in the Institute of Urbanism, The Oslo School of Architecture and Design who has written and taught extensively about the relation of design to social theory and practice. Presently he is engaged in working on the challenges posed by cities in the south, especially the issue of poverty.