The Worst Urbanist
18 September 2009 - 1:00pm
We've gotten a lot of responses on our Top 100 Urban Thinkers list, particularly those wanting to separate out the 'bad' from the 'good'. Mary Newsom was inspired by the list to ponder, who was the worst?
Newsom writes, "The easy, cliched choice would be Le Corbusier, the brilliant but destructive architect whose vision for the city of the future was one of tall towers surrounded by large lawns and big highways. In other words, this guy invented Charlotte's suburban office park development Ballantyne, as well as this nation's many failed public housing towers. But Corbu was avant-garde and influential, and many others took up his theories."
Full Story:
Corbu? Or You?
Source:
The Naked City, September 18, 2009
»
- Login or register to post comments
- Email this page
- Using Adaptive Reuse to Scale the Urban Future - Feb 08, 2012
- Gas Prices and the Value of Walkable Communities - Jan 14, 2012
- Why Ugly Buildings Matter - Jan 12, 2012
- Six Trending Urbanist Themes for the New Year - Dec 31, 2011
- Top 2011 Design Milestones for the Public Good - Dec 25, 2011
“
Whether building new streets or retrofitting existing ones, designers need to be aware of the road’s immediate surroundings.
”
Planetizen picks
Contribute
- Are the Arts Losing Out in D.C. Redevelopment?
- Detroit For Sale?
- Chinese Cities in Desperate Need of Competent Planning
- The Rise of Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing
- What the Feds are Doing to Connect Housing Policy to Health Policy
- Why the Politics of Climate Change Matter
- Waste Disposal Becomes Sexy
- Murky Future for Two of D.C.'s Architectural Gems
- The Story Behind One of the Most Controversial Buildings in the Country
- The Benefits of Creating Hybrid Zoning Codes
My Storm, Managing the Recovery of New Orleans in the Wake of Katrina is Required Reading for Planners
U Penn Press
Feb 13, 2012
Volunteerism Plays Critical Role in Reaching World’s Millennium Development Goals
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University
Feb 10, 2012
www.flickr.com
|
Pratitioner vs. Theorist
Although he certainly wouldn't have termed himself an "urbanist", Louie Welch -- mayor of megasprawling boomtown Houston (and an adamant foe of meaningful city planning, zoning or strong subdivision regulations) during the 1960's and early 1970's -- gets my vote.
Left Out Robert Moses
Excellent post, except that it left out Robert Moses from the list of worst urbanists.
It mentioned the federal Interstate Highway System. But Robert Moses was building freeways in cities before the days of the Interstate Highway System, and a series of lectures that he gave helped to inspire the Interstate Highway System.
Charles Siegel
freeways
Charles, they also forgot the "Junta Militar" the Army government in the 70's in Argentina. They planned freeways across the existing city. It looked so "modern". Some of them were never finalized, leaving vacant lots everywhere, but the ones across South Buenos Aires, you can still see people eating in their dining rooms in the tall towers while you drive next to them-pretty much alone- down South. Well, at least you feel their company....