A book review of the newly released book, "Dream Cities," by Wade Graham.
Michael J. Lewis reviews a new book by Wade Graham, titled Dream Cities. After establishing a framework for the review with a discussion of Thomas More's book Utopia, Lewis begins to explain the argument of Graham's book. Namely:
…the basic physical structures of our contemporary world that these men created, from the shopping mall to the picturesque suburb, have grown mundane through constant repetition, to the point that they barely register on the eye. A 'remarkable, global urban monotony' has set in, everywhere from Singapore to Ulan Bator to Buenos Aires to Boston. A garden designer and historian, Graham wants us to see these urban and architectural forms afresh, not as the drab commonplaces they have become but as the work of visionaries 'whose dreamed-of cities became the blueprints for the world we actually live in.'
According to Lewis, Dream Cities provides a "field guide" to seven specific kinds of visions for these dreamed of cities: "monuments," "malls," "slabs" (high-rise towers), "castles" (Graham's term for romantic suburbs), "homesteads" (contemporary suburban sprawl), "corals" (the neotraditional towns of the New Urbanism), and "habitats."
After critiquing some of the book's highs and lows, Lewis concludes by noting the unintentional tragedy of the story told by the book: "The visionaries profiled here, with few exceptions, suffered from an overweening belief in the capacity of architecture to shape behavior and thus society….It takes only a moment’s reflection to realize that this is foolishness…"
FULL STORY: ‘Dream Cities,’ by Wade Graham
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.