A Giant of a Book on Urban Design

Ben Brown reviews Dhiru Thadani's new book, The Language of Towns and Cities. Weighing in at 800 pages, this encyclopedic urban design dictionary defines planning terms with extensive graphics.

1 minute read

December 6, 2010, 12:00 PM PST

By Hazel Borys


Brown is effusive about the book:

"Here, delivered with the customary Thadani elegance and illustrative efficiency, are the components of placemaking and how they've been honed over centuries to achieve interior and exterior spaces that not only appeal to the head and the heart but also represent high-performance design. Here's proof that some stuff just works. And it works on just about any level we imagine.

"The reason that sounds so remarkable is that these are not inspiring times, particularly for those holding onto to dreams of collaborative achievement or even collaborative competence or maybe even collaboration itself. We're hard at work downsizing expectations and adjusting to the new normal in which less is really less."

Thanks to Hazel Borys

 

Friday, December 3, 2010 in PlaceShakers

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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