It's been 500 years since Thomas More penned his classic Utopia. With the benefit of hindsight, Los Angeles area planner, Jodie Sackett, reviews some of the key ingredients More believed necessary for a utopian society.
Multiple mid-sized cities, equally spaced about a days walk apart, with a population of about 5.5 million distributed over an island of a size halfway between Ireland and Cuba—these were some of the characteristics of Thomas More's Utopia. Los Angeles County planner Jodie Sacket takes a look back at some of More's ideas with a modern eye. 2016 marked the 500th anniversary of More's Utopia, and while some of his concepts were, well, utopian, Utopia is an historically significant work of which planners should have some knowledge, at least for context and background, and understanding the evolution of planning theory; or as noted by Sackett:
"As urbanists, city-thinkers and city-dwellers, do we look at cities in the same way today? It’s a worthy thought."
For Sackett's full review, please visit the source article.
FULL STORY: What makes a Utopia? – a review of Thomas More’s classic on its 500th anniversary
Planning Utopia: Revisiting Thomas More's Classic
In this second installment of a three-part review of Thomas More's Utopia in its 500th anniversary year, L.A. area planner Jodie Sackett looks at More's ideas for planning a Utopian city. Do More's ideas have current relevance?
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