Synopsis
A look beyond design process and buildings aimed at discovering new ways of looking at the urban experience.
Library Journal
In a rather opaque and highly theoretical introduction, the editors explore how the inhabitant of the city perceives urban images and symbols and constructs the urban experience, relating this discussion to their interest in the triad of "space, time, and the human subject." But the best of these 29 readable and stimulating essays (by almost as many contributors) explore with clarity and ease what Dolores Hayden refers to as "cultural geography," or the effect of a particular urban experience on the perception of its physical landscape. Most of the essays focus on cities in Great Britain, while three discuss New York and one looks at Los Angeles. The best document the social and political forces that modify and control urban form: M. Christine Boyer's "Twice-Told Stories: The Double Erasure of Times Square," William Menking's "From Tribeca to Triburbia: A New Concept of the City," Dolores Hayden's "Claiming Women's History on the Urban Landscape: Projects from Los Angeles," and a highly personal and virtually antiurban essay by bell hooks, "City Living: Love's Meeting Place." Recommended for all academic architecture collections.--Paul Glassman, New York Sch. of Interior Design Lib. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\