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Sense of the City: An Alternate Approach to Urbanism
Challenging the dominance of the visual in the urban environment, the exhibition catalogue Sense of the City proposes a rethinking and re-presenting of the city, and offers a more complex analysis of the qualities, comforts, communication systems, and sensory dimensions of urban life. From darkness and night to urban soundscapes, to the urban air and climate, this book presents a new, "sensorial" approach to urbanism. In defense of public spaces in contemporary cities, writer Cedric Price has observed that "mental, physical, and sensory well-being is required." Included here is a rich collection of images on the different urban themes addressed in the exhibition, along with a series of insightful and critical essays. Contributors include Constance Classen, David Howes, Norman Pressman, Emily Thompson, and Mirko Zardini.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 1, 2020
This 2006 book was published in conjunction with an exhibit, Sense of the City, sponsored in Montreal by the Canadian Centre of Architecture. The interesting concept was to view urban planning and architecture on the basis of senses other than the visual. The goal was to begin a journey to "Sensorial Urbanism." The themes addressed include the city at night; in various seasons;and perception through the senses of smell and sound. These and other concepts are presented by narrative essays alternating with themed photo and graphic assemblages, a number of which are quite evocative.
Among the narrative essays, two were personal favorites. Social historian Wolfgang Schivelbusch's
"Nightfall Fear in the Street" captures one of the themes of his book, "Disenchanted Night: The Industrialization of Light in the Nineteenth Century." The essay traces the evolution of nighttime public safety measures in Europe and Britain from the Fourteen Hundreds. The measures included the requirement for those on the streets at night to carry a light or become subject to arrest and imprisonment; the requirement of houses to display an outdoor lantern or light to brighten the street; the shift to publicly provided street lighting, and the initiation and evolution of police officers patrolling the streets overnight. Law and order became no-nonsense stuff. Schivelbusch quotes a report from 1467, as follows. " The attention of the police must be primarily directed towards maintaining absolute peace in every town and city. As soon as a crowd gathers, they must be on the spot at once, investigate the cause and imprison the instigators, or remove the cause in some other way. At night, especially, when diligent, hard-working residents need peace, the police must try to prevent any commotion or uproar by means of strict measures and provisions." Schivelbusch traces the subsequent move to increased reliance on lighting on the Continent and in Britain as a way of enhancing safety.
In the second noteworthy essay, Helen Classen explores, "The Deodorized City: Battling Urban Stench in The Nineteenth Century." She draws from the poetry of Jonathan Swift, the novels of Dickens, Balzac and others, the reports of inspectors and officials of the time, to compile a repulsive portrait of air and water quality and the stink they raised. The Thames was described by King Edward in 1357: "When passing along the waters of the Thames we have beheld dung and other filth accumulated in diverse places in the said City upon the bank of the river aforesaid and also perceived the fumes and other abominable stenches therefrom." That's not quite soundbite ready, but the message struggles through. The burdens and effusions of the Thames merely reflected the condition of the London city streets where the wastes originated. The essay and the book both note that the sense of smell is sometimes rewarded by pleasant odors.
The book offers examples of experiments in cities worldwide relevant to projecting urban areas through senses other than sight. The presentations here are informative, albeit overly academic, at times. Nonetheless, general readers as well as urban design professionals will find the book stimulating. Paying attention to our urban centers in an ever more important activity under the current dual problems of pandemic and violence-laced protest that is impacting cities around the world.
Among the narrative essays, two were personal favorites. Social historian Wolfgang Schivelbusch's
"Nightfall Fear in the Street" captures one of the themes of his book, "Disenchanted Night: The Industrialization of Light in the Nineteenth Century." The essay traces the evolution of nighttime public safety measures in Europe and Britain from the Fourteen Hundreds. The measures included the requirement for those on the streets at night to carry a light or become subject to arrest and imprisonment; the requirement of houses to display an outdoor lantern or light to brighten the street; the shift to publicly provided street lighting, and the initiation and evolution of police officers patrolling the streets overnight. Law and order became no-nonsense stuff. Schivelbusch quotes a report from 1467, as follows. " The attention of the police must be primarily directed towards maintaining absolute peace in every town and city. As soon as a crowd gathers, they must be on the spot at once, investigate the cause and imprison the instigators, or remove the cause in some other way. At night, especially, when diligent, hard-working residents need peace, the police must try to prevent any commotion or uproar by means of strict measures and provisions." Schivelbusch traces the subsequent move to increased reliance on lighting on the Continent and in Britain as a way of enhancing safety.
In the second noteworthy essay, Helen Classen explores, "The Deodorized City: Battling Urban Stench in The Nineteenth Century." She draws from the poetry of Jonathan Swift, the novels of Dickens, Balzac and others, the reports of inspectors and officials of the time, to compile a repulsive portrait of air and water quality and the stink they raised. The Thames was described by King Edward in 1357: "When passing along the waters of the Thames we have beheld dung and other filth accumulated in diverse places in the said City upon the bank of the river aforesaid and also perceived the fumes and other abominable stenches therefrom." That's not quite soundbite ready, but the message struggles through. The burdens and effusions of the Thames merely reflected the condition of the London city streets where the wastes originated. The essay and the book both note that the sense of smell is sometimes rewarded by pleasant odors.
The book offers examples of experiments in cities worldwide relevant to projecting urban areas through senses other than sight. The presentations here are informative, albeit overly academic, at times. Nonetheless, general readers as well as urban design professionals will find the book stimulating. Paying attention to our urban centers in an ever more important activity under the current dual problems of pandemic and violence-laced protest that is impacting cities around the world.
June 19, 2012
I can't read a single word in this book but the pictures are astounding.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews