Town Planning in Practice: An Introduction to the Art of Designing Cities and Suburbs

by Raymond Unwin

First published in 1909, Raymond Unwin's Town Planning in An Introduction to the Art of Designing Cities and Suburbs is an extraordinary compendium of images and theories on urban design. As a member of the generation of planners following Camillo Sitte and preceding the emergence of the modern planners of the 1920s, Unwin considered planning a design-based discipline rather than a purely technical one. He believed that artistic and practical criteria were mutually supportive and carried this out in his work by creating plans that represented a unity of art, science, and technology.
Unwin is perhaps the greatest figure of the Garden City movement, which has had a tremendous impact on planning in both Europe and the United States. Although Town Planning has become the bible of neo-traditionalist planners, this book is not a nostalgic view of past planning ideas; rather, it is a useful, forward-looking book that holds valuable lessons for today's planners.
Its insightful critical analyses of many towns throughout Europe and the United States are accompanied by photographs, plans, drawings, and six foldout maps. This reprint of Town Planning in Practice includes a new preface by Andres Duany and an introduction by Walter Creese.

Genres: Urban Planning, Nonfiction, Urban, Urban Design, Architecture, Cities, Reference

456 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Sir Raymond Unwin (2 November 1863 – 29 June 1940) was a prominent and influential English engineer, architect and town planner, with an emphasis on improvements in working class housing.

Raymond Unwin was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire and grew up in Oxford, after his father sold up his business and moved there to study. He was educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford. In 1884 he returned to the North to become an apprentice engineer for Stavely Iron & Coal Company near Chesterfield.

Unwin had become interested in social issues at an early age and was inspired by the lectures and ideals of John Ruskin and William Morris. In 1885 he moved to Manchester and became secretary of Morris's local Socialist League. He wrote articles for the League's newspaper and spoke on street corners for its cause and for the Labour Church. He also became a close friend of the socialist philosopher Edward Carpenter, whose Utopian community ideas led to his developing a small commune at Millthorpe near Sheffield.

In 1887 he returned to Staveley Iron as an engineer, working on development of mining townships and various other buildings, and joined the Sheffield Socialist Society.

In 1893 he married Richard Barry Parker's sister Ethel, and formed a partnership in 1896 based in Buxton, Derbyshire. The partners preferred the simple vernacular style and made it their aim to improve housing standards for the working classes. They were also members of the Northern Art Worker's Guild and were close friends of Edgar Wood (1860–1935) the leading Arts and Crafts architect in the North of England and a founding member of the group.

Reviews

[Maja · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know I go to uni for this stuff but this book was very boring lol.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable. Must read. Not just if you are interested in planning... if you live in anything that is not rural, this book should be read by you.

* - Reserved for nonfiction. Worth a read if you're interested in the subject. Check out from library.

** - Good. May be inconsistent and flawed, but overall worth a read if you're in the mood for that genre. Check out from library.

*** - Very good. Recommended as a book that is either wonderfully written, informative, challenging, beautiful... but not all of the above. Check out from library or buy on Kindle.

**** - Great. Go out and read.

***** - Classic. MUST READ and should be on your bookshelf.