Direction of Cities

by John Guinther, Edmund N. Bacon (Foreword)

John Guinther's Direction of Cities expounds the nature of how they grow, whom they are intended to serve, which forces harm them and which help them develop their true potential. Written in collaboration with renowned architect and urban planner Edmund N. Bacon, Direction of Cities complements Bacon's own classic Design of Cities.
Tracing the growth of America's cities from their earliest days to the present, Guinther relates historical examples to modern principles of urban planning, illustrating Bacon's holistic philosophy, which demands an overarching "direction" to counter the city's natural drift toward chaos. Only by this holistic approach can we begin to reverse such problems as the collapse of infrastructure and create a coherent urban vision that meets its citizens' material and spiritual needs.
Broad in context, lively in its characterization of individual city patterns, and - above all - optimistically practical, Direction of Cities is indispensable reading for everyone interested in understanding the underlying textures of cities and the forces within them that can be developed for their long-term advancement.

Genres: Architecture

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Stephen]

I remember reading this book riding the train from Chestnut Hill to 30th Street Station in Philadelphia and then walking to Penn's campus the summer I started graduate school. I remember, vividly, walking from the my cousin's house where I stayed on the third floor on St. George's Lane to St Martin's Station. It was a lovely walk, bucolic almost, for being in Philadelphia. I remember lots of trees and charming stone houses, with shutters, and gravel driveways. And quiet. Until the trail showed up. And you always got a seat, since it was like the third stop.

[RJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Very Philadelphia-in-the-50s-centric which I didn't expect, but was good. Guinther definitely got a lot of that segment from the Philadelphia urban renewal chapter of Cities In a Race With Time. Also, a healthy dose of anti-Robert Moses, which is always welcome.

Actually softened my knee-jerk attitude against Edmund Bacon, which is probably a good thing.

All in all, good analysis, with the history sprinkled in.

[Aspen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can't finish it. It's awful. The potentially interesting parts are things I have already learned, and the rest just drags...