Urban Design Since 1945-A Global Perspective

摘要

That title—a global perspective on urban design since 1945—is sure to raise expectations for anyone who teaches urban design studio week-by-week. Our students are diverse and international. We need to communicate a universal narrative of urban design while—hopefully—conveying relevance to time and place. David Graham Shane's book is global in coverage and draws material from the whole span of late modernity from World War II to now. Does it fit the bill? Not quite. It is a great assemblage of case study material gathered from direct observation, studio projects, field visits and (with a justificatory note) Wikipedia. Little comes from academic monographs and less from research sources such as this journal. The arrangement is neither chronological nor geographical, nor is it an intellectual history of the urban design movement.