The Architecture of Urbanity
Designing for Nature, Culture, and Joy
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From one of today's most inspired architects and urban advocates, a manifesto for architecture as a force for addressing our biggest social challenges
The world is facing unprecedented challenges, from climate change and population growth, to political division and technological dislocation, to declining mental health and fraying cultural fabric. With most of the planet's population now living in urban environments, cities are the spaces where we have the greatest potential to confront and address these problems. In this visionary book, Vishaan Chakrabarti argues for an "architecture of urbanity," showing how the design of our communities can create a more equitable, sustainable, and joyous future for us all.
Taking readers from the great cities of antiquity to the worldwide exurban sprawl of our postindustrial age, Chakrabarti examines architecture's relationship to history's greatest social, technological, and environmental dilemmas. He then presents a rich selection of work by a global array of practicing architects, demonstrating how innovative design can dramatically improve life in big cities and small settlements around the world, from campuses and refugee camps to mega-cities like São Paulo, Lima, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, and Tokyo.
Lavishly illustrated with a wealth of original graphics, data visualizations, photographs, and drawings, The Architecture of Urbanity eloquently explains why cities are the last, best hope for humanity, and why designers must, alongside political, business, community, and cultural leaders, steward the healing of our planet.
About this Author
Vishaan Chakrabarti is an architect, author, public thought leader, and the founder of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU), a design studio dedicated to building ecological, equitable, and joyous communities. He is the author of A Country of Cities: A Manifesto for an Urban America.
Reviews
"A Fast Company Best Design Book of the Year"
"Shortlisted for the Architectural Studies Book Award, Booklaunch"
"Like the dense urban places he advocates for, architect Vishaan Chakrabarti packs a lot into a compact package. This eminently portable manifesto makes the grandest possible case for architecture, not just as the art of putting up individual buildings, but as a tool to help people from different cultures interact. Asking architects to tackle global social problems is an invigorating form of overreach, the kind that challenges the author and his colleagues to think about doing less harm."---Justin Davidson, Curbed
"A hopeful and inspiring mandate for today's designers and architects."---Jarrett Fuller, Fast Company
"Wonderful. . . . an architectural mic drop. . . . The Architecture of Urbanity is not just the most important book you will read this year, but perhaps one of the most important to have been written for this generation."---Sean Ruthen, Spacing
"[Vishaan Chakrabarti] takes on the important subject of cities--their challenges and their future. The book bristles with opinions on matters ranging from the urban impact of climate change to how to fix social housing. As one example, Mr. Chakrabarti resists the smart-cities movements that attempt to maximize efficiency through technology (think delivery drones). He favors designs that generate "positive social friction" of the kind that takes place in the urban farmers market. . . . [Readers] can admire the ambition and range of his knowledge, and his intelligent diagnoses of what exactly is awry."---Cammy Brothers, Wall Street Journal
"Ambitious."---Mimi Kirk, Bloomberg
"A bold vision for architecture's role in tackling twin crises of our era: climate change and societal division."---Alex Bozikovic, Globe & Mail
"Building healthier, more inclusive housing is also the subject of Vishaan Chakrabarti's latest monograph, The Architecture of Urbanity. . . . To keep up with global population growth, Chakrabarti argues, will require the construction of 2.4 trillion square feet of new space over the next 40 years. That's a lot of new building, and here Chakrabarti makes an argument for dense urban spaces as the solution for a healthy planet."---Mark Lamster, Dallas Morning News
"Chakrabarti offers new insights about urban design's most significant obstacles and opportunities--and dispels a few commonly held myths. . . .Ambitious. . . . The arguments and topics addressed in The Architecture of Urbanity are highly relevant and valuable for the AEC industry as well as the general public. It is refreshing to have a voice like Chakrabarti's championing architecture as a force for positive change, and to a broad audience. Let us hope people listen."---Blaine Brownell, Architect Magazine
"[From] one of the leading experts on and champions of urbanism today. . . . [Vishaan Chakrabarti's] The Architecture of Urbanity exudes optimism."---John HIll, A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books
"[A] lively new volume. . . . Lay readers especially will benefit from Chakrabarti's TED-talk-accessible accounts."---Thomas de Monchaux, Vital City
"A beautiful book."---Jeff Wood, Talking Headways podcast
"[An] interesting read."---Adam Wagoner, Architect-ing podcast
"Powerful."
"[In] The Architecture of Urbanity, Vishaan Chakrabarti tackles [architecture's] ugliness--and the despair and social isolation it engenders. . . .[Chakrabarti argues] architecture can help repair a culture in crisis, encourage democracy, alleviate climate change, even increase joy and health and prosperity. . . .Chakrabarti offers gorgeous examples, from Paris's Place des Vosges to Saha Al Qassas in the West Bank. Examples of PAU's work reinforce his point, as do the whimsical drawings at the book's end, illustrations of people happily appropriating urban spaces in the interest of justice, joy, and connection. We need this approach to architecture. We need to feel welcome again; to feel a sense of comfort and shared delight; to honor the past; to remember we are all here together."---Jeannette Cooperman, The Common Reader
"Lavishly illustrated . . . [The Architecture of Urbanity] is a great pick for the urbanist aesthete in your life."
"[The Architecture of Urbanity's] recommendations [are] precisely what this dark moment requires."---Bill Millard, Common Edge
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