Although not as widely known as The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) or The City in History by Lewis Mumford (1895-1990), Design of Cities allowed Bacon, one of the most admired planners of his generation, a forum in which to … He spans time from ancient Athens to new cities like Brasilia and Chandigarh and gives examples from around the world, but with a European emphasis. By varying levels of floor, designers have the ability to toy with emotions of the involved viewer. By illuminating the historical background of urban design, Bacon also shows us the fundamental forces and considerations that determine the form of a great city. Bacon argues that as citizens change levels, new aspects of the urban form reveal themselves and as mechanical design elements work to replicate sequences of urban form. About the Author Edmund N. Bacon was born in Philadelphia and studied architecture at Cornell University and at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, under Eliel Saarinen. This is an especially anachronistic stance to uphold in the late-60s after Jane Jacobs' scathing critique of top-down planning This is a formidable book to use when teaching (freehand) Drawing in Plein Air. Thanks to the Landscape Information Hub UK. Bacon discusses movement systems as a basis for how cities grow, can be well-designed, and can be beautiful. I don't give it 5 stars because the material is dated and would not include discussions of the flow of stocks (energy, products, raw materials, digital information, people) and discussions of collaborative design with the people who live and work in the city, those who are vital to its lasting success.Bacon discusses movement systems as a basis for how cities grow, can be well-designed, and can be beautiful. Downward movement can symbolize the depth and grandeur of space. Along with Jane Jacobs death and life of great American cities and Paolo Saleri's Acosanti, I was armed with the literature required to inspire a good planner, or at least so I thought. He spans time from ancient Athens to new cities like Brasilia and Chandigarh and gives examples from around the world, but with a European emphasis. Along with Jane Jacobs death and life of great American cities and Paolo Saleri's Acosanti, I was armed with the literature required to inspire a good planner, or at least so I thought.
But I would have called it the architecture of cities, since this book is more of a compendium of architectural forms, ideas, theory, examples and jargon. In 1967, he wrote Design of Cities, still considered an important architectural text. Perhaps the most significant of these are simultaneous movement systems—the paths of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, public and private transportation—that serve as the dominant organizing force, and Bacon looks at movement systems in … Design of Cities, first published in 1967, is an illustrated account of the development of urban form, written by Edmund Bacon(1910–2005), who was the Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission from 1949 to 1970. ed.
by Penguin Books The way he develops the idea is great.
Director of Philadelphia's City Planning Commission from 1949-1970, Ed Bacon is the only city planner ever to be featured on the cover of Time magazine. I have learned much in the intervening years, but from time to time wander back This is the book that made me become or want to become an urban planner. Perhaps a little dated now in terms of its modern case studies, but nevertheless timeless in its discussion of principles and historical examples. Highly recommended. One of the most critical pieces of Bacon's work is the identification and reiteration of built forms relationship to man. This is done by allowing the involved viewer to have a reference to scale, frame and position relative to the viewer.
. . This pedestal allows the involved to scale buildings and relate their size to one another. He covers times from Ancient Greece through the recent past. He Knows how to explore the idea and expand it efficiently. . Splendidly presented, filled with thoughtful and brilliant intuitive insights." Thanks to the Landscape Information Hub UK. By illuminating the historical background of urban design, Bacon also shows us the fundamental forces and considerations that determine the form of a great city. They inform the volume of urban form and can be taken advantage of to make urban form more dramatic. I have read and researched through my well worn volume many times and its lessons are as valuable today as they were when I first opened the book in the 1970's.