Urban Code: 100 Lessons for Understanding the City

by Anne Mikoleit, Moritz Purckhauer

A primer in urban literacy that teaches us in words and pictures what to notice if we want to understand the city. Cities speak, and this little book helps us understand their language. Considering the urban landscape not from the abstract perspective of an urban planner but from the viewpoint of an attentive observer, Urban Code offers 100 “lessons”—maxims, observations, and bite-size truths, followed by short essays—that teach us how to read the city. This is a user's guide to the city, a primer of urban literacy, at the pedestrian level. The reader (like the observant city stroller) can move from “People walk in the sunshine” (lesson 1) to “Street vendors are positioned according to the path of the sun” (lesson 2); consider possible connections between the fact that “Locals and tourists use the streets at different times” (lesson 41) and “Tourists stand still when they're looking at something” (lesson 68); and weigh the apparent contradiction of lesson 73, “Nightlife hotspots increase pedestrian traffic” and lesson 74, “People are afraid of the dark.” A lesson may seem self-evident (“Grocery stores are important local destinations”—of course they are!) but considered in the context of other lessons, it becomes part of a natural logic. With Urban Code, we learn what to notice if we want to understand the city. We learn to detect patterns in the relationships between people and the urban environment. Each lesson is accompanied by an icon-like image; in addition to these 100 drawings, thirty photographs of street scenes illustrate the text. The photographs are stills from films shot in the Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo; the lessons are inspired by the authors' observations of SoHo, but hold true for any cityscape.

Genres: Nonfiction, Architecture, Urban Planning, Urbanism, Cities

112 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2011

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a collection of 100 observations on New York City's SoHo neighborhood. Although beautifully designed and largely interesting, I found this book had too serious of flaws to recommend:

• Given that it was about SoHo, an area with virtually no parallel in the world, Urban Code was not true to its subtitle: "100 Lessons for Understanding the City." The lessons learned from Soho were a often stretch when extrapolated to other cities, or even other parts of New York.

• It relied way too heavily on three source materials, which are probably the three most famous urban planning books ever written: Jane Jacobs' The Life and Death of Great American Cities, Kevin Lynch's The Image of the City, and Christopher Alexander's A Pattern Language. There are only a handful of pages in Urban Code which don't quote one of these books.

• A reader could glean about as much value from Urban Code only reading the headings of the 100 lessons, rather than reading the full text. This is probably the most damning criticism, since the book was only 110 pages long. A 110-page book should contain enough new information to justify reading it.

• For easily a quarter of the "lessons," the book dabbled in the painfully-obvious more than necessary. For example, did you know that (#36) pedestrians walk on sidewalks, (#49) old people sit on benches, or that (#75) many lights illuminate the night? The obviousness of some of the lessons detracted from the ones which were thought-provoking.

[Ipek Emekli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed by this book, probably mostly because of my expectations from it. I was hoping to learn something new about how cities work and how people interact with it, maybe in a way that ties into sociology and psychology. However, a lot of the "lessons" in this book were obvious, well-known facts that most of us have already observed around us. The mini essays below them were mostly just musings that frequently lacked coherence and insight. There were a couple of lessons I found insightful and interesting, however, I don't think there were more than 5-6 of those.
Overall, I didn't really enjoy the content of the book much, though it was an easy read, and I enjoyed looking at the photographs and illustrations.

[Mohadese sakhaie · Rating 4 out of 5]

در مورد محتوا کتاب جذاب با نکات جالب درباره یکی از محلات نیویورک هست.
کتاب رو به زبان اصلی ندیدم ولی اونچه که از ترجمه و صفحه‌آرایی کتاب مشاهده می‌شه بنظر کپی نسخه اصلی هست و بسیار زیبا و با دقت طراحی شده به صورتی که تظر رو جلب می‌کنه.

[Nhi]

From the first lesson, “people walk in the sunshine,” I know this book is not for me. It’s a nice poetic way to start a book on urban planning but if you’ve lived in Vietnam where the sun actually burns, you would know that people seek shade. I suppose my biggest qualm is this, not the repetitiveness of the content, but its grand unifying ambition; 100 lessons for understanding a city, maybe, but definitely not the city.

Anyway, it got me excited to read more Jane Jacobs, so that’s good. Quoted on page 70:

Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings.

I wish the book had elaborated on this point. Oh well.

[Obeida Takriti · Rating 2 out of 5]

الملاحظات في هذا الكتاب جميلة لكنها سطحية أحياناً ومكررة..
بكل الحالات فهي تفتح لك باباً لمراقبة المدينة من حولك، خاصة في تلك التفاصيل التي لا تعيرها أي اهتمام..

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

a great concept for a book that totally fell short. almost the entirety of the content consists of cited excerpts from other seminal urban planning texts, but with little else to add. certainly no new ideas here, and ultimately too bare bones to even be considered a primer.

weak jams, mit press.

[Maura · Rating 1 out of 5]

cool idea (analyzing the minutia of what city dwellers do) and the layout was appealing, but the actual info-bites often seemed implausible - lots of blanket statements that did not line up with my experiences at all. Just made me wonder if their observations were actually incredibly specific to SoHo or if they were making things up.

[Sina Tahmasbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"این مشاهدات صدگانه ، تلاشی برای کالبدشکافی زندگی شهری در سوهو است تا به کمک آن رمزگان شهری را بسازیم . سوهو با اعمال این ۱۰۰ آموزه برای هیچ محله ی دیگری دوباره ایجاد نمی شود ؛ اما ما شانس بیشتری برای لذت بردن از کلیت یک شهر داریم آنگاه که اجزاء آن را بشناسیم ."

کتاب یکی از محله های نیویورک رو بررسی کرده ولی معیاری رو به ما میده که باهاش میشه تقریبا هر شهری رو رمزگشایی کنیم و به جزئیاتش دقت بیشتری داشته باشیم.
مولفان با بررسی میدانی به نکته های کوچکی اشاره میکنن، این نکات باعث میشه اتفاق های بزرگی شکل بگیرن که در ادامه روح ویژه و یگانه ای به شهر/محله میده. نکته هایی که همیشه مثبت نیستن:
"رمزگان شهری - اگر چه اکثرا دارای ارزش است . اما همیشه با سازش همراه نیست ."

کتاب رو به علاقه مندان شهرسازی و معماری توصیه میکنم.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not clear whether it's supposed to be about universal urban "codes" or observations about Soho. The book is justifiable only as the former, because who cares about the specific demographics of Soho or where its subway stations are located etc. As it stands there's still a lot of good content, the Soho specific elements are really a waste though and the book would be much better if it actually had urban codes based on detailed study of many different types of urbanism. I did enjoy many parts though and I would recommend it for those looking for a friendly and brief overview of urban principles.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting attempt to use Alexander's pattern language to interpret neighborhood of Soho in NYC.
two problems however: Soho is such an atypical neighborhood, full of expensive chain stores to attract tourists and whatever wannabe hipsters, that it's not relevant to any "real" neighborhood.

Also, one of the key things of the pattern languages Alexander uses is that they go from the macro to the micro. The sequence of patterns may have related to one issue for a few patterns but the overall sequence seemed random and therefore confusing.

But it was an interesting book. The diagrams with the patterns were appropriate.

[Bruno Chede · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting analysis of the parts that make up a particular (SoHo) urban whole

[gallizio · Rating 5 out of 5]

have a look

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could be improved by just changing the title to ‘What SoHo Teaches Us About Cities.’ Many of its lessons are too place-specific, while others come off as just plain obvious. That being said it’s still a fun guide, when you know what to expect, filled with clear and concise statements about what makes SoHo such an essential part of Manhattan’s built environment.

[Majd Hamad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its like I’ve visited SoHo and been there.
Nice analysis of the space and how people interact in this space.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started and finished this book on this sunny afternoon. It's introductory in scope, though not in depth. Introductory is good, though, because it states the ideas behind a well-established premise and then builds upon them in dozens and dozens of topics. So I learned to not be discouraged when one of the 100 Lessons was an occasional "58. Snack Stands Smell of Food" because the authors applied this simple statement to a more thoughtful analysis of human/spatial interface. The book falls avoids imparting ideas that could be used for design, however, and opts for 100 observations. It was very much a study in human context. Definitely interesting but not consistently rewarding.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I enjoyed how the author explained how New York City's Soho's economy, business, and community worked and functioned, It is unfair for the author to claim that Soho's model is applicable to most cityscapes. I gave four stars, as the book was a page-turner for me and I found it to be enjoyable to further understand how a once-desolate area became one of the most thriving cultures in modern civilization.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested on what makes an urban cityscape thrive.

[Margarita Basalaeva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello everyone! dear friends, I need your help. I haven't read this book, but I want to read, I am a student and I need it for my research paper devoted to the urban development. I've tried to buy it in Amazon but they don't ship books to Russia (I live in Moscow, Russia ) I think the book is available only in the USA or in Canada. Maybe, does anyone have the book and doesn't need it and would be happy to help me and sell the book ? :) still hope to get it... thank you for your attention! Kindest regards. :)

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what to say about Urban Code. It was fine, I learned a couple of things. But it was oddly uninteresting. I'm fascinated by cities, so I was hoping for something that was more....interesting. I can't be any more specific than that, I'm afraid. Maybe it's an issue of translation.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

For those without the time to read Jane Jacobs or A Pattern Language (both of which are quoted extensively throughout), this offers a Cliffsnotes take on the two, focused on SoHo and, more to the point, the miracle of shopping.

[Carbonara · Rating 3 out of 5]

100 hechos sobre la vida en las ciudades, extrapolados desde el SoHo neoyorquino. Muchas son obvias, otras no son aplicables, pero hay bastantes que valen la pena leer, y casi todas dejan un poso interesante. Buen trabajo de diseño editorial, además, la lectura es cómoda y el libro es bonito.

[Kate O'Hanlon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very lightweight, which is a shame as it's an interesting subject.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book! Sort of obvious, but insightful, principles for urban planners about how cities work.

[Edwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

蘇活區的觀察過於狹隘，不完全能類推到其他城市。
但作者的觀察仍算有趣，適合輕鬆的閱讀。

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aside from some really great quotes, this book states the obvious.