Cities in Civilization

by Peter Geoffrey Hall

Ranging over 2,500 years, Cities in Civilization is a tribute to the city as the birthplace of Western civilization. Drawing on the contributions of economists and geographers, of cultural, technological, and social historians, Sir Peter Hall examines twenty-one cities at their greatest moments. Hall describes the achievements of these golden ages and outlines the precise combinations of forces -- both universal and local -- that led to each city's belle epoque.

Hall identifies four distinct expressions of civic artistic growth, technological progress, the marriage of culture and technology, and solutions to evolving problems. Descriptions of Periclean Athens, Renaissance Florence, Elizabethan London, and nineteenth-century Vienna bring to life those seedbeds of artistic and intellectual creativity. Explorations of Manchester during the Industrial Revolution, of Henry Ford's Detroit, and of Palo Alto at the dawn of the computer age highlight centers of technological advances. Tales of the creation of Los Angeles' movie industry and the birth of the blues and rock 'n' roll in Memphis depict the marriage of culture and technology.

Finally, Hall celebrates cities that have been forced to solve problems created by their very size. With Imperial Rome came the apartment block and aqueduct; nineteenth-century London introduced policing, prisons, and sewers; twentieth-century New York developed the skyscraper; and Los Angeles became the first city without a center, a city ruled instead by the car. And in a fascinating conclusion, Hall speculates on urban creativity in the twenty-first century.

This penetrating study reveals not only the lives of cities but also the lives of the people who built them and created the civilizations within them. A decade in the making, Cities in Civilization is the definitive account of the culture of cities.

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

1184 pages, Hardcover

First published November 9, 1998

Reviews

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

That thing where you highlight so much in a book that the markings become useless

[Juliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an exhaustive collection of everything you ever wanted to know about the history of cities from ancient times through the beginning of the 21st-century. Lots of good info here and a good reference book for the shelf.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A big book, but one that I found engaging. Sir Hall takes us on a journey through numerous world cities at the height of their importance in relation to world development (and a couple, like Elizabethain London and later World Financial Capital London, get two essays). A good, comprehensive - for essays anyway - overview of how these cities arrived at their particular golden ages, and how they faltered thereafter. Everything from Ancient Athens to 1950s Memphis and the Mississippi Delta (for the fusion of Rock-a-Billy, Country, and Blues into a new-fangled "Rock-n-Roll" that proved so important for the subsequent development of great music...at least until Brittney Spears and American Idol destroyed all subsequent development to the point where my 19 year-old female students would rather listen to Zepplin and Fleetwood Mac than any of the crap that gets aired these days). Highly recommended if you have a few months of spare time to kill!

[Stephen Coates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hall looks at cities from each of four perspectives: cultural crucibles; innovative milieu; a combination of art and technology; and establishing urban order, and under each of these headings, profiles a number of cities for the period when their flourishing from the perspective in question was at its greatest. So, for example, Athens between 500 and 400 BCE and Vienna between 1780 and 1910 are discussed for encouraging cultural flowering, Manchester and Berlin for being centres of technological innovation, LA for development of the film industry and so much more than just a film industry and first century Rome along with Paris and Stockholm for their development of urban order. Apart from omitting Toronto which regularly features in lists of the world’s most liveable cities, the book was an interesting and enjoyable read and compliments Richard Florida’s books on the creative class.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very uneven. Early chapters focused on so-called "golden ages." (Elizabethan London, Renaissance Florence) Later chapters served as illustrations for developmental paths. (New York subways, Los Angeles highways) The last two chapters on modern cities, while interesting, seem to be more issue related. (Stockholm public housing, London Docklands)

[Laura Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great sweeping book on the history of Western urban settlement and the rise of capitalism shaping settlement patterns. It is a huge book (not good for reading in bed) but it is well worth spending some time with.

[Noric Dilanchian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite simply, one of the best books I've ever read. Certainly the best on commercialisation as it was experienced in various cities in civilisations over the last 2,500 years.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed with lots of interesting info. Also very slow reading as a result.

[Salahuddin Hourani]

ملاحظة لي: لم اقرا الكتاب بعد -
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