The Nature of Urban Design: A New York Perspective on Resilience

by Alexandros Washburn

The best cities become an ingrained part of their residents' identities.  Urban design is the key to this process, but all too often, citizens abandon it to professionals, unable to see a way to express what they love and value in their own neighborhoods. In this visually rich book, Alexandros Washburn, Chief Urban Designer of the New York Department of City Planning, redefines urban design. His book empowers urbanites and lays the foundations for a new approach to design that will help cities to prosper in an uncertain future. He asks his readers to consider how cities shape communities, for it is the strength of our communities, he argues, that will determine how we respond to crises like Hurricane Sandy, whose floodwaters he watched from his home in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Washburn draws heavily on his experience within the New York City planning system while highlighting forward-thinking developments in cities around the world. He grounds his book in the realities of political and financial challenges that hasten or hinder even the most beautiful designs. By discussing projects like the High Line and the Harlem Children's Zone as well as examples from Seoul to Singapore, he explores the nuances of the urban design process while emphasizing the importance of individuals with the drive to make a difference in their city.
Throughout the book, Washburn shows how a well-designed city can be the most efficient, equitable, safe, and enriching place on earth. The Nature of Urban Design provides a framework for participating in the process of change and will inspire and inform anyone who cares about cities.

Genres: Nonfiction, Urban Planning, Urbanism

264 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 2013

Reviews

[Andrew Reeves · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, though the sections on resilience at the end were clearly where the authors heart was. So I’m confused as to why there wasn’t more of this. Worth the read for sure.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting overview of urban design from a 5000 foot level. Although a lot of ground is covered, many topics are just mentioned and some topics are given a lot of coverage, e.g. the High Line in New York City, which is an abandoned elevated railway converted into a green parkway.
I'm not sure, maybe the packaging of the book appearing as "artsy" got in the way of conveying the needed information. I learned there was such a thing as algorithmic zoning, but there was no further information available from the book, and I learned that air rights from one parcel of land can be "transferred" to other parcels of land as compensation to accomplish specific goals during the planning process. Overall, its a good book, but its "coffee table" format got in the way for me.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the whole, recent books about urban design tend to reinforce many of the same sentiments and perspectives. Although this has several strengths and potentially bodes well for our future communities, books that break from this pattern in a meaningful way are refreshing and powerful. Such is the case with The Nature of Urban Design: A New York Perspective on Resilience — a book written by someone who is living within their own case-study.

Author and former chief urban designer of the New York City Department of City Planning, Alexandros Washburn, lives in Red Hook, Brooklyn which was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. As the storm made ground, Washburn chose to stay in his home, and disobey the order to evacuate, on the grounds that he wanted to see how the city would handle the event.

It is from this starting point that the book launches through thousands of fascinating anecdotes, that tell a story — or series of stories — about designing an urban setting. Moving from designing in the face of climate change, to policies and development hurdles within the mayoral office of New York City, as well as discussing how the world is dealing with their own design issues and intriguing adaptation-based designs in other countries, Washburn speaks to a number of complex subjects pertaining to adaptation, resilience and climate change mitigation.

The book is adorned with beautiful photography and the occasional sketch, which lend to a casual read, even when the context of the book is anything but. After the preface and introduction, the book is broken into five chapters and an epilogue. Chapter one asks the question, Why Should We Care About Cities?, a question that is being posed and answered by many right now in the face of suburban sprawl and greenhouse gas emissions, to mention just two.

Following this is The Process of Urban Design, and The Products of Urban Design which both speak equally to how the urban design is performed, how problems are discovered and handled, and how, in the end, changes are physically implemented.

He then moves in to a wonderful case-study on The Process and Products of the High Line. If you are unfamiliar with New York City's High Line project, it was a large undertaking by the city of New York and private investors, who wanted to see a derelict set of elevated rail tracks transformed into a public amenity instead of being torn down. The result, as discussed within the book, is a beautiful, well-used linear park surrounded by a number of new developments, all of which have done wonders for the city in several ways.

After this section, he wraps everything up by talking about adaptation and mitigation in the face of climate change in a chapter titled Urban Design for Greater Resilience. Within, he shows a fun sketch of how he has already converted the bottom floor of his apartment to be winched up in case of flood, raising all of his goods and valuables above the water to prevent damage. It is another example of the quirkiness that embodies this book.

While the book is essentially about urban design, it is also a key book in understanding the effects of climate change and the steps cities will need to take toward adaptation and mitigation. There are two quotes within the book that stood out to me, the first being that “building design can aid mitigation by making density more attractive.”

Although much research has been done documenting how we are innately a nomadic species preferring exploration and roaming, we also seem to be an urban species and the importance of urbanization (done right) is becoming more significant in light of climate change mitigation. Related to this is the significance of good design — from the products used to interior spaces, building design to the organization of neighbourhoods and regions — design matters, especially as it relates to making urban cores accessible and attractive by the public, at large.

The second quote that related to the first intimately is that “the problem of climate change may be global, but the adaptation response is always local.” Washburn argues that while climate change mitigation is obviously our end goal, we have to be ready to adapt now in preparation for the time between change. Band-aid solutions will be the first order of things, but these, Washburn argues, will necessarily begin the hard road to proper mitigation, and (hopefully) preventing these types of catastrophes from happening to our cities.

Simply put, The Nature of Urban Design reads like an engaging story, through the eyes of a well-informed urban planner, who wants nothing more than to see good done in the world. Washburn has a magnificent quote at the beginning of the book, which I am sure will stay with me throughout my professional career and speaks to the integrity of the book and its writer:

Civic virtue is about doing something that will not benefit you–it will benefit a future generation. Civic virtue is about leaving the city better than you found it.

If this was a mantra for even half of our decision makers, we would be well on our way to solving some of our harshest problems.

Urban centers are the lifeblood of our settings. They fuel our economy, they create life and vibrancy, and if done well, they can help mitigate the damage that we are doing to our planet. The Nature of Urban Design: a New York Perspective on Resilience is a journey in it of itself, and Alexandros Washburn should be proud that he broke the rules to complete this fascinating work.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giving this a 3.75/5!

I used this book back when I had to take a class on learning about NYC in Uni. Very much enjoyed this book now reading it once from cover to cover. It is an urban design book, but more so about the NATURE of it, and the author does a good job presenting a story doing so, starting with the why, the how and tying it into a couple of cases, such as the High Line project, without going too much into the technical aspects.

[Tommy Schmitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read about urban design. I am getting my masters in urban planning soon so this book kick started my eagerness for the program!

[Husam talib · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alexandros Washburn is from an art and biology major; he studied master of architecture from Harvard University. He worked in several areas of specialty in the United Nations as public work advisor, president of a big development in Pennsylvania, a partner in architecture and landscape firm, chief urban designer in Department of City Planning in New York, a professor in Stevens Institute of Technology, and now having his own practice in broklyen. It is obvious that the author possesses various experiences in architecture and urban design as well as research. Most of his career work is focused on environmental issues that influence the city he lives in. climate change and storms hitting the city of New York pulled all his attention and was the major drive of his work. The author wanted to–through his work- to experience and observe closely what happens to inhabitants and the city when hurricane hits the city .He was on the roof of his house when hurricane hit the streets , lights and power off, people vacated, sand all over the place, sea water hit the banks of shores.


Continue reading: https://husamtalib.com/the-nature-of-...

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough lesson in how to think about cities for the future from the chief urban designer of New York City's city planning department. Rich without being dense, learned without being pedantic, and beautifully illustrated and smartly organized. There's particularly good material about how we make our cities sustainable and resilient in the face of the coming risks of climate change. A very worthy read for any urban dweller, or those who care about the cities of the world.

[Lora Hein]

Fabulous account and very readable for the non-planner, of how New York re-imagined itself as a more accessible city for ALL. Community planning examples at their best with lots of illustrations, both pictorially and the text itself is very approachable.
Wasn't able to read the entire book as it was in demand at the library, but I read and re-read portions of it and will check it out again!

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 I picked this up on netgalley, thinking it'd feed my need for third space discussions. It turned out to be something way more literal in its definition of urban space, but I enjoyed the photography and the author's writing style.