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Dream Cities: Seven Urban Ideas That Shape the World
From the acclaimed landscape designer, historian and author of American Eden, a lively, unique, and accessible cultural history of modern cities—from suburbs, downtown districts, and exurban sprawl, to shopping malls and “sustainable” developments—that allows us to view them through the planning, design, architects, and movements that inspired, created, and shaped them.
Dream Cities explores our cities in a new way—as expressions of ideas, often conflicting, about how we should live, work, play, make, buy, and believe. It tells the stories of the real architects and thinkers whose imagined cities became the blueprints for the world we live in.
From the nineteenth century to today, what began as visionary concepts—sometimes utopian, sometimes outlandish, always controversial—were gradually adopted and constructed on a massive scale in cities around the world, from Dubai to Ulan Bator to London to Los Angeles. Wade Graham uses the lives of the pivotal dreamers behind these concepts, as well as their acolytes and antagonists, to deconstruct our urban landscapes—the houses, towers, civic centers, condominiums, shopping malls, boulevards, highways, and spaces in between—exposing the ideals and ideas embodied in each.
From the baroque fantasy villages of Bertram Goodhue to the superblocks of Le Corbusier’s Radiant City to the pseudo-agrarian dispersal of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Broadacre City, our upscale leafy suburbs, downtown skyscraper districts, infotainment-driven shopping malls, and “sustainable” eco-developments are seen as never before. In this elegantly designed and illustrated book, Graham uncovers the original plans of brilliant, obsessed, and sometimes megalomaniacal designers, revealing the foundations of today’s varied municipalities. Dream Cities is nothing less than a field guide to our modern urban world.
Illustrated with 59 black-and-white photos throughout the text.
Dream Cities explores our cities in a new way—as expressions of ideas, often conflicting, about how we should live, work, play, make, buy, and believe. It tells the stories of the real architects and thinkers whose imagined cities became the blueprints for the world we live in.
From the nineteenth century to today, what began as visionary concepts—sometimes utopian, sometimes outlandish, always controversial—were gradually adopted and constructed on a massive scale in cities around the world, from Dubai to Ulan Bator to London to Los Angeles. Wade Graham uses the lives of the pivotal dreamers behind these concepts, as well as their acolytes and antagonists, to deconstruct our urban landscapes—the houses, towers, civic centers, condominiums, shopping malls, boulevards, highways, and spaces in between—exposing the ideals and ideas embodied in each.
From the baroque fantasy villages of Bertram Goodhue to the superblocks of Le Corbusier’s Radiant City to the pseudo-agrarian dispersal of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Broadacre City, our upscale leafy suburbs, downtown skyscraper districts, infotainment-driven shopping malls, and “sustainable” eco-developments are seen as never before. In this elegantly designed and illustrated book, Graham uncovers the original plans of brilliant, obsessed, and sometimes megalomaniacal designers, revealing the foundations of today’s varied municipalities. Dream Cities is nothing less than a field guide to our modern urban world.
Illustrated with 59 black-and-white photos throughout the text.
334 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 26, 2016
225 people are currently reading
2862 people want to read
About the author
Wade Graham
10 books10 followersLos Angeles–based garden designer, historian, and writer whose work on the environment, landscape, urbanism, and the arts has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper’s, the Los Angeles Times, Outside, and other publications. An adjunct professor of public policy at Pepperdine University, he is the author of American Eden: From Monticello to Central Park to Our Backyards: What Our Gardens Tell Us About Who We Are.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
August 2, 2016
I was drawn to this book after enjoying much of Wade Graham's other book, "American Eden."
This book is one of those in-between ones: part scholarly monograph, part pop-history. This blended genre in particular has always been a difficult one for me to quite figure out how to read best — I appreciate the breezy accessibility and the clear writing style, but am also left always wanting a little bit more critical engagement with the subject, a little more of the more "academic" side.
My three criticisms for the book were that: one, at times it felt very much like a series of abridged biographies of architects of the past; two, the images really should have been integrated into the text, rather than appended at the end of each chapter; and finally, it could have used a concluding chapter that wraps things up a bit more tidily.
However, I appreciated the way that Graham categorized the built environment of the past two centuries into his seven thematic chapters. The "diagnostic guides" to each mode that he included were enjoyable and useful. However, they left me wishing that they had been incorporated into the main chapter text, as I often found myself struggling to imagine whatever new building he was describing.
Took some good notes, and I'm looking forward to now seeing and being able to note these modes of building out and about in the world.
This book is one of those in-between ones: part scholarly monograph, part pop-history. This blended genre in particular has always been a difficult one for me to quite figure out how to read best — I appreciate the breezy accessibility and the clear writing style, but am also left always wanting a little bit more critical engagement with the subject, a little more of the more "academic" side.
My three criticisms for the book were that: one, at times it felt very much like a series of abridged biographies of architects of the past; two, the images really should have been integrated into the text, rather than appended at the end of each chapter; and finally, it could have used a concluding chapter that wraps things up a bit more tidily.
However, I appreciated the way that Graham categorized the built environment of the past two centuries into his seven thematic chapters. The "diagnostic guides" to each mode that he included were enjoyable and useful. However, they left me wishing that they had been incorporated into the main chapter text, as I often found myself struggling to imagine whatever new building he was describing.
Took some good notes, and I'm looking forward to now seeing and being able to note these modes of building out and about in the world.
May 6, 2016
Wade Graham discusses seven different ideas that have shaped urban planning/design in the past century and a half. Each chapter focuses on one idea, using one or two well-known architects or planner-intellectuals ground it. He shows the interaction between the world of ideas and the built environment and pays special attention to how architecture interacts with its social, environmental, and political context. The seven "ideas" are the following: the romantic city (Bertram Goodhue and castle-esque suburbs), the ordered city (Daniel Burnham and neoclassical civic buildings & monuments), the rational city (Le Corbusier, Robert Moses, and "slabs"), the anticity (Frank Lloyd Wright & ranch homes, Usonian homes, etc.), the self-organizing city (Jane Jacobs, Andes Duany, and the new urbanism), the shopping city (Vctor Gruen, Jon Jerde, and the mall), and the techno-ecological city (Kenzo Tange, Norman Foster, and various forms of bringing sustainability into contemporary architecture).
The book is well-written and engaging. However, I think it would have benefited from weaving photos within the chapters in order to better pair words with visuals (rather than lumping them at the end) and from including a conclusion. The last section's emphasis on sustainability does, in some respect, hint at where architecture needs to go in the coming decades, but Graham could have brought the wider themes of the book together and mused on what his *dream city* would be given current social, ecological, and economic realities.
The book is well-written and engaging. However, I think it would have benefited from weaving photos within the chapters in order to better pair words with visuals (rather than lumping them at the end) and from including a conclusion. The last section's emphasis on sustainability does, in some respect, hint at where architecture needs to go in the coming decades, but Graham could have brought the wider themes of the book together and mused on what his *dream city* would be given current social, ecological, and economic realities.
April 9, 2018
After reading this book, it seems amazing to try and understand modern human history without any familiarity with cities, urbanization and the development of the metropolis. In many ways, urbanization has been the driving force behind human progress over the last few centuries, since the Industrial Revolution.
There is no doubt much of contemporary human culture and social tradition is intertwined with the urban area. Cities have developed their own culture and lifestyle and much of that is based on the living arrangement within each city, i.e. the unique architectural blend of each city. For example, Singapore will not be Singapore without its HDB (Housing Development Board) estates. From its ‘coffee shop’ culture to its ‘New Town Centers’ the HDB estate is the cornerstone of a certain unique Singaporean lifestyle.
In order to help readers make sense of different styles, Wade Graham organizes his book by theme and in a loose chronological sense. Each chapter covers a basic architectural idea, e.g. Castles, Monuments, Malls, etc. For a non-architecture type like me, it appears these categories – at least to some extent – represent the thought of the author and may be controversial to others.
Undoubtedly, some architectural historians will dispute the categories and propagate their own different framework for the development of urban architectural styles.
The author’s deep knowledge of recent architectural designs comes out clearly in the book. Different architects are ‘humanized’ in the work through cross referencing the impact of their personal lives on their work. However, at times, perhaps due to the author’s deep knowledge, the book gets dry and difficult to read. Paragraphs extend into pages and laypersons like me get bored.
Wade Graham’s Dream Cities is a book any social thinker will benefit from reading. However, if I had started my journey into architectural history with an easier book I might have benefited from Graham’s analytical insights more. The importance of understanding urban geography in the modern world means this will likely not be my last book on the subject.
There is no doubt much of contemporary human culture and social tradition is intertwined with the urban area. Cities have developed their own culture and lifestyle and much of that is based on the living arrangement within each city, i.e. the unique architectural blend of each city. For example, Singapore will not be Singapore without its HDB (Housing Development Board) estates. From its ‘coffee shop’ culture to its ‘New Town Centers’ the HDB estate is the cornerstone of a certain unique Singaporean lifestyle.
In order to help readers make sense of different styles, Wade Graham organizes his book by theme and in a loose chronological sense. Each chapter covers a basic architectural idea, e.g. Castles, Monuments, Malls, etc. For a non-architecture type like me, it appears these categories – at least to some extent – represent the thought of the author and may be controversial to others.
Undoubtedly, some architectural historians will dispute the categories and propagate their own different framework for the development of urban architectural styles.
The author’s deep knowledge of recent architectural designs comes out clearly in the book. Different architects are ‘humanized’ in the work through cross referencing the impact of their personal lives on their work. However, at times, perhaps due to the author’s deep knowledge, the book gets dry and difficult to read. Paragraphs extend into pages and laypersons like me get bored.
Wade Graham’s Dream Cities is a book any social thinker will benefit from reading. However, if I had started my journey into architectural history with an easier book I might have benefited from Graham’s analytical insights more. The importance of understanding urban geography in the modern world means this will likely not be my last book on the subject.
December 10, 2018
Hmmm, I'm ambivalent about this book. Each of the seven dream cities was presented very well--if a bit drily--but what was missing was an overview tying together the various components. I feel like I understand the disparate concepts pretty well, but not how all of them affect my life today.
December 21, 2016
Nie tylko dla architektów. Ciekawie opisuje jak i dlaczego od końca XIX wieku do teraz zmieniały się koncepcje projektowania miast.
May 21, 2025
Pretty informative read, but not very beginner friendly. Came in expecting a sociological take on city planning but it eventually became a deep dive on architectural concepts that were alien to me with occassional forays into sociological implications. I agree with other reviewers that it would have helped the book mainly if the different architectural movements' characteristics and samples were placed at the start of the chapters
March 24, 2020
Da ich Bauingenieur bin, habe ich dieses Buch aus einer anderen Perspektive gelesen. Es gab sieben anderen Idee mit dem Baustil in letztler 200 Jahren. Jeder Zeitabschnitt hat ihnen Architekt und Bauingenieur, wer ihrer eigener Aufbaustil hat. Bis Heute bin ich mich nicht die Architekt aus dem Asien interresiert. Aber Kenzo Tange hat mich beeindruckt.
March 17, 2020
As an urbanist, not much new was written besides informative stories about the people that we know well. For someone who hasn't gone to school for this but is excited and interested in cities and urban history, this is a very good read for you.
February 16, 2023
would’ve enjoyed more if i knew anything ab urban planning. still interesting tho
July 25, 2024
3.5 ⭐️
Quelques longueurs qui rendent la lecture un peu moins agréable par moment.
Intéressant de comprendre l’historique qui a mené aux villes qu’on a aujourd’hui.
Quelques longueurs qui rendent la lecture un peu moins agréable par moment.
Intéressant de comprendre l’historique qui a mené aux villes qu’on a aujourd’hui.
December 8, 2024
very wordy when it's unnecessary and did have some fun fact and helped me learn it was just unbearable to read yapping about people's opinion on architecture
February 7, 2017
I am not an architect, thus I was unable to fully appreciate all the material. Learned many things though, some of which I indicated below.
These are my key takeaways (all spoilers)
1- Castles
Suburbs were meant to be out of the reach of the poor, the criminal and the immigrant. Llewelyn Park, New Jersey (13 miles from Manhattan) was the first, with a medieval-themed gatehouse.
2- Monuments
Chicago: the cost of a quarter acre in the city center jumped from $130,000 in 1880 to $900,000 in 1890 and $1 million in 1891.
Elevators were fist drawn by horses, from 1853 by steam-driven hydraulics and from 1889 by electric motors.
New Delhi: the 1912 lay out by Lutyens included an enormous tree-lined Kingsway, bounded by the enormous India Gate, Victory’s House and Parliament’s House. It looks like Washington DC, but with Indian motifs added per the request of George V, King of India.
“Bilbao effect”: single, highly visible building strategically placed with a transformative effect in that city's economic and perceived status
3-Slabs:
Tall buildings, usually modernist with minimal detailing, repetitive facades and windows and straight sides.
The United Nations in New York and Kalinin Prospekt in Moscow are examples.
Le Corbusier was born in Neuchatel, Switzerland and was the main author.
4-Homesteads
On April 15, 1935, President Roosevelt pressed his finger down on a gold telegraph key to launch a cascade of electric pulses north to New York City. Seconds later, 120 flashbulbs turned on at Rockefeller Center.
Homestead: Single family houses on land outside city centers, with pseudo rural qualities, no functional center, no mass transportation, completely car dependent
5-Corals
Neighborhood planning based on traditional walkable neighborhoods, with central streets for shopping and services.
Robert Moses was New York City’s “master builder” and an admirer of Le Corbusier. He planned a Lower Manhattan expressway, conducting the Holland tunnel on Manhattan lower West Side to the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, crossing the east river to Brooklyn, thereby providing a car corridor between New Jersey and Long Island. LOMEX would extend a thoroughfare through Washington Square Park, displacing 2,000 families and razing 8 churches, a police station and a park. The fight against it became a cause celebre galvanizing local residents. On November 18, 1958, a ceremonial ribbon was stretched across the road, not cut, symbolically protecting the Washington park. Moses didn't give up on the plan until 1969.
The solution of Boca Raton for Charleston Place was to label their streets as parking lots, because they weren't regulated as much, and to treat their parking lots as streets.
6-Malls
A collection of retail shops, restaurants, built around a pedestrian-style street environment.
1461, the Grand Bazaar opens in Istanbul
1784, Louis Philippe II, looking for sources of income, opened a renovated palace as shopping and entertainment complex, with shops, salons, cafes, galleries, theaters, bookshops, bars, brothels to stop in, and avenues, fountains and gardens to stroll in. This was the first integrated mall.
Malls offered increasing selection, low prices, customer service (free deliveries and returns)
Other noteworthy:
1852 London Paddington station
1850 King's Cross station
1849 Harrods in Hyde Park
1858 Macy's New York
7-Habitats
Expo 1967 in Montreal draws 50 million people when the population of Canada was 20 million.
Expo 1970 in Osaka: world’s first video phone and first IMAX movie. Cost $2.9 billion and got 64 million visitors
These are my key takeaways (all spoilers)
1- Castles
Suburbs were meant to be out of the reach of the poor, the criminal and the immigrant. Llewelyn Park, New Jersey (13 miles from Manhattan) was the first, with a medieval-themed gatehouse.
2- Monuments
Chicago: the cost of a quarter acre in the city center jumped from $130,000 in 1880 to $900,000 in 1890 and $1 million in 1891.
Elevators were fist drawn by horses, from 1853 by steam-driven hydraulics and from 1889 by electric motors.
New Delhi: the 1912 lay out by Lutyens included an enormous tree-lined Kingsway, bounded by the enormous India Gate, Victory’s House and Parliament’s House. It looks like Washington DC, but with Indian motifs added per the request of George V, King of India.
“Bilbao effect”: single, highly visible building strategically placed with a transformative effect in that city's economic and perceived status
3-Slabs:
Tall buildings, usually modernist with minimal detailing, repetitive facades and windows and straight sides.
The United Nations in New York and Kalinin Prospekt in Moscow are examples.
Le Corbusier was born in Neuchatel, Switzerland and was the main author.
4-Homesteads
On April 15, 1935, President Roosevelt pressed his finger down on a gold telegraph key to launch a cascade of electric pulses north to New York City. Seconds later, 120 flashbulbs turned on at Rockefeller Center.
Homestead: Single family houses on land outside city centers, with pseudo rural qualities, no functional center, no mass transportation, completely car dependent
5-Corals
Neighborhood planning based on traditional walkable neighborhoods, with central streets for shopping and services.
Robert Moses was New York City’s “master builder” and an admirer of Le Corbusier. He planned a Lower Manhattan expressway, conducting the Holland tunnel on Manhattan lower West Side to the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, crossing the east river to Brooklyn, thereby providing a car corridor between New Jersey and Long Island. LOMEX would extend a thoroughfare through Washington Square Park, displacing 2,000 families and razing 8 churches, a police station and a park. The fight against it became a cause celebre galvanizing local residents. On November 18, 1958, a ceremonial ribbon was stretched across the road, not cut, symbolically protecting the Washington park. Moses didn't give up on the plan until 1969.
The solution of Boca Raton for Charleston Place was to label their streets as parking lots, because they weren't regulated as much, and to treat their parking lots as streets.
6-Malls
A collection of retail shops, restaurants, built around a pedestrian-style street environment.
1461, the Grand Bazaar opens in Istanbul
1784, Louis Philippe II, looking for sources of income, opened a renovated palace as shopping and entertainment complex, with shops, salons, cafes, galleries, theaters, bookshops, bars, brothels to stop in, and avenues, fountains and gardens to stroll in. This was the first integrated mall.
Malls offered increasing selection, low prices, customer service (free deliveries and returns)
Other noteworthy:
1852 London Paddington station
1850 King's Cross station
1849 Harrods in Hyde Park
1858 Macy's New York
7-Habitats
Expo 1967 in Montreal draws 50 million people when the population of Canada was 20 million.
Expo 1970 in Osaka: world’s first video phone and first IMAX movie. Cost $2.9 billion and got 64 million visitors
August 12, 2021
This book was not what I expected, but it was interesting. It is as much a book about architects and architecture as it is a book about cities or “urban ideas.” The seven chapters in this book most often take the form of following a visionary whose ideas influenced their contemporaries and those who followed them. The context of what was actually happening in cities and what life was like for those in them plays a supporting role at best in most of these essays, and is often brought in just to contrast with the idea of the visionary figure.
However, as much as that focus on the groundbreaking architect and a few key peers wasn’t what I was hoping for or expecting, it did have the effect of revealing a pattern in the way cities are redesigned, razed, and essential pieces of them are swept away by towering figures who frequently did not respect or love the cities, and instead used them as a palate for imposing ideas about how we should live, or nostalgia, or some vision of the future unconnected to the present and those living in it. It is not always clear in Dream Cities how widespread the influence of these ideas was on real world architecture as opposed to the architects’ peers, but not because Graham neglects the subject entirely. It’s also worth noting that the author, Wade Graham, seems just as disenchanted with many of these figures as I was, though he’s discreet about that point.
One of the key takeaways I did not expect to get from this book was that no matter whether architects shared or did not share the love and interest I have in city life and what makes it feel vibrant, inspiring, and approachable, their attempts to use architecture to reach a better world ended up feeling, well, manufactured. It seems that it’s hard to design anything new and groundbreaking that doesn’t feel gimmicky or artificial in the long run. Case in point, malls, yes shopping malls, were an attempt to bring the vibrant community marketplace feeling of a big city into the sprawl of the suburbs. This brings me to one of the most profound points that Graham makes, which comes very early in the book - “The social problem doesn’t reside in things, but in unequal access to power, wealth, education, and resources. Better design will not save us from ourselves.” I think somewhere in that point is the book I was hoping to read.
However, as much as that focus on the groundbreaking architect and a few key peers wasn’t what I was hoping for or expecting, it did have the effect of revealing a pattern in the way cities are redesigned, razed, and essential pieces of them are swept away by towering figures who frequently did not respect or love the cities, and instead used them as a palate for imposing ideas about how we should live, or nostalgia, or some vision of the future unconnected to the present and those living in it. It is not always clear in Dream Cities how widespread the influence of these ideas was on real world architecture as opposed to the architects’ peers, but not because Graham neglects the subject entirely. It’s also worth noting that the author, Wade Graham, seems just as disenchanted with many of these figures as I was, though he’s discreet about that point.
One of the key takeaways I did not expect to get from this book was that no matter whether architects shared or did not share the love and interest I have in city life and what makes it feel vibrant, inspiring, and approachable, their attempts to use architecture to reach a better world ended up feeling, well, manufactured. It seems that it’s hard to design anything new and groundbreaking that doesn’t feel gimmicky or artificial in the long run. Case in point, malls, yes shopping malls, were an attempt to bring the vibrant community marketplace feeling of a big city into the sprawl of the suburbs. This brings me to one of the most profound points that Graham makes, which comes very early in the book - “The social problem doesn’t reside in things, but in unequal access to power, wealth, education, and resources. Better design will not save us from ourselves.” I think somewhere in that point is the book I was hoping to read.
March 26, 2019
I'm selling this one short with 4 stars, but only because it's not for everyone. I personally thought this book was interesting, informative, and unlike other books in all things urban planning. If you're an Urbanist, it's 5 stars, if you're not, it could have the feeling of being more philosophy than anything else.
The book looks at 7 concepts that shaped the field, and how it effects both modern architecture and planning, but spends a good deal of time (in a great way) on how this trend interacted with the culture. Le Corbusier features in many of the sections (Slabs, Malls, etc.) as does Jane Jacobs, but all within the context of how those social movements lead to one thing or another. Robert Moses, for all his clout, was featured in shockingly few sections.
This book is 50% architecture/planning, and the other 50% is a really interesting stew of history, culture, politics, and futurism. I mentioned the philosophy portion above and that should be considered when deciding whether to purchase the book. It has a Fine Arts feel. A philosopher's view of how humanity shapes the structures we build for ourselves. What you aren't going to find are things like the GHG reductions from rotaries, how investment was shifted by government fiat from multi-family buildings to single family detached homes, or anything on real demographics beyond urban-to-suburban migration. But all of those stats and data have "why"'s behind them. This book does an amazing job of not telling you the "Why," but showing it to you.
The book looks at 7 concepts that shaped the field, and how it effects both modern architecture and planning, but spends a good deal of time (in a great way) on how this trend interacted with the culture. Le Corbusier features in many of the sections (Slabs, Malls, etc.) as does Jane Jacobs, but all within the context of how those social movements lead to one thing or another. Robert Moses, for all his clout, was featured in shockingly few sections.
This book is 50% architecture/planning, and the other 50% is a really interesting stew of history, culture, politics, and futurism. I mentioned the philosophy portion above and that should be considered when deciding whether to purchase the book. It has a Fine Arts feel. A philosopher's view of how humanity shapes the structures we build for ourselves. What you aren't going to find are things like the GHG reductions from rotaries, how investment was shifted by government fiat from multi-family buildings to single family detached homes, or anything on real demographics beyond urban-to-suburban migration. But all of those stats and data have "why"'s behind them. This book does an amazing job of not telling you the "Why," but showing it to you.
August 27, 2024
I really enjoyed this book because of its explicit intent to dive into seven different, somewhat conflicting ideas on how the perfect city should look. It’s full of great visions and facts that really paint a picture of how modern cities have come to exist. I recommend this book to anyone interested in architecture, urban planning, sociology, or really just cities in general. Obviously, I found some chapters more entertaining than others, but overall the book was a great read.
I appreciate how Wade Graham follows the stories of one or a couple architects/planners to explain each of the seven core topics. It allows for a very analytical but also anecdotal and biographical approach to exploring each subject.
The only thing I would have wanted more from this book would have been a final conclusion chapter at the end to tie everything together. There are seven chapters in Dream Cities, each explaining a different idea. That mode of story is very compelling in and of itself, however, I would have appreciated a chapter at the end that synthesizes the themes and explicitly compares and contrasts the main ideas rather than leaving the reader to do so as they read through each chapter.
Overall, great book. It’s a great snapshot into some very important ideas and visions that have shaped our cities today.
I appreciate how Wade Graham follows the stories of one or a couple architects/planners to explain each of the seven core topics. It allows for a very analytical but also anecdotal and biographical approach to exploring each subject.
The only thing I would have wanted more from this book would have been a final conclusion chapter at the end to tie everything together. There are seven chapters in Dream Cities, each explaining a different idea. That mode of story is very compelling in and of itself, however, I would have appreciated a chapter at the end that synthesizes the themes and explicitly compares and contrasts the main ideas rather than leaving the reader to do so as they read through each chapter.
Overall, great book. It’s a great snapshot into some very important ideas and visions that have shaped our cities today.
December 6, 2017
A solid read about seven distinct visions for cities in the last 150 years or so. The moral? For the most part, our urbanists haven't actually liked cities as they actually exist, and have taken actions to destroy them in order to save them (see: Moses, Robert; see: interstate highways cutting through neighborhoods; see: urban renewal projects that feature removal). It may not be surprising that builders and planners tend to think they know best how built environments should be ordered, and desire absolute control over this (re)construction.
Importantly, we've often looked at challenges posed by urban areas and come to very wrong conclusions about how to fix them, so stay humble when considering what should be done now.
(As an aside, the idea of the shopping mall/commercial districts as potential modern-day communal gathering places interests me, particularly when considering what could be done to imbue suburban zones that feel soulless with a bit of life.)
NB: This is about the hundredth time I've seen Jane Jacobs & 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities' cited, and her quotes and insights were my favorite part of this book, so I reckon it's high time I track down her works.
Importantly, we've often looked at challenges posed by urban areas and come to very wrong conclusions about how to fix them, so stay humble when considering what should be done now.
(As an aside, the idea of the shopping mall/commercial districts as potential modern-day communal gathering places interests me, particularly when considering what could be done to imbue suburban zones that feel soulless with a bit of life.)
NB: This is about the hundredth time I've seen Jane Jacobs & 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities' cited, and her quotes and insights were my favorite part of this book, so I reckon it's high time I track down her works.
April 11, 2020
The book is an interesting read for those who are curious on how the urban environment we experience now came to be. This is recommended especially to those who live in global cities all over the world. It is filled with history on how cities from different countries are shaped and helped me understand and appreciate the process on how we reached the architecture and urban designs we experience right now. It is interesting to realize that one urban idea gave birth to another, probably as a response or as a reaction.
Although most of it is American-centric, it still gave insights on the conception of modern urban ideas alongside with the development of the country. It should be noted, however, that there are accounts from other countries as well.
I hope there’s a bit of a synthesis in the end collating the different ideas together. But overall, it’s a good read. It made me become curious on the next urban idea/s that are shaping the world right now, to continue the narrative of the book.
Although most of it is American-centric, it still gave insights on the conception of modern urban ideas alongside with the development of the country. It should be noted, however, that there are accounts from other countries as well.
I hope there’s a bit of a synthesis in the end collating the different ideas together. But overall, it’s a good read. It made me become curious on the next urban idea/s that are shaping the world right now, to continue the narrative of the book.
November 17, 2020
Книгу купила в 2018 году - понравилось название, тема (урбанизм - моя тема) и аннотация к книге.
Прочитала в 2020 году. Считаю, что книги должны полежать, время для каждой книги приходит свое.
что могу сказать о содержимом? Неоднозначно. Не знаю, в ком дело - то ли автор очень сложно пишет, то ли редактор на английском языке не выполнил до конца свою работу, то ли перевод на русский подкачал. Стиль изложения сложный, порой просто неудобоваримый. Часто в тексте переход от одной мысли и идеи к другой просто не просматривается, кажется, что одну тему за другой записали поочередно, без какой-либо нити повествования.
поэтому оценка низкая и не могу рекомендовать к прочтению.
Удивили некоторые пассажи автора, такие как "Гитлер когда-то хотел стать архитектором...." или "Иосиф Сталин был типичным провинциалом...". Довольно спорные моменты.
Название тем-глав не соответствуют содержимому.
При этом для неискушенного в данной теме читателю в целом будет полезно почитать.
Прочитала в 2020 году. Считаю, что книги должны полежать, время для каждой книги приходит свое.
что могу сказать о содержимом? Неоднозначно. Не знаю, в ком дело - то ли автор очень сложно пишет, то ли редактор на английском языке не выполнил до конца свою работу, то ли перевод на русский подкачал. Стиль изложения сложный, порой просто неудобоваримый. Часто в тексте переход от одной мысли и идеи к другой просто не просматривается, кажется, что одну тему за другой записали поочередно, без какой-либо нити повествования.
поэтому оценка низкая и не могу рекомендовать к прочтению.
Удивили некоторые пассажи автора, такие как "Гитлер когда-то хотел стать архитектором...." или "Иосиф Сталин был типичным провинциалом...". Довольно спорные моменты.
Название тем-глав не соответствуют содержимому.
При этом для неискушенного в данной теме читателю в целом будет полезно почитать.
December 29, 2019
I really liked this guy. It made me appreciate the depth of thought put into structures from colleges to homes to everything in between. I also thought it was really cool how what fired the architects up was what their designs reflected about how they think life should be lived. There was definitely some pendulum swinging like when malls got big, but then they went out of vogue. Taft, LBJ, and one other President that's escaping me at the moment were mentioned in the book. Love that connection. Basically, appreciate your cities! They were constructed with a lot of thought and energy. It makes me want to live in a tiny home which I learned I think is becoming more the thing because people got skeptical of modernism's obsession with the megastructures. There was a quote about how megastructure's are purely about ambition. I liked that. Great read!
August 16, 2024
Really well researched and written book. Really what made it 4 stars rather than 5 is that going into it I was under the impression that it was going to be a book on Urban Planning. While that certainly is a component, I’d say the book is equal parts Urban Planning, Architecture and History.
Again, it’s a really interesting book that I don’t regret reading. I enjoy Urban Planning and History, and I understand how Architecture has a role in telling those stories, but the parts where the author goes on and on describing what, in my opinion, are minimally important Architectural details, bore the hell out of me.
My only other complaint is the amount of names that are mentioned throughout is a bit overwhelming, and I found myself a few times having to go back and figure out who’s who.
Good read though! Learned a lot of interesting concepts!
Again, it’s a really interesting book that I don’t regret reading. I enjoy Urban Planning and History, and I understand how Architecture has a role in telling those stories, but the parts where the author goes on and on describing what, in my opinion, are minimally important Architectural details, bore the hell out of me.
My only other complaint is the amount of names that are mentioned throughout is a bit overwhelming, and I found myself a few times having to go back and figure out who’s who.
Good read though! Learned a lot of interesting concepts!
September 3, 2022
(3.5 stars, rounded down) — Dream Cities is a sort of -001 level, survey course of the modern history of architectural philosophy and their varying impacts on the world. I learned a lot of tidbits about different buildings, neighborhoods, and cities, ranging from Washington Square in New York to Washington, DC, from Japan to Montreal and more. It’s full of great details, but intentionally mostly devoid of (to its detriment in my opinion) insight or analysis as to each philosophy’s merits and dangers.
I definitely need to read The Power Broker to better understand Robert Moses after the portions about him in this book, though…
I definitely need to read The Power Broker to better understand Robert Moses after the portions about him in this book, though…
March 19, 2020
Interesting read for lovers of cities and architecture. The book covers 7 big themes that have shaped architecture and the way we think about creating reality with physical spaces. Each chapter covers a different architect and the movements they inspired, for example Le Corbusier and Urban Renewal or Frank Lloyd Wright and LA-style suburban sprawl. It's a fun read even for those who are not deeply familiar with architecture as it helps put into context ideas that have shaped the physical landscape of America. Ultimately it's a good reminder that we build with intent, and the physical environment influences human outcomes and shapes behavior.
February 19, 2021
A very informative and well-organized collection of concepts that have radically shaped our modern cities, but I only recommend for those who already have an interest in architecture/planning/urbanism. If you have yet to really get into the subject, this may not be the best primer. Tends to focus on individuals or groups who championed each concept, so there are a lot of names to (try to) remember. I would consider it a good architectural and planning overview of the 19th and 20th centuries and do recommend for someone already fairly knowledgable with architecture.
December 16, 2022
I got over halfway through this book which I am taking as a win, seeing as from the outset this should be a book not for the light hearted type of reading but as a reference book to those studying the different types of architectural processes. While it was informative and full of information I otherwise would not have known, the writing style was dry and I would have to force myself to sit there and read it. Getting to page 166/270 something is therefore a completion of my education in this realm of knowledge.
August 8, 2020
Good introduction to various urban ideas that have shaped the world. Quite an easy read, very self-explanatory. Wade covers the “greats” such as Jane Jacobs and Le Corbu, which to be honest were not as fascinating to read as their stories are wellknown in terms of the history of urban planning, but especially the chapters about the Techno-Eco city seem more relevant than ever, thus definitely worth the read.
Read
October 9, 2023DNF like 60 pages in. I guess I thought it was going to be about different city structures and how they impact the lives of those living in them, but it ended up being about the key architects that championed various city structures (their life stories, works that inspired them, etc). there was a lot of architectural name dropping as well, both architects themselves and architectural works. it just wasn't the book for me lol
July 24, 2025
Having little background in architecture and urban planning I found this to be a deeply enjoyable exploration into some of the major movements, philosophies, and innovators who have shaped the spaces in which we live. Intriguing to see the sorts of technological idealism that have caused so much damage to our planet and ways of living. Would have appreciated more pictures throughout, at times it was difficult to visualize certain buildings or diagrams.
Read
December 7, 2025As a life-long inhabitant (& appreciator) of a soviet "slab" I liked the third chapter
but
somehow I've expected it to be less... American? Western?.. Not sure how to rate it, since it wasn't what I wanted out of a city planning book but I think a Western reader would probably be more receptive/understanding — most of the types of the architecture are nothing I've an experience with. Probably because I live in a small city (I did not see a western-style mall until the mid 2010s lol).
but
somehow I've expected it to be less... American? Western?.. Not sure how to rate it, since it wasn't what I wanted out of a city planning book but I think a Western reader would probably be more receptive/understanding — most of the types of the architecture are nothing I've an experience with. Probably because I live in a small city (I did not see a western-style mall until the mid 2010s lol).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2017
I liked chapters about XX-th modernist blocks, anti-city from F.L.Wright, traditional city from Jane Jacobs and modern shopping malls. Sometimes this book is more about architecture, architects and their ideas. First two chapters can be boring, especially when XIX-th century architecture is not in your point of interest.Still it is worth to read.
February 13, 2017
An interesting tour of modern city design influences by looking at architects and the architectural ideas that they've espoused. I found it mixed-- some chapters focused too much on dates and conferences and charters and less on the underlying ideas, which weakened their impact on me (a personal preference), making the overall book a little dry for my taste. But I am a layman.
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