Product Description

In this radical new look at the theory and practice of urban design, Christopher Alexander asks why our modern cities so often lack a sense of natural growth, and suggests a set of rules and guidelines by which we can inject that `organic' character back into our High Streets, buildings, and squares. At a time when so many of Britain's inner cities are undergoing, or are in need of, drastic renovation, Christopher Alexander's detailed account of his own experiments in urban-renewal in San Francisco makes thought-provoking reading.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #882178 in Books
• Published on: 1988-02-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

About the Author
Christopher Alexander is Professor of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and Director of the Center for Environmental Structure

Customer Reviews

brill...... to good,


This book is helping to discover new ideas for urban design and the Gaps in the Social construct of towns and cities like that in the south west of England.
As Plymouth has potential but has not succeeded in delivering it to the Local region in the south west this potential has never been realized, due to the various difficult economic implications and that of the reduction of naval activities, that it once boosted about.

The city centre as centralized as it can be has developed into what it is now, the "Skin deep" post war construction of existing buildings, leaving little for people in the area to develop their own sence of connection with the city.
Yet various places like the Barbican can help in rediscovering the centers aims, this given example has that "organicness" the book relates to and that the book illustrates and identifies with.

As a student the future plan for Plymouth is a very ambitious but achievable asset to the region. The plans that have been layed out are the waterfront developmental aspects, which could rival any waterfront development in the world.

Yet the project is going to count of billions of pounds being spent in the next 10 years. Yet if the city centre has not been able to achieve a vibrant community then it will have not result even if the big plans a developed by the seas edge. This book identifies San Francisco, I on the other hand identify with the V and A Waterfront South Africa and the urban success stories that all waterfronts can have on urban design.

S.M. Hart 02/2009

Not the Real future of Urban Design
I will give credit to the authors that they approached this as a purely academic exercise and present it as such, but as with all research into architectural theory, the isolation of relevant points is often a detriment to a proper understanding of the final result.

The basic theory presented in the book is about the coherent creation of a "whole" in a city. This whole is difficult to describe, it is an inherent feeling that a city projects, indeed it is almost a style, a feeling that the city exists as an entity in itself, and thoughts of any part of the city at any scale also relate directly to any other part of the city and as a whole.

The authors then try to lay down rules that will help create this feeling of wholeness through individual projects.

These rules appear to create a very specific type of urban space, while very coherent; it is also very restrictive in scope.

A good reference book for the concept of city wide unity, don't expect a startling revelation about the future of urban design.