Product Description

This powerful reference features one hundred famous urban plans all drawn to the same scale, each accompanied by a one-page summary of the site discussing its history, design and lessons for future urban design.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62128 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 228 pages

From the Back Cover

How big is Moscow’s Red Square in comparison to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square?

Why are there fewer public squares in Japan than in Italy?

What lessons might be found in the plan of Savannah, Georgia?

To Scale is a collection of plans of urban spaces drawn at the same scale to help answer these and other questions by providing a single and accurate resource of urban plans for architects, urban designers, planners and teachers and students in these fields.

The book contains one hundred figure-ground plans from seventy-eight cities from around the world, describing an identical area (half a kilometer square) for each urban space. Accompanying each plan are photographs, diagrams and text that illustrate essential aspects of the plan or urban space for the designer. Rather than purely historical description, the text attempts to explore those lessons that might be found in the urban condition. This compilation is an excellent resource helping to visualize, compare and reconceptualize urban design for those wanting to understand the lessons of existing cities and the making of urban spaces.

About the Author

Eric J. Jenkins is Associate Professor in the School of Architecture and Planning at the Catholic University of America, Washington DC, where he teaches design, analytical sketching and research methodologies.