The City as a Project

The city is often depicted as a sort of self-organizing chaos. This collection of essays ; edited by Pier Vittorio Aureli ; makes the case for the opposite hypothesis: The city is always the result of political intention ; often in the form of specific architectural projects. Cities are shaped not only by material forces ; but also by cultural and didactic visions. This thesis is substantiated by eight thoroughly researched essays scrutinizing a fascinating line-up of urban conditions across more than two thousands years of history: from the political theology of the Islamic city to the political economy of Renaissance architecture ; from the rise of public architecture in 17th-century France to the laissez-faire development of the contemporary Greek city ; from the exemplary teachings of Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand to the collaborative work of Hannes Meyer ; and from the plan of the Mesoamerican metropolis to that of the Fordist factory floor. In challenging the split between theory and practice ; The City as a Project reveals the powerful ways in which the city arises from the constant interaction between ideas and spatial conditions.