Following in the footsteps of 19th-century urban reformer Jacob Riis, the author, through the power of photography, reveals the destitution and vulgarities of urban decay. Chicago; Newark, New Jersey; New York; Detroit; Los Angeles; and several other cities are the backdrops for his 400 photographs. Vergara focuses on the physical environment, showing the transformation of particular sites over time. His tour of dilapidated neighborhoods and crumbling downtowns is visually startling. Vergara lays bare the direction of a new urbanness that strips the grandeur from its fabric and lays waste to the cityscape, pointing out that while we have wasted cities, many of the ruins are magnificent. An invaluable resource for urban studies and architecture collections.

    In Visual Thinking for Architects and Designers, Ron Kasprisin and James Pettinari unveil a solution to designing for the complex urban landscape: visual thinking. A concept twenty-five years in the making, this integrative approach will help harried professionals prevent environmental disasters. The authors present three-dimensional drawing (visual thinking) as a communication and decision-making tool to be used during the design and planning process. Because architects, landscape architects, and urban designers often work independently, on different scales, and at different interludes, no one can truly envision the completed project. Visual thinking is a way of getting input from every member of the team. Here, you'll learn how to use graphics, whether hand-drawn or computer-generated, as a language to express complex systems, interrelationships, and environments. Using over 300 high quality drawings that are connected at many different scales--from aerial perspectives of entire regions to individual rooms and buildings--this groundbreaking book lays out an urban design process and methodology in a sequential and easily understood manner. The book is illustrated by the authors' own work, which has been recognized in national design competitions, and by the AIA, APA, and NEA. The authors masterfully cover the use of drawing to analyze and create spaces, drawing technique, and communicating complex information to the public. Case studies convincingly illustrate the authors' approach. Just a few of the areas covered include: Short-cut skill development for professionals and students Transit-related development Visioning methods in public involvement Time and space patterning in context More than a book on drawing, this urban design guidebook is a tool for communicating and creating. Whether you're an architect, landscape architect, urban designer, or city planner, once you've read Visual Thinking for Architects and Designers, you'll wonder why people haven't been working this way all along.

    Targeted at architects, students, urban designers and planners, landscape architects, and city and regional officials, The Fractured Metropolis provides a thorough analysis of not only cities but also the entire metropolitan region, considering how both are intrinsically linked and influence one other.

    Against this is set an alternative history of ecological values informing proven approaches to urban design which work with^n nature in the city.