Best of
Urbanism

1992

Systems of Survival: A Dialogue on the Moral Foundations of Commerce and Politics


Jane Jacobs - 1992
    The author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities looks at business fraud and criminal enterprise, overextended government farm subsidies and zealous transit police, to show what happens when the moral systems of commerce collide with those of politics.

Rhythmanalysis: Space, Time and Everyday Life


Henri Lefebvre - 1992
    In the analysis of rhythms -- both biological and social -- Lefebvre shows the interrelation of space and time in the understanding of everyday life.With dazzling skills, Lefebvre moves between discussions of music, the commodity, measurement, the media and the city. In doing so he shows how a non-linear conception of time and history balanced his famous rethinking of the question of space. This volume also includes his earlier essays on "The Rhythmanalysis Project" and "Attempt at the Rhythmanalysis of Mediterranean Towns.">

The Buried Past: An Archaeological History of Philadelphia


John L. Cotter - 1992
    Based on more than thirty years of intensive archaeological investigations in the greater Philadelphia area, this study contains the first record of many nationally important sites linking archaeological evidence to historical documentation, including Interdependence and Valley Forge National Historical Parks. It provides an archaeological tour through the houses and life-ways of both the great figures and the common people. It reveals how people dined, what vessels and dishes they used, and what their trinkets (and secret sins) were.

The See-Through Years: Creation and Destruction in Texas Architecture and Real Estate, 1981-1991


Joel Warren Barna - 1992
    In the early years of the '80s Texas cities sprouted new skylines that showed off the stylistic explorations of some of the country's leading designers. By the end of the decade scores of new projects stood vacant. They were see-through buildings, towering symbols of the collapsing economy of a state that had for a time seemed to embody the nation's vitality. Once a promising architectural laboratory, the landscape had become a study in blighted expectations. Joel Barna incisively reveals the links between architecture, economics, and contemporary American beliefs. Interweaving his analysis with more than 120 black-and-white photographs and 50 drawings, he scrutinizes the RepublicBank Center in Houston, the Allied Bank Tower in Dallas, the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, and many other structures. Texas's architecture and urban growth not only form a physical record of the boom and bust of the decade; they point beyond the borders of the state to trends and developments that will affect the country into the next century. This is a book not just about Texas, but about our future.