Community Design and the Culture of Cities

In response to a perceived failure of most community-scale plans, the author presents his own vision for community design, geared toward urban planners and designers, as well as those concerned with communities of the future. Having perceived a widespread failure of most community-scale plans, Eduardo Lozano has created a large and humane vision for community design, geared towards urban planners and designers, as well as those concerned with the communities of the future. Lozano strives to unify theory and practice, seeing that design at community scale is a relatively new responsibility for professionals and seeing the need for an awareness of the systemic nature of urban design. He also highlights relevant lessons from historical examples in order to rediscover the community design métier forgotten after the Industrial Revolution. The author relies on interdisciplinary studies, drawing from biology, ecology, and political science, as well as from history for his fascinating study. Throughout the book there is an emphasis on the interrelationship of design and culture-society, technology, institutions, and values. There is also a stress on the need for an agenda for political and cultural change. The audience for Community Design and the Culture of Cities goes beyond designers and planners to include urban sociologists, anthropologists, historians, and political scientists.