The corporate downtown, with its multitude of social dilemmas and contradictions, is the focus of this well-illustrated volume. How are downtown projects conceived, scripted, produced, packaged, and used, and how has all this changed during the twentieth century? The authors of Urban Design Downtown offer a critical appraisal of the emerging appearance of downtown urban form. They explore both the poetics of design and the politics and economics of development decisions.
Following a historical review of the various phases of downtown transformation, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris and Tridib Banerjee turn to contemporary American downtowns. They examine the phenomenon of public-space privatization, arguing that corporate open spaces are the consumer-oriented result of policies that have promoted downtown renovation and restructuring but at the same time have neglected the cities' existing poverty-stricken cores.
The book's case studies of individual West Coast downtown projects capture the essence of late twentieth-century urbanism. This analysis of downtown urban America, which offers extensive insight into the design and development process, will interest architects, city planners, developers, and urban designers everywhere.
Urban Design Downtown Poetics and Politics of Form
About the Book
Reviews
"Insightful and a delight to read, the book should be read by city officials, land developers, and anyone involved or merely interested in the evolution and design of urban form and space."—Richard T. Lai, Arizona State UniversityTable of Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The New Downtown
PART ONE: THE EVOLUTION OF DOWNTOWN FORM
1.The Changing Face of Downtown
2.Models of Downtown Design
3.Corporate Production of Downtown Space
PART TWO: THE POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENT
4.The Politics of Place Making
5.The Two Faces of Downtown
Public Life and Space in Transition
PART THREE:THE POETICS OF FORM
7.The Poetics of Corporate Open Spaces
8.One Percent Aesthetics
9. Theming and Stage Setting: The Story of Production and Promotion
10. Postmodern Urban Form
Epilogue: Challenges for Downtown Urban Design
Notes
Bibliography
Index