Any recommendations for [#urbanplanning](https://sfba.social/tags/urbanplanning) books for smart, interested 15-year-old? / [@notjustbikes](https://social.notjustbikes.com/@notjustbikes) [@fuckcars](h
It’s been a while since I read it, but I seem to recall it dramatically leveling up my understanding of what cities were for, and therefor how to think about planning 5rm.
@peterme@notjustbikes@fuckcars Mumford’s City In History, Mike Davis’s City of Quartz (with Chinatown showing…?) - also Geoffrey West’s Scale, and Witold Rybczynski’s City Life.
Add: Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design by Charles Montgomery; Walkable City by Jeff Speck; and Cities: The First 6,000 Years by Monica L. Smith.
@peterme@notjustbikes@fuckcars Thinking of books that can set a foundation. Jane Jacobs is good and would likely be good for a 15 year old, but I always think of her work as an incredibly good counter weight, but not a starting place.
Understanding scale, how cities work, the why of cities, and the impact of cities on their people I think of as good foundations.
19 Comments
cerement@slrpnk.net · 4 pts · 2y
thisisaaronland@orthis.social · 3 pts · 2y
peterme@sfba.social · 1 pts · 2y
@thisisaaronland @peterme @notjustbikes @fuckcars remember he’s 15
thisisaaronland@orthis.social · 1 pts · 2y
@peterme @notjustbikes @fuckcars I am inclined to say that is the perfect age for all these things!
lkanies@hachyderm.io · 3 pts · 2y
@peterme @notjustbikes @fuckcars Planet of Cities was good:
https://www.lincolninst.edu/publications/books/planet-cities
It’s been a while since I read it, but I seem to recall it dramatically leveling up my understanding of what cities were for, and therefor how to think about planning 5rm.
I also recommend Four Lost Cities:
https://wwnorton.com/books/four-lost-cities
More history than planning, but you learn a lot about people through these old dead cities.
Mojoe@mastodon.world · 2 pts · 2y
@peterme @notjustbikes @fuckcars Mumford’s City In History, Mike Davis’s City of Quartz (with Chinatown showing…?) - also Geoffrey West’s Scale, and Witold Rybczynski’s City Life.
jimfl@hachyderm.io · 2 pts · 2y
migurski@mastodon.social · 2 pts · 2y
@peterme @notjustbikes @fuckcars
Roads Were Not Built For Cars
City (David Macaulay)
City And The City (Miéville)
derpoltergeist@col.social · 1 pts · 2y
peterme@sfba.social · 1 pts · 2y
@derpoltergeist @migurski @notjustbikes @fuckcars I love that book.
migurski@mastodon.social · 1 pts · 2y
@peterme @derpoltergeist @notjustbikes @fuckcars Nicholas de Monchaux called it required reading for anyone even tangentially connected to geography
peterme@sfba.social · 1 pts · 2y
@migurski @derpoltergeist @notjustbikes @fuckcars his SPACESUIT: FASHIONING APOLLO is excellent.
I'm bummed he left Berkeley to work at MIT.
migurski@mastodon.social · 1 pts · 2y
@peterme @derpoltergeist @notjustbikes @fuckcars Yeah, same, was great having him here in the community. I still need to read the book though.
peterme@sfba.social · 1 pts · 2y
@migurski @peterme @notjustbikes @fuckcars ooh Macaulay
migurski@mastodon.social · 1 pts · 2y
@peterme @notjustbikes @fuckcars Best to get them thinking about Ancient Rome early and often
peterme@sfba.social · 1 pts · 2y
@migurski @notjustbikes @fuckcars it's what men do!
migurski@mastodon.social · 1 pts · 2y
@peterme @notjustbikes @fuckcars Since ancient times
vanderwal@mastodon.social · 1 pts · 2y
@peterme @notjustbikes @fuckcars I’ll echo Rybczynski’s City Life.
Add: Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design by Charles Montgomery; Walkable City by Jeff Speck; and Cities: The First 6,000 Years by Monica L. Smith.
The last mention is a rather good overview
vanderwal@mastodon.social · 1 pts · 2y
@peterme @notjustbikes @fuckcars Thinking of books that can set a foundation. Jane Jacobs is good and would likely be good for a 15 year old, but I always think of her work as an incredibly good counter weight, but not a starting place.
Understanding scale, how cities work, the why of cities, and the impact of cities on their people I think of as good foundations.
jarango@mastodon.social · 1 pts · 2y
@peterme @notjustbikes @fuckcars Jane Jacobs’s “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”
jarango@mastodon.social · 1 pts · 2y
@peterme @notjustbikes @fuckcars the documentary CITIZEN JANE could be a good intro before reading the book.
mrialena@mastodon.social · 0 pts · 2y
@peterme @notjustbikes @fuckcars
I'm far from 15, but I've enjoyed what I've read of Happy City.
https://happycities.com/the-book