Variations on a theme park : the new American city and the end of public space / Michael Sorkin, editor.

Contributor(s):

Sorkin, Michael, 1948-

Material type: Text

TextPublication details: New York : Hill and Wang, 1992.Edition: 1st edDescription: xv, 252 p. : ill. ; 24 cmISBN:

0809096072
0374523142 (pbk.)

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

307.760973

Summary: "America's cities are being rapidly transformed by a sinister and homogenous design. A new kind of urbanism-manipulative, dispersed, and hostile to traditional public space-is emerging both at the heart and at the edge of town in megamalls, corporate enclaves, gentrified zones, and pseudo-historic marketplaces. If anything can be described as a paradigm for these places, it's the theme park, an apparently benign environment in which all is structured to achieve maximum control and in which the idea of authentic interaction among citizens has been thoroughly purged. In this bold collection, eight of our leading urbanists and architectural critics explore the emblematic sites of this new cityscape-from Silicon Valley to Epcot Center, South Street Seaport to downtown Los Angeles-and reveal their disturbing implications for American public life."--

Holdings ( 1 )
Title notes ( 2 )

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds	Course reserves
Reserve - Overnight loan	CYA Library Reserve	307.760973 VAR (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		00000007683		Vidali, Maria

Total holds: 0

Includes bibliographical references (p. [233]-249).

"America's cities are being rapidly transformed by a sinister and homogenous design. A new kind of urbanism-manipulative, dispersed, and hostile to traditional public space-is emerging both at the heart and at the edge of town in megamalls, corporate enclaves, gentrified zones, and pseudo-historic marketplaces. If anything can be described as a paradigm for these places, it's the theme park, an apparently benign environment in which all is structured to achieve maximum control and in which the idea of authentic interaction among citizens has been thoroughly purged. In this bold collection, eight of our leading urbanists and architectural critics explore the emblematic sites of this new cityscape-from Silicon Valley to Epcot Center, South Street Seaport to downtown Los Angeles-and reveal their disturbing implications for American public life."--