Great Public Squares: An Architect's Selection

Forty outstanding urban spaces of the Western world, analyzed and drawn at a common scale for easy comparison.

From the storied piazzas of Rome, Venice, and Florence to the elegant places of Paris via less familiar gathering places in Germany, the Czech Republic, Spain, and Portugal, to the former marketplaces and graceful Georgian-style squares of the United Kingdom, to the most interesting and impressive squares of the New World―Santa Fe, Portland, Boston, and New York―architect Robert Gatje offers new insights, stunning computer-generated plans, and color photographs to convey the spatial experience, supplemented by a brief history of each square and measurements to assess their success in meeting human needs for inspiring outdoor space. There is no other source for this comparative data in one place. 35 color plans; 300 color photos