The City Assembled: The Elements of Urban Form Through History

The City Assembled is a history of the elements of cities: streets, public places, urban divisions (religious, political, and social), and the frontiers of city and countryside. Kostof follows the evolution of city components to modern times. He discusses "urban process": the effect on cities of natural disasters like the Great Fire of London and the Lisbon earthquake, war, and comprehensive redevelopment, compared with traditional patterns of growth and change. The current recovery from modernist extremes has made us look again at what we treasure in traditional urban life, and how we can recharge the old forms with contemporary common sense. Over 300 drawings, prints, paintings, and photographs help to tell the story, illustrating both patterns and uses, from the colonnaded streets of ancient Palmyra to gentrified London squares. A fitting testament to the wide-ranging intellect of Professor Kostof, The City Assembled is at once an exercise in architectural and social history, a case study for the present, and a pointer for the future. 346 illustrations, 40 in color.