Designing Utopia: John Ruskin's Urban Vision for Britain and AmericaAlthough his name is not one that springs to mind when the public thinks of influential urban planners and designers, John ruskin was undoubtedly a most important influence. Art critic, social reformer, giant of English literature, his prodigious output of books, pamphlets and lectures, as well as his efforts at practical reform, established his tremendous reputation in Britain and America. More than providing a vision statement, he challenged artists, architects and town planners to collaborate on developing prototypes of his vision. To a remarkable extent they succeeded in doing so and thereby created a legacy of good community design that this book highlights. Designing Utopia presents a broad overview of John Ruskin's life: the development of his views on architecture and urban design, as well as his views on social justice; how his vision was developed in his writings; his efforts at practical application of that vision, in particular his efforts to build a guild based society. Finally the book analyses how Ruskin's urban vision influenced the work of a long line of progressive architects and planners and the buildings and communities they designed modern urban designers such as Lewis Mumford, Patrick Geddes, Ebenezer Howard. The work of these figures are then related to current practitioners of the New Urbanism such as Duaney and Plater-Zyberk. |
From inside the book
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Page 42
... human dimension that he was constantly emphasizing . For Ruskin , planning was an organic part of all human endeavor that emerged from mankind's healthy social relationships within nature rather than a purely rational or scientific ...
... human dimension that he was constantly emphasizing . For Ruskin , planning was an organic part of all human endeavor that emerged from mankind's healthy social relationships within nature rather than a purely rational or scientific ...
Page 68
... human values of the society that nurtured the artist ; 2. That art and beauty can only be obtained when individual craftsmen work freely in association with one another following no artistic fashion , but their hearts , minds and ...
... human values of the society that nurtured the artist ; 2. That art and beauty can only be obtained when individual craftsmen work freely in association with one another following no artistic fashion , but their hearts , minds and ...
Page 188
... Human Development and The Pentagon of Power . Mumford , like Ruskin , was not a Luddite . He wrote not as a hater of technology , but as someone who passionately believed people must take control of technology and he expressed his ...
... Human Development and The Pentagon of Power . Mumford , like Ruskin , was not a Luddite . He wrote not as a hater of technology , but as someone who passionately believed people must take control of technology and he expressed his ...
Contents
The Development Of A Visionary | 3 |
Ruskins Urban Vision | 19 |
Ruskins Efforts At Practical Town Planning | 48 |
Copyright | |
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Designing Utopia: John Ruskin's Urban Vision for Britain and America Michael H. Lang No preview available - 1999 |
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