Civilizing American cities : writings on city landscapes

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Bibliographic Information

Civilizing American cities : writings on city landscapes

Frederick Law Olmsted ; edited by S.B. Sutton

Da Capo Press, 1997

1st Da Capo Press ed.

Available at  / 11 libraries

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Note

Originally published: Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, 1971

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) designed New York City's Central Park, Brooklyn's Prospect Park, Chicago's South Park and Jackson Park, Montreal's Mount Royal Park, the park systems of Boston and Buffalo, and many others. But Olmsted also designed parkways and neighbourhoods, reshaping cities around their parks. He thus reinvented the American urban landscape as a democratic outdoor setting that encouraged a new kind of participation in city life. Olmsted was one of the most gifted of American writers of his generation: prior to designing Central Park, he had written five important books, including The Cotton Kingdom (an account of his travels in the slave states), and his writings on American landscapes are unfailingly lively, eloquent, and passionate. Civilizing American Cities collects Olmsted's plans for New York, San Francisco, Buffalo, Montreal, Chicago, and Boston his suburban plans for Berkeley, California and Riverside, Illinois and a generous helping of his writings on urban landscape in general. These selections, expertly edited and introduced, are not only enjoyable but essential reading for anyone interested in the history,and the future,of America's cities.

Table of Contents

* Introduction by S. B. Sutton Expanding Cities: Random versus Organized Growth * The Structure of Cities: A Historical View * The Misfortunes of New York * Public Parks and the Enlargement of Towns City Parks and Improved Use of Metropolitan Spaces * San Francisco, 1866: A City in Search of Identity * Buffalo: A Lakeshore Park and Pleasing Parkways * Chicago: Taming the Waterfront * Montreal: A Mountaintop Park and Some Thoughts on Art and Nature * Boston: Parks and Parkwaysa Green Ribbon Suburban Solutions * Berkeley: A University Community * Riverside, Illinois: A Planned Community near Chicago

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