This introduction to the field of urban design offers a comprehensive survey of the processes necessary to implement urban design work, explaining the vocabulary, the rules, the tools, the structures, and the resources in clear and accessible style. Providing a comprehensive framework for understanding urban design principles and strategies, the author argues that urban design is both a process and a collaboration in which the different forces involved are knit together. Moving from the regional scale down to the scale of places, the book examines the goals and strategies of the urban designer from the viewpoints of the private sector, public sector, and community. The text is illustrated throughout with photographs and drawings that make theory and practice relevant and alive.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“This book is a distillation of what Dobbins has learned in the course of his career, aims to help readers – students, teachers, practitioners and everyday citizens – seize urban design’s full potential…the content which ranges from historical observations to current advice, public-spirited philosophizing, and nitty-gritty discussions of the physical, economic, social, and organizational aspects of planning – should prove useful to serious students of public-sector urban design.” (New Urban News, Oct/Nov 2009)
From the Back Cover
“Urban Design and People presents an important and critical investigation of people’s roles in creating and using their environments. It is a long-awaited guide for students and citizens to engage designers as partners in creating community.” —William Gilchrist, FAIA
The People, processes, and strategies that make good urban design happen
Based on author Michael Dobbins’s forty years of practice and teaching in urban design and planning, this text offers an insider’s perspective on the day-to-day work of an urban designer. Readers gain a solid foundation in urban design theory, as well as commonsense design strategies and practices that work. The author’s straightforward, accessible explanations coupled with plenty of photographs and drawings make everything in the text easy to understand and easy to put into practice.
Starting from the premise that urban designers must understand and work with all of the different forces involved in planning, designing, and developing urban environments, the book sets forth a comprehensive framework for urban design principles and strategies. Throughout the text, therefore, the author keeps readers focused on the importance of three key processes that are essential for effective urban design:
Actively engaging the community in design and development decisions
Considering the interests of all parties involved in regulating, building, and using urban spaces
Coordinating all the disciplines responsible for designing public places, including city planning, architecture, civil engineering, and landscape architecture
With its hands-on, how-to advice, this text enables students and professionals in urban design, as well as community members, to effectively and fully participate in designing urban environments.
About the Author
MICHAEL DOBBINS, FAIA, AICP, an architect, city planner, and former Atlanta Commissioner of Planning and Development, is a Professor of Practice in the Architecture and City and Regional Planning programs in the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech. Mr. Dobbins also serves as urban design and development advisor to various organizations and agencies.
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