Ranging over 2,500 years, Cities in Civilization is a tribute to the city as the birthplace of Western civilization. Drawing on the contributions of economists and geographers, of cultural, technological, and social historians, Sir Peter Hall examines twenty-one cities at their greatest moments. Hall describes the achievements of these golden ages and outlines the precise combinations of forces -- both universal and local -- that led to each city's belle epoque.
Hall identifies four distinct expressions of civic innovation: artistic growth, technological progress, the marriage of culture and technology, and solutions to evolving problems. Descriptions of Periclean Athens, Renaissance Florence, Elizabethan London, and nineteenth-century Vienna bring to life those seedbeds of artistic and intellectual creativity. Explorations of Manchester during the Industrial Revolution, of Henry Ford's Detroit, and of Palo Alto at the dawn of the computer age highlight centers of technological advances. Tales of the creation of Los Angeles' movie industry and the birth of the blues and rock 'n' roll in Memphis depict the marriage of culture and technology.
Finally, Hall celebrates cities that have been forced to solve problems created by their very size. With Imperial Rome came the apartment block and aqueduct; nineteenth-century London introduced policing, prisons, and sewers; twentieth-century New York developed the skyscraper; and Los Angeles became the first city without a center, a city ruled instead by the car. And in a fascinating conclusion, Hall speculates on urban creativity in the twenty-first century.
This penetrating study reveals not only the lives of cities but also the lives of the people who built them and created the civilizations within them. A decade in the making, Cities in Civilization is the definitive account of the culture of cities.
0 有用 九品社会行走 2012-10-26 18:09:27
本师门御用宝书之一,历届学生都把它翻译了好几遍了吧,可是我看了记不住啊记不住,为毛啊,我怎么能记不住史实呢!!!
0 有用 emily 2016-01-01 23:02:34
翻了翻
0 有用 Yiiiiiii 2019-03-05 20:15:40
这本书应该改名作Cities in Western Civilization更恰当些,毕竟它援引的例子除了东京以外全部是西方城市(典型的西方学者看世界的方式)。另外作者对于Great City的定义比较含糊,根据内容来看,似乎就是在艺术,科技和文化上创新的城市。作者回避了一个重要的问题:Great City for whom? 这本书里推动城市创新的无外乎都是中产阶级(bourgeoisie),拿... 这本书应该改名作Cities in Western Civilization更恰当些,毕竟它援引的例子除了东京以外全部是西方城市(典型的西方学者看世界的方式)。另外作者对于Great City的定义比较含糊,根据内容来看,似乎就是在艺术,科技和文化上创新的城市。作者回避了一个重要的问题:Great City for whom? 这本书里推动城市创新的无外乎都是中产阶级(bourgeoisie),拿巴黎来说,莫奈和毕加索都出身中产,规划师豪斯曼也是中产背景。显然,少数群体(穷人,黑人,女性)不是这些great cities的服务对象。 (展开)
0 有用 Ahimsaa 2022-09-08 02:06:22 美国
尝试了几篇依然无法通读,砖头一样的厚度加上peter hall刁钻的用词和句法使阅读过程无比奇妙。但是,当阅读了一定的章节之后,就可以发现创造伟大艺术科技的城市的共通之处,阅读过程也就轻松了许多。
0 有用 Ahimsaa 2022-09-08 02:06:22 美国
尝试了几篇依然无法通读,砖头一样的厚度加上peter hall刁钻的用词和句法使阅读过程无比奇妙。但是,当阅读了一定的章节之后,就可以发现创造伟大艺术科技的城市的共通之处,阅读过程也就轻松了许多。
0 有用 Yiiiiiii 2019-03-05 20:15:40
这本书应该改名作Cities in Western Civilization更恰当些,毕竟它援引的例子除了东京以外全部是西方城市(典型的西方学者看世界的方式)。另外作者对于Great City的定义比较含糊,根据内容来看,似乎就是在艺术,科技和文化上创新的城市。作者回避了一个重要的问题:Great City for whom? 这本书里推动城市创新的无外乎都是中产阶级(bourgeoisie),拿... 这本书应该改名作Cities in Western Civilization更恰当些,毕竟它援引的例子除了东京以外全部是西方城市(典型的西方学者看世界的方式)。另外作者对于Great City的定义比较含糊,根据内容来看,似乎就是在艺术,科技和文化上创新的城市。作者回避了一个重要的问题:Great City for whom? 这本书里推动城市创新的无外乎都是中产阶级(bourgeoisie),拿巴黎来说,莫奈和毕加索都出身中产,规划师豪斯曼也是中产背景。显然,少数群体(穷人,黑人,女性)不是这些great cities的服务对象。 (展开)
0 有用 emily 2016-01-01 23:02:34
翻了翻
0 有用 九品社会行走 2012-10-26 18:09:27
本师门御用宝书之一,历届学生都把它翻译了好几遍了吧,可是我看了记不住啊记不住,为毛啊,我怎么能记不住史实呢!!!