ABSTRACT
Cities, Allan B. Jacobs contends, ought to be magnificent, beautiful places to live. They should be places where people can be fulfilled, where they can be what they can be, where there is freedom, love, ideas, excitement, quiet and joy. Cities ought to be the ultimate manifestation of society’s collective achievements.
Allan B. Jacobs is one of the world’s best known planners and urban design practitioners, with a long and distinguished international career. Drawing on his professional experience of almost sixty years, Jacobs guides the reader through the lessons he’s learnt as a planner and lover of cities. Cities from Brazil, Italy, India, Japan, China and the US are featured.
Written with a wonderfully engaging, humorous tone and Jacobs’ own drawings, The Good City transfers lessons on city design, building and urban change to all those willing to help cities become the magnificent, beautiful places they should be - and encourages all inhabitants to learn to appreciate and explore their own cities.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |9 pages
Experiencing Cities
part |38 pages
Learning from Calcutta
chapter |36 pages
Why India?
part |16 pages
Learning in Italy
part |12 pages
City People
chapter |1 pages
Traffic Cop
chapter |2 pages
Excellent!
chapter |3 pages
Immigrants
chapter |2 pages
Practicing
part |37 pages
Breaking and Making Community
chapter |8 pages
Cleveland and the Unmaking of City
chapter |7 pages
The Etcher of Caprano
chapter |3 pages
Liberty Bakery
chapter |4 pages
Stopping By
chapter |11 pages
Curitiba and the Making of Community
part |7 pages
World-Class Cities
chapter |5 pages
Memos on Pudong
part |10 pages
City Certainties
chapter |2 pages
Traffic is Not a Problem
chapter |2 pages
Parking is Not a Problem
chapter |1 pages
Things Can Get Better or Worse
chapter |2 pages
What You Believe Counts
part |39 pages
San Francisco
chapter |28 pages
Reflecting on San Francisco
chapter |9 pages
The Civil Service Giants
part |14 pages
The Good City