Hypothetical City Workbook:
Exercises, Spreadsheets, and GIS Data to Accompany Urban Land Use Planning, 4th Edition

Edward J. Kaiser, David R. Godschalk, Richard E. Klosterman, and Ann-Margaret Esnard

Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press

1998. 159 pages plus computer disk. $23.95 (PB)

Review by Richard K. Brail
Department of Urban Planning and Policy Development
Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Rutgers University

Many of us trained in urban planning in earlier years have had to learn to use geographic information systems (GIS). F. Stuart Chapin’s classic text, Urban Land Use Planning, has gone through four editions, and now has an accompanying workbook that uses GIS and spreadsheets to assist an instructor in teaching land use planning concepts and methods. The Hypothetical City Workbook contains a well-organized set of seven basic and nine accompanying exercises that move from description through analysis to land use plan production. The authors emphasize that the real world is a much more complex environment than the workbook exercises. While true, the workbook has succeeded in offering more than a set of staid procedures and tasks. The workbook is likely to engage the student, particularly with the exercises that accompany the basic set. These offer the opportunity to use a residential development regression model; do visioning, computer mapping, and land use classification; and hold a public hearing reviewing the proposed plan. While the authors may call these exercises "accompanying," they are in fact central to the plan-making process today. In particular, the public hearing exercise with role-playing would be a particularly valuable experience for planning students.

Included with the workbook is a 3.5 inch floppy disk containing GIS data and spreadsheet programs. It is assumed that the user has ArcView 2.1 or higher for the GIS analysis and Microsoft Excel 5.0 or higher for the spreadsheets. The disk contains two well-designed spreadsheets, one a set of work tables for calculating land use acreage and the other a residential model. I commend the authors for creating a work-table spreadsheet that is legible and easily navigated.

I am more concerned about the residential model spreadsheet. One should tread carefully around projection models of urban development, a complex process much studied and often maligned. I would have preferred that the authors be more explicit about the nature and pitfalls of these models. They are making a solid return in the literature and at an operational level. However, current designs are more sophisticated than the simple regression approach in the workbook. The students should be made aware of the simplicity of the residential development model and of the broader literature in the area.

The GIS data on the disk are in the form of layers stored as "shape" files, supported by ArcView. There are two directories of GIS shape files, one for Hypo City and the other for Hypo Township. There is some confusion in my mind as to why we really need data for both areas. There are exercises for both township and city, but it is initially confusing to the reader to deal with both data sets. The layers available for the city and township are extensive, including land use, zoning, roads, slopes, and sewer lines, among others. There also is a set of miscellaneous shape files supporting various exercises. The workbook contains some general information on how to use ArcView, but a student would need to have additional experience in order to use the package with the data. Overall, the GIS data is at an appropriate scale for class use, and the exercises are carefully crafted to relate the work to the GIS data. I would suggest that the next edition of the workbook contain a CD-ROM rather than a floppy disk, permitting an enrichment of data availability—perhaps pictures of Hypo City, satellite images, additional information, and the like.

I expect that many of us in the teaching business believe that concrete examples and case studies are central to the better understanding of theory. By supplying such examples and case studies, this workbook is an excellent companion to Urban Land Use Planning; its hands-on experiences will help the student understand the practice of land use planning. In fact, I would even argue that such a workbook is essential to teaching land use planning concepts and methods.

Visions of Paradise:
Glimpses of Our Landscape’s Legacy

John Warfield Simpson
Berkeley: University of California Press

1999. 387 pages. $35 (HB)

Review by Donald A. Krueckeberg
Department of Urban Planning and Policy Development
Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Rutgers University

This is a well-written work of U.S. environmental history and policy, surveying the open range of the American West in the 18th century, the environmental preservation movement of the 19th century, and the impetus toward suburban sprawl in the early 20th century. Simpson, an associate professor in the Knowlton School of Architecture and Natural Resources at Ohio State University, focuses on the area from Appalachian Range to the Rocky Mountains, particularly Ohio.

There is some excellent material in this book. Early chapters study the Land Ordinance of 1785, the young nation’s debates over property and national ideals, the doctrine of Manifest Destiny and its impact on the cattle kingdom of the open range, and Major John Wesley Powell’s intellectual efforts to promote the wise settlement of the West. The best section of the book is one I would use in any class on environmental history. It begins with a brief treatment of the pseudo-wilderness of the Transcendentalists, and turns on the work of George Perkins Marsh, John Muir, and Gifford Pinchot in the great debate over national wilderness policy, focusing on Yellowstone National Park. The treatment of these major players—their intellectual development and impact—is fascinating, evenhanded, and very satisfying.

The next section covers Aldo Leopold, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Council on Environmental Quality, and strip mining. The last major section treats suburbs and transit, Catherine Beecher, Andrew Jackson Downing, Frederick Law Olmsted, and early Federal Policy in the National Conference on Home Building, the Home Owners Loan Corporation, and the Federal Housing Administration.

The book is a collection of essays, some quite short. The scholarship is good, but not overbearing. The notes are mercifully few, and collected at the back with a brief paragraph of the major references on which each chapter draws. I take issue with the obtuse chapter titles, such as "The Emotional Landscape" for the chapter on strip mining, which are completely useless as a guide to the contents. With 19 chapter titles like "Actions and Outcomes" and "Looking Ahead, Looking Back"—outdone by partitioning of the book into parts with titles like "Out of Sight, Out of Mind," "Time Travel," and "Forgotten Sensations"—the author hides his good work behind a menu for fluff.

The focus on Ohio is tantalizing but tends to be underdone. Strong sources that show Ohio at the forefront of planning work (for example, the writings of Laurence Gerckens) are ignored. Pat Burgess’ (1994) superb study of the development of Columbus is another missed opportunity to feature Ohio in the development of a national landscape. Both of these sources would have helped ground this fairly weak treatment of 20th century urbanization.

On the whole, this is a very good introduction to the subject of U.S. environmental policy debates, and I would hope that it is a promise of future work from this author.

Reference

Burgess, Patricia. 1994. Planning for the Private Interest: Land Use Controls and Residential Patterns in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.

Back from the Brink: Saving America’s Cities by Design

The American Architectural Foundation
New York: McGraw-Hill Construction Information Group

Running time: 56:40. $24.95

Becoming Good Neighbors: Enriching America’s Communities by Design

The American Architectural Foundation
New York: McGraw-Hill Construction Information Group

Running time: 56:42. $29.95

Review by Thomas Schurch
Division of Landscape Architecture
College of Architecture
University of Oklahoma

Judging by the titles "Back from the Brink: Saving America’s Cities by Design" and "Becoming Good Neighbors: Enriching America’s Communities by Design," one would logically conclude these video-tapes concern urban design. One might also conclude urban design, rather than urban planning, to be their emphasis given that they are written and produced by the American Architectural Foundation, an arm of the American Institute of Architects. However, their content actually belies this fact, because both tapes present and emphasize planning’s role in correcting some of the problems plaguing American cities today. Ironically, the role of planning, as depicted in each production, is merely implicit. The linkages between professional planning and (urban) design are not clearly discussed or forcefully displayed. Nevertheless, both works are worthy of attention by planning educators.

The American Architectural Foundation has produced these tapes as part of its series entitled "Accent on Architecture." Both are hosted by former Seattle Mayor Charles Royer and use case study and interview methodologies. "Back From The Brink" case studies include Portland, Oregon; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Suisun City, California. "Becoming Good Neighbors" focuses on Gaylord, Michigan; Mashpee Commons, Massachusetts; Diggs Town in Norfolk, Virginia; and Bonaparte, Iowa. Both productions present "design" as the basis for solving problems associated with each city, e.g., sprawl; loss of place, community, growth, and prosperity; deteriorated downtowns; violence; crime; and racism. Both tapes also use historical and contemporary footage to illustrate before-and-after conditions and interviews, conducted by Royer, and to explain the design outcomes.

Back From The Brink: Saving America’s Cities By Design

Of the three case cities illustrated in "Back from the Brink," Portland presents physical design intervention as a growth management strategy, while Chattanooga and Suisun City use design as an impetus for growth, prosperity, and retrieving a sense of community. Each city is presented as having unique problems, and the solutions to them reflect intervention frequently associated with successful urban design. The designers attempt to be comprehensive, daring, and sensitive to history and community; the approach emphasizes reducing automobile dependence, building at the pedestrian scale with compatible mixed uses, and honoring the symbolic and real value of downtown.

With Portland, these common concerns of urban design include looking beyond downtown—and for that matter looking beyond what is usually regarded as urban design. Reconnecting downtown to a major feature such as the Willamette River; preserving historical buildings; addressing relationships of people, sidewalks, and buildings; limiting parking lots; and giving attention to details within the built environment are standard urban design ploys. However, Portland is also shown to have exercised other more far-reaching strategies well known in planning circles, i.e., formation of the Portland Development Commission, broad use of citizen participation, creation of regional mass transit, establishment of an urban growth boundary, municipal investment in a range of housing types, and the public sector’s facilitation of private sector activities. Royer’s narration and the dialogue with numerous interviewees clearly reveals these professional planning successes that have made extensive physical design possible. Unfortunately, the planner’s role is implied rather than stated, and the subtle message conveyed to the viewer is that the profession of architecture is the umbrella under which urban design is made possible.

For a small community, Suisun City is depicted as very ambitious for adopting a citywide redevelopment plan; rehabilitating and recreating the city’s 19th-century streets and neighborhoods; locating a new civic center in a risky location that proved to be critical to the city’s revitalization; and creating a marina, promenade, and civic plaza linking city hall and the waterfront. In addition to the redevelopment plan, planning efforts that made the design solution possible include key land parcel purchases by the city, reduction of red tape in the development process, establishment of a low-interest loan program, aggressive use of tax increment financing, rezoning, etc. Again, the planner’s hand is significant to Suisun City’s revitalization efforts, but the uninformed viewer would never know this.

The Chattanooga case study illustrates a city rebounding from severe pollution problems, racial tensions, and a sagging economy through a "redesign" of the city that includes restoring an historic bridge and other efforts at historical preservation, revitalizing downtown and city streets, reconnecting people with the riverfront, and adding an aquarium and plaza complex as a major destination feature. Public/private collaboration, such as establishing Chattanooga Venture and its inclusive Vision 2000 plan, establishing a downtown riverfront design center, and funding numerous civic improvements are also presented as part and parcel of the physical design solutions. The role of planning is not stated.

Becoming Good Neighbors: Enriching America’s Communities By Design

"Becoming Good Neighbors" presents four distinct communities and their efforts to create or recapture a "sense of community" and "neighborliness" in their respective locales.

The first case primarily concerns Gaylord, Michigan’s effort to pass a bond measure for a new high school rather than the physical design of the facility. After two failed efforts at gaining voter approval, a handful of "local heroes" conceived a strategy for a third attempt that emphasized a program for the school as a multiple-use center providing numerous community-related activities outside of school hours throughout the week. In effect the proposed high school was to be a community center for the entire social strata of Gaylord, thereby broadening the political base beyond what was mostly parents of school-age children. To encourage community involvement, local leadership realized that a high voter turnout was mandatory—and that design of the high school would be a community-wide process contributing to its perception and use as a community facility. In the case of voting turnout, the electorate was given incentives to vote, i.e., discounts at the local ice cream parlor and flexible voting opportunities. After the bond measure passed, residents could participate in workshops on the design of the facility in which the consulting architects served as "facilitators," an obvious euphemism for "planners."

Case two concerns Diggs Town, a low-income district of Norfolk adversely affected by poorly planned and managed public housing with attendant social pathology and poor quality of life. A much more "bounded" case than Gaylord, Diggs Town—through its local housing authority and concerned residents—determined a lack of "neighborliness" in its community was attributable to a lack of physical characteristics typical of neighborhood housing. Families were subsequently provided with various physical amenities, e.g., secure and private yards, front porches that enhanced housing appearances, and opportunities for socializing through spatial design, as well as a strong social program emphasizing job training, child care, education, family counseling, community policing, and home ownership. The outcomes with respect to a sense of community and neighborliness are presented as being highly successful. The architect’s role is presented as critical, and, in that respect, a page seems to be borrowed here from Oscar Newman’s (1972, 1996) work with project housing. However, the message conveyed by this case is clearly disingenuous in professing physical design remedies to problems that also had to be solved with creative social programs.

The Mashpee Commons case depicts a small town’s effort at transforming its character of strip centers and associated problems of sprawl, automobile dependence, lack of orientation, and isolated land uses. To reverse the town’s penchant for sprawl, two developers purchased numerous adjoining strip centers and recycled them according to the edicts of the New Urbanism. While private sector impetus was essential to Masphee’s transformation, a major civic dialogue developed as the community confronted the developers’ proposals in light of zoning ordinances contributing to sprawl. Early efforts resulted in construction of civic buildings; a downtown hub with storefront retail, residential units, and walkable streets; and other public spaces, all of which attempt to honor historical typologies. This case study, as with the Bonaparte example discussed below, are minor exceptions to the planning-versus-architecture dilemma because it showcases the community’s success due to leadership on the parts of visionary developers and citizens concerned about their town’s quality of life. Nevertheless, architects’ roles loom large. Planning as related to the efforts of the visionary developers and citizens groups is ignored, and another opportunity to more fully inform the viewer is missed.

Bonaparte, Iowa, population 465, was founded in 1837 on the Des Moines River. It struggled to keep its downtown, and therefore its existence, until enterprising individuals proposed that interested residents could buy it if enough of them would pitch in $2,000 apiece. With that amount, they created a for-profit corporation that restored buildings, created a historical district, and became a Main Street community. With their identity reestablished and strengthened, the community and historical downtown are presented as attractive forces for inhabitants and visitors alike.

In sum, both "Neighbors" and "Brink" emphasize physical design and the role of architects as keys to the cities’ successes. However, they make no secret of the importance of government, e.g., through establishing special districts, economic development and growth management strategies, or social programs, as well as through citizen participation and the public will, public-private partnerships, and civic-minded entrepreneurs. The viewer learns this through Royer and through the numerous interviews with key individuals, with particular emphasis on architects and their roles, but also with individuals from government, including HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo, quasi-governmental organizations, foundations, various business interests, and citizens groups.

Both tapes are very good video productions effectively weaving together a range of historical and contemporary imagery that is largely from the seven interesting case sites, although a number of introductory and concluding studio segments are also used. Background narrative information for the cases and related imagery are mutually supporting, as are the well-conducted interview segments, although the interview with Secretary Cuomo is unnecessary. Charles Royer is very comfortable in the role of host and interviewer, and is further evidence of successful politicians’ mastery of the video medium. Compared with other similar video productions on the market in recent years these two efforts by the American Architectural Foundation can be regarded as more comprehensive and applicable to the planning profession and planning education.

"Neighbors" and "Brink," however, are not without faults. The most glaring is the implication that strategies usually associated with the invisible web of planning as described above are part and parcel of physical design—and that the profession of architecture is fully capable of facilitating such a broad and complex view of the design process. The productions’ focus in this respect is particularly apparent in the many interviews with architects who are identified by their affiliation with the American Institute of Architects, whereas no other individuals instrumental in the various communities’ revitalization, e.g., planners or landscape architects, are given professional recognition. For example, why is there no mention of Lawrence Halprin, who was instrumental in downtown Portland’s early rejuvenation? Furthermore, the awkwardness of architects depicted in public participation forums and the emphasis on complex revitalization strategies beyond the purview of physical design simultaneously undermine proprietary and narrow approaches to physical design, planning, or "design determinism" as a panacea.

Fault can also be found in the regional focus—or lack thereof—of the two productions. One has an East Coast and Midwestern emphasis; the other a West Coast and Southern focus. The tapes are rather explicit in the local nature of community problems and solutions to them, although more could have been made of the regional distinctions between the locations, i.e., the relationships between the built and natural environments, especially given the tapes’ emphasis on physical design and the well-understood importance of a sense of place to urban design.

A general lack of statistical data explaining and supporting the strategies used by each of the communities is also apparent. Statistical references to real estate matters, income levels, tax revenues, alternative forms of transportation, and social indicators could have rounded out the arguments being made for community revitalization with little or no risk of losing the viewers’ attention.

In spite of the shortcomings of these two productions, both are worthwhile and should appeal to what appears to be the target audience, i.e., viewers of the Public Broadcasting System. The problems of built environments these tapes present are ubiquitous, and the solution to these problems as illustrated in the tapes should be informative to a broad spectrum of the country today. A greater audience comprised of interested citizens and citizen groups; planning and governmental officials; and students, educators, and practitioners in the environmental design community seems likely. In particular, planning educators should find these tapes useful in effectively presently the relationship of design, planning, and community involvement. Theory or studio courses in urban design, courses taking a broad look at planning method, and even "Introduction to Planning" or similar courses should find these tapes useful.

References

Newman, Oscar. 1972. Defensible Space: Crime Prevention through Urban Design. New York: Macmillan.

Newman, Oscar. 1996. Creating Defensible Space. Washington D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.

The European Cities and Technology Reader

Edited by David Goodman
London: Routledge, in association with the Open University

1999. 305 pages. $27.99 (PB), $85 (HB)

The American Cities and Technology Reader

Edited by Gerrylynn K. Roberts
London: Routledge, in association with the Open University

1999. 309 pages. $27.99 (PB), $85 (HB)

The Pre-Industrial Cities and Technology Reader

Edited by Colin Chant
London: Routledge in association with the Open University

1999. 274 pages. $27.99 (PB), $85 (HB)

Review by Rae Zimmerman
Urban Planning Program
Institute for Civil Infrastructure Systems
Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
New York University

Technology is a driving force in our society, and as new technologies continue to emerge it is important to step back and evaluate their history to obtain insights for the future. These three readers provide an important technological perspective on the historical growth and development of cities.

The purpose of this series of three readers, according to the editors, is to understand the social and economic transitions from predominantly rural to urban society through technological developments. Specifically, the first aim "is to investigate the extent to which major changes in the physical form and fabric of towns and cities have been stimulated by technological developments (and conversely how far urban development has been constrained by the existing state of technology)" (Chant, 1). In this vein, the series deals with both the contributions of technology to the emergence of cities and to their continued development (Chant, 3). "A second aim is to explore within the urban setting the social origins and contexts of technology" (Chant, 1). The technologies that the readings emphasize primarily fall within the vital infrastructure services upon which cities and their development depend, namely water, waste water, transportation, energy, and, more recently, telecommunications. A second area is building construction. Thus, in these readers, technology is largely physical systems and the services that accompany them. This is an important focus, since it is one that often is hidden from the eye of the public, yet shapes public reactions to technology.

The temporal thrust of the volumes is largely historical, and few of the readings ever extend beyond the mid-20th century. A number of selections date from antiquity, and readers need to be aware of this as they proceed through the volumes to put the works in perspective. The reader is left to draw lessons for today’s cities and their problems. Today’s issues include rapid suburbanization, sprawl, sustainability, and natural hazards. There are also the demographic issues of an increasingly aging population and the stabilization in the past two or three decades of many of the nationwide trends of the first half of the 20th century such as rural to urban migration, population growth, and the decline in household size. In addition, some of the newer social concerns, such as the relationship of technology to global climate change and other environmental problems are not directly evident in the readings. Nevertheless, the volumes provide at least the historical underpinnings of today’s patterns. Geographically, the series covers civilizations and settlements across practically the entire world.

The selections are of value to scholars in a wide range of disciplines connected with the urban themes reflected in the choice of authors and the knowledge base represented. Thus, students of urban studies, history, planning, sociology, politics, and environment, for example, will find that these readers provide not only a broad context but also rare knowledge of little known technological facts and their relationship to urban growth and change.

Judging from the way in which the readings are presented, the target audiences are undergraduate students and graduate students in introductory courses on urban themes. The readings are extensive, with each volume containing an average of about 30 or more readings. The many figures—drawings, photographs, and maps—add to the value of the readings for education and scholarship.

If there is any weakness in the readers as a set, the tremendous richness of the selections and the prominence of the authors represented needs to be accompanied by a better logic to the organization of the sections. At times the selections seem more like a patchwork of presentations than an integrated whole; for example, chapters on housing appear in between chapters on transit without any apparent relationship. This may be inevitable, however, when so many pre-published works are combined. The three readers differ somewhat in their organization and format so it is important to evaluate the content as separate volumes. This review is therefore organized into separate descriptions and evaluations of each volume, followed by a synthesis of common themes.

Coverage of Each Reader

The American Cities reader is organized differently from the others. Although no introduction is tailored to this particular reader, the organization can be gleaned from scanning its contents. It begins with several articles on the urban forms of cities that borrow from the historical influences of Spain, France, and the northeastern United States. The emphasis in these readings is upon the location and sizing of cities relative to their resource needs and the environmental setting and the physical form of within cities as expressed, for example, in the layout of streets and the size and location of plazas. The social context is reflected in the purpose of types of construction within these cities. For example, in cities influenced by Spain, the settlement strategy consisted of presidios for defense, pueblos for trade, and missions for religion (Hornbeck in Roberts, 19). The broad geographic coverage allows comparisons among the cities of the world. Lewis (in Roberts, 55) notes that "It was in cities ... where the American landscape began to deviate most extremely from old European forms," and proceeds to examine the use of the grid system in American cities and its flexibility, allowing planning to precede settlement. This is followed by readings on the history of selected construction technologies, particularly building technology, covering mud brick construction in Mesopotamia, timber and masonry construction in Colonial America, and the structural changes accompanying these technologies (Condit). Moving forward in time, the text covers the development of large U.S. cities, including New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

Distributed throughout the articles on the more recent development of the larger cities are readings on various infrastructure themes that are shaping and being shaped by cities (Hall), such as transportation, water supply, waste-water technology, air travel, and information technology. Here we learn about key technological developments that led to the growth of infrastructure support systems often turning points in the development of cities. For example, McKay (in Roberts), focusing on technology, describes rapid electrification and particularly overhead electrical traction technology, mechanical traction, the steam engine, and steam traction. He points out that these all led to the rapid expansion of transit, which in turn were important factors in the initial suburbanization of American cities. The influence of trollies on land use is further expanded in the reading by Jackson, who notes the extensive changes in land values brought about in areas opened up by the trolley. A reading on the rapid decentralization of Los Angeles carries the land use and surface transportation theme still further. Air travel represents the culmination of the transportation selections. The chapters by Clark, Webber, and Hall present very eloquent portrayals of the role of technology, primarily transport, in influencing the spatial relationships within cities and between cities and their regions.

The remainder of the volume focuses upon water, waste water, and waste technologies. As population density increased, both water supply and waste-water treatment moved from individual or household technology to large community systems, resulting in a move toward regional decision-making for those services (Tarr). Methods of refuse collection and disposal even in the early part of the 20th century moved toward waste-reduction technologies and made the urban citizenry more aware of waste disposal problems (Melosi).

The reader culminates with four chapters on information technology. Martin introduces the hypothetical aspects of increased communication; Warf gives the statistics on the growth of the Internet and its implications for potential changes in the global economy; Corey explains the planning and development of Singapore in light of its emphasis on information technology; and the Dutton, Blumler, and Kraemer chapter provides an important history and profile of the types of communication services in cities.

The Pre-Industrial Cities reader also begins with the physical aspects of cities as they reflect the culture of their times. The text is divided into chronological sections going back to Babylonian times. Readings on building technology, dating from antiquity, describe technologies for lifting heavy loads (Burford, Coulton in Chant), obstacles posed to lifting by harnesses, constraints to transport brought about by poor roads (Burford in Chant, 29), and opportunities created by the introduction of cranes. The rise of historical institutions concerned with building technology is given some attention, and is described by Anderson.

In the area of water supply, Burns (in Chant, 40) concludes, after describing the intricacies of the Greek water systems, that "the physical, and to some extent the social, development of the Greek cities was inextricably bound up with the hydro-geography and the resulting technology." The history of Rome is covered in several readings from the perspective of its water supply (Frontinus) and its relationship to its regions (Morley).

Technology in medieval and early modern cities follows. An interesting observation in the introduction is one from Friedrichs, who argues that these cities were stable because of "persistent technological limitations, especially in power sources and communications" (89). This contrasts with the chapter on the development of Dutch cities, where, according to the editor citing a reading, transport technology reflects anything but stability.

The third part of the book concentrates on cities in China and Africa. The concluding part contains excerpts on Sjoberg’s theory of the nature of the pre-industrial city, and a commentary and extension of it by Burke.

The European Cities reader is divided into three sections: cities of the Industrial Revolution to 1870, those after 1870, and a final section on technology transfer in various cities of the world. Although the reader’s scope is Europe, the selections are predominantly about cities in the U.K., with the exception of some brief sections on Paris, Berlin, and a few Russian cities. Whereas the Chant reader dealt with pre-Industrial cities, the Goodman reader begins with basic factors affecting urban form during industrialization. The selections begin with the effects of the prevalence of industry, public health, and the need for basic safety services such as fire-fighting. Subsequent sections concentrate on transport and its affect on urban form, including suburbanization. For example, the Kellett selection on railways presents the different ways in which rail can influence towns by comparing what he maintains are the effects that occurred in five Victorian cities. This is followed by Thompson’s essay on transport and suburbanization.

The reader then moves toward manufacturing-based agricultural-related invention (the spinning jenny, for example) as a technological innovation that influences Manchester’s development (Vigier) and agricultural technology as a contributor to the growth of the very diverse cities of Scotland (Devine). Water resources as a driver of urban change is the next theme with river engineering, and water supply factors in the growth of Manchester and Glasgow. Several chapters are devoted to industrial production in London. The extent of Parisian trade activity is captured in Ratcliffe’s observation that "Paris, with only three percent of France’s population, was responsible for just under a quarter of total industrial production by value" (95). Ratcliffe also compares Paris and London. He explains industrial changes in terms of process and hardware innovations, but also in terms of organizational shifts, which is one of the few chapters that focuses on institutional innovation as a factor in urban growth and change. Pinkney describes the sewer system of Paris in detail, explaining how it provided a conduit for other utilities as well as a basis for service distribution throughout the city. He also observes that the design of the system allowed for innovative maintenance devices that were mechanical, leaving the streets and the Seine uncontaminated with waste. The post-1970 period follows with selections on developments in building materials (structural steel and reinforced concrete) and then in transport that initially increased the capacity of streets for traffic in both existing urban areas and for new expansions in the cities of Paris and Berlin, for example. These selections often identify seemingly small technological changes that create large shifts in the way that urban infrastructure and hence the cities themselves function. Kollhoff, in his description of the Berlin railway system, notes how the ability to generate and use power separately opened the way for a surface and elevated system of trains (205).

 Some Insights Gained

What these readers bring to our attention is that much of the underpinnings of today’s technologies and their problems were already evident in the past several centuries. For example, the history of building technology presented in the readings tells us that many current practices are not new: stone masonry used in Colonial America originated from the Middle ages, and Colonial brick-building from Medieval and Renaissance periods (Condit in Roberts, 71). Recycling of municipal solid waste occurred in early 20th century American cities, although to a limited extent (Melosi in Roberts, 170). Traffic congestion was already well-known in 17th century France from carriages (Bernard in Chant, 157). Public opposition to new technologies was also well-known throughout European and American cities, as portrayed in a number of the selections. Equity issues are seen in the movement of electrical lines for trams from overhead to street-level conduits in wealthier areas to avoid the aesthetic effects of overhead lines (McKay in Roberts, 92). The coordination of utility lines was a well-known concern in Paris; according to Pinkney (in Goodman, 106), the sewers of Paris were designed in a way to accommodate other utility systems in the same conduit—a need that still preoccupies our infrastructure distribution systems today.

The integration of theory applicable to the relationship of technology to urban settlement is introduced in various selections, although not presented in a unifying section. These theories are often used to draw relationships between technology and the rise and development of cities, urban form, and city-region relationships. For example, Von Thunen’s theory of urban-rural spatial relationships in terms of declining rents as one moves outward from the city is mentioned by Cronin in his history of Chicago (in Roberts, 76). Burgess’ chapter presents a theory of the process of city growth (in Roberts). The Pre-Industrial Cities reader opens with a review of theories of how cities emerged, and concludes with Sjoberg’s model of the form of the pre-industrial city.

Although the readings emphasize the methods, the approaches and products of technology, a deeper social context is imbedded in how the use of technology is described in the selections, which is the second aim of the editors. Such social values include safety, security, health, comfort, convenience, reliability, aesthetics, and economic, environmental and social soundness. Preoccupation with safety and security in ancient societies influenced the design of bridges and the alteration of watercourses (Chant, 4). It also was apparent in the design of the Medieval city according to a military view of the rise of cities (Chant, 11) and in the fortifications of North American cities under Spanish and French influences (Roberts). Fire safety became a critical aspect of water supply planning and management. Another social purpose—public health—dominated and drove the technologies for water supply and management of human and animal wastes by means of the transition from horse-drawn transport to electrified forms of urban transit. Public health was also an important factor in valuing the cleanliness of streets, especially during the days of horse-drawn vehicles (McShane in Roberts, 114-115). Comfort and convenience were important goals emphasized, for example, in the valuing of electrified trams, since trams provided a smoother ride and one that dramatically increased the speed of travel. The rapidity with which electrification of transit spread was enormous. Environmental and aesthetic effects associated with many transportation technologies were important factors in changing the use of technology. Aesthetics and another round of safety issues soon dominated public concern about overhead electrical lines, leading to the use of surface conduits in some cases for trams, but in some cases led to the supplanting of trams for other technologies (McKay in Roberts). Economic development as a key purpose for technology is a theme that runs throughout many of the selections, ranging from the role of river engineering in the growth f Glasgow (Riddell in Goodman) to the manufacturing activities in London (the milk trade) and Paris. The physical form of cities often changed to accommodate those technologies and the social values they reflected.

The style of the readers is such that the student of the history of technology will want to look beyond the readers themselves for other reference material. For example, Peter H. Gleick’s (1998) work covers the development of water supply technologies in many parts of the world and in many time periods. Institutional decisions with respect to technological approaches to natural hazards, such as flooding and the vulnerability of cities and their regions to those hazards, are evaluated in the context of the Midwest Floods of 1994 in the U.S. by Zimmerman (1994). A social history of the Paris sewer system is presented in detail by Reid (1991). Numerous transit histories that trace transit technology in London (Trench and Hillman 1993), Paris, and New York City would provide the interested reader with supplemental reading on the history of transit.

References

Gleick, P.H. 1998. The World’s Water. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Reid, D. 1991. Paris Sewers and Sewermen. Realities and Representations. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Trench, R., and E. Hillman. 1993. London under London. London: Butler & Tanner.