In the Suburbs of History
Modernist Visions of the Urban Periphery
Published on 16. December 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
248 pages
978-1-4875-2543-9 (ISBN)
Description
In the 1960s, socialist and capitalist urban planners, architects, and city officials chose the urban periphery as the site to test out new ideas in modernist architecture and planning: the outskirts of Prague and a bedroom suburb of Toronto would be the sites for experimental urban development.
In the Suburbs of History overcomes the divisions between East and West to reassemble the shared histories of modern architecture and urbanism as it shaped and re-shaped the periphery. Drawing on archives, interviews, architectural journals, and site visits to the peripheries of Prague and Toronto, Steven Logan reveals the intertwined histories of capitalist and socialist urban planning.
From socialist utopias to the capitalist visions of the edge city, the history of the suburbs is not simply a history of competing urban forms; rather, it is a history of alternatives that advocated collective solutions over the dominant model of single-family home ownership and car-dominated spaces.
In the Suburbs of History overcomes the divisions between East and West to reassemble the shared histories of modern architecture and urbanism as it shaped and re-shaped the periphery. Drawing on archives, interviews, architectural journals, and site visits to the peripheries of Prague and Toronto, Steven Logan reveals the intertwined histories of capitalist and socialist urban planning.
From socialist utopias to the capitalist visions of the edge city, the history of the suburbs is not simply a history of competing urban forms; rather, it is a history of alternatives that advocated collective solutions over the dominant model of single-family home ownership and car-dominated spaces.
Reviews / Votes
"The thorough bibliography comprises 279 references of both original sources and secondary literature, and along with the notes displays the breadth of intellectual reach at the foundation of the book, which together with excellent illustrations forms a functional, coherent, and inspiring book." - Dragana Corovic, University of Belgrade (Slavic Review)More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
58 b&w illustrations, 5 b&w maps
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
299 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4875-2543-9 (9781487525439)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Steven Logan is adjunct faculty at the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology at the University of Toronto.
Content
List of Illustrations
Preface
1. Introduction: Crossing Divides
2. Looking for the Antithesis of the Suburb
3. Socialist Space
4. South City as a Work of Art in the Age of Mass-Produced Dwellings
5. Redesigning the Post-war Suburban Landscape
6. The "Total Image": The Making of Willowdale Modern
Conclusion: Unearthing the Suburban Core
Notes
References
Index
Preface
1. Introduction: Crossing Divides
2. Looking for the Antithesis of the Suburb
3. Socialist Space
4. South City as a Work of Art in the Age of Mass-Produced Dwellings
5. Redesigning the Post-war Suburban Landscape
6. The "Total Image": The Making of Willowdale Modern
Conclusion: Unearthing the Suburban Core
Notes
References
Index