The City and the Super-Organism

A History of Naturalism in Urban Planning

Marco Amati (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

200 Seiten

2022 | 1st ed. 2021
Palgrave Macmillan (Verlag)
978-981-16-3979-1 (ISBN)

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This book traces how naturalism—the idea of a common theory uniting natural social systems—has contributed to major shifts in urban planning. Beginning in the 17th century, when the human body began to emerge as an inspiration for urban planning, the book examines the work of medical analyses of city life. Responding to the 19th century industrial revolution and 20th century modernism, the Second World War and mass motorisation, Dr Marco Amati shows how vitalism, eugenics, evolutionary theories and medical treatments were applied to understand cities and propose new urban forms. While critically evaluating the uses of naturalism, Amati also observes a renewed interest in the application of sciences to analyse city life, arguing that this is essential to help resolve challenges of human-induced climate change.

Marco Amati teaches urban planning at the Centre for Urban Research at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. His research interests include understanding urban planning history and mapping the benefits of urban forests.

Prologue.- Introduction.- A city for ‘natural man’.- From an exterior to an interior urban gaze.- The vital city.- Evolving the city.- Urban social hygiene.- The city of organic regularity.- Planning natural communities with open space.- European medicine for American urbanism.- Conclusion: a renewed direction for naturalism in planning.

“The book is overall a great tool to think about the complex narrative relationship between city planning and the sciences, its risks and potentials, which can inform today’s understanding of trends such as ‘urban acupuncture’ … .” (Margherita Tess, Urban Studies, Vol. 60 (6), 2023)

Erscheinungsdatum	23.11.2022
Zusatzinfo	17 Illustrations, color; 19 Illustrations, black and white; XIX, 200 p. 36 illus., 17 illus. in color.
Verlagsort	Singapore
Sprache	englisch
Maße	148 x 210 mm
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geografie / Kartografie
ISBN-10	981-16-3979-5 / 9811639795
ISBN-13	978-981-16-3979-1 / 9789811639791
Zustand	Neuware