Review of Good Cities, Better Lives: How Europe Discovered the Lost Art of Urbanism

• 来源期刊: 城市规划（英文版）
• 关键词: theoretical discussion urban planning physical space high quality
• 年，卷（期）: 2016,（4）
• 页码范围: 74-76
• 页数: 3页
• 语种: 英文

摘要

Good Cities,Better Lives:How Europe Discovered the Lost Art of Urbanism A uthor:Peter Hall,with contributions fromNicholas Falk Year:2014 Publisher:Routledge ISBN:9780415840224 (356 pages,in English) '"What makes a good city?'might be a meaningless question." Lynch wrote at the beginning of Good City Form.Indeed,to define or judge a city as good or bad,or even make decisions on how to enhance city quality,greatly relies on the value standard held by actors (Lynch,1981),which inevitably keeps changing with the progress of people's related recognition.Therefore,there is no final conclusion about the so-called good city,but it could not impede the continuously exploring of scholars about this ultimate concern.In the field of urban planning,some opinions,from the perspective of physical space,propose that a good city is featured as having good livability,identity,public spaces and public life (Jacobs and Appleyard,1987;Jacobs,2011),while some other arguments,from the perspectives of political process and ideology,claim that a good city should be equipped with sufficient social provision and achieve great prosperity and diversity through good governance (Friedmann,2000;Amin,2006).However,pure theoretical discussion is obviously hard to be implemented in the city and its planning practice.Thus,the book of Sir Peter Hall,Good Cities,Better Lives:How Europe Discovered the Lost Art of Urbanism,based on case studies of European cities and centered on challenges faced by British cities,discusses how to transfer general value standards,such as high quality,sustainability,etc.into operational action guidance,so as to create cities with better lives.It explores a significant and unique research approach for the above-mentioned academic topic.