Atlas of Cities

What a fascinating book this is! Using colorful photos, city plans and maps, Knox (a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech. University) and his contributors from a variety of countries trace the rise of urban areas through history, concentrating on specific examples in each chapter. Subjects include foundational cities (such as Athens and Rome), the networked city (London, Paris and several more), the imperial city (such as St. Petersburg and Beijing), the industrial city (examples are Manchester and Berlin), the rational city (Paris), and such global cities as London and New York. Seven further chapters (and many other cities) help to fill out the history. I couldn't put this down--each succeeding page offered new insights and delights. Recommended!

I found the "Atlas of Cities" to be even better than I expected it to be. Its historical record describing how the various types of cities came to be, was filled with documented records which contained information that had eluded me during four years of college, three years of Seminary, forty-five years of professional life, and my total of 91 years and four months, with wide-reading subject matter, some minor professionally published writing on senior living, and interchanges with my family, friends, and a few world leaders. Its Green City section offers the most hope I've seen in years that at least some folks are living "green" as far as "carbon footprints"" and "water conservation" are concerned. All the designated City sections were absolutely filled with information and this book will be a KEEPER in my research library, long after I'm gone.---Bill Warner

Without a doubt, this is my favorite book in urban affairs for the year of 2014. Paul Knox and his colleagues have produced a timely, informative, and deeply rich account of the evolution of urban form and cities throughout the world. It is well-written, balanced, and beautifully produced. Indeed, the stunning infographics, detailed maps, and use of color set a new standard for books in our field. I highly recommend "Atlas of Cities" for the general reader, the seasoned scholar, and the student.

A very well designed book with beautiful graphics that manage to convey an enormous amount of information about a number of cities around the world. As is typically the case with books that intend to be all encompassing, the case studies lack the more nuanced information that can provide a deeper understanding of a place. Sometimes the Atlas manages to stray from the more typical urban case studies, but London and New York keep popping up.

Very interesting book. Explores cities from their ancient roots to present day metropolises. Chapters are separated into the different types of cities -- global, celebrity, mega, etc. -- and each chapter contains a staggering amount of information to pour through. Abundance of visual aids makes comparing cities easy an interesting.

This is one of my favourite books on urban studies, with extensive coverage on world's city development, West or East. Learned a lot from the book even though I am not unfamiliar with the topic. Very well written and organized. I love it.

Beautiful Book !!

There are several good ideas in this book but it would have been a much better work if East Asian urbanization had been integrated and high-lighted from the get-go. Alas, the authors of the 15 chapters into which the book is divided did not include anyone conversant with the history of urbanization in East Asia. This Euro-American approach leads to remarks such as "In many ways, the foundations for today's cities were laid by the Greek and Roman empires" (page 11). What about China's pre-imperial cities which developed when the Greeks and Romans were still living in fortified villages? What about the Chinese empire (where grid cities were invented 2000 years ago and spread not only in China but also to Japan (Kyoto)? In the chapter on imperial cities, Istanbul is chosen as the focus and Beijing is listed as a "secondary city" along with Vienna (but Beijing is hardly mentioned in this chapter). Moreover on the (undated) map of Silk and Spice Routes (page 57) Constantinople is featured as the hub whereas the starting point of the silk roads, Xi'an in China (a huge imperial capital) is not even shown (however, Lop Nur, an oasis at the time, is shown with a line linking it to Lhasa)! Even stranger, the end of the land silk road is shown as Guangzhou. In the chapter on the "Rational City" Paris is featured (and not one East Asian city is listed among secondary cities). The same is true of most of the other chapters--Chinese cities and other East Asian cities are largely absent. Even on the intriguing section on "Starchitecture," only three East Asian cities are given (not including Tokyo although that city is studded with prestige buildings by the current big names in global architecture. However nine cities are given for Europe).In the map of cities at risk from rising sea levels (page 213) it is symptomatic of the weak coverage of China that of the 5 Chinese cities shown one is non-existent (Qindo, unless this is a typo for Qingdao). The reader has to wait until page 156 before China is featured in a two-page section entitled "Planning China's Megacities." After this section China is forgotten again. And even in this brief section the same sloppy editing re China is evident (Tianjin, for example is said to be "about 100 miles south of Beijing." Why not look it up and get it right? Tianjin is 85 miles southeast of Beijing. On the next page we are told that Beijing and Tianjin are in the "arid northeast" (but "northeast" in the Chinese context refers to Manchuria).And there are other anomalies. We are told that Tianjin in 2013 had a population of 13 million and Chengdu, 12 million but on page 143 neither of these cities are featured in the list of the world's most populous urban areas in 2013 (although three cities with less than 12 million inhabitants are listed).Conclusion: the book would have benefited from a global approach and much more diligent editing.

Exactly as described, brand new. Shipping was fast. Most interesting textbook I own.

Bem produzido, com informações resumidas, mas relevantes. Para quem gosta de urbanismo, ou precisa ter uma visão comparativa da qualidade geral das principais cidades, é um livro indicado, podendo ser considerado uma obra introdutória.

thanks