A list of readings by session is below, followed by a complete bibliography for the course.
| SES # | TOPICS | READINGS |
|---|---|---|
| Part I: Observing the City | ||
| 1 | Introduction |
Inam, Aseem. “Meaningful Urban Design: Telelogical/ Catalytic/ Relevant.” Journal of Urban Design 7, no. 1 (2002): 35-58. Kallus, Rachel. “From Abstract to Concrete: Subjective Reading of Urban Space.” Journal of Urban Design 6, no. 2 (2001): 129-150. |
| 2 | Walk - East Cambridge/Kendall |
Jacobs, Allan B. “Starting to Look.” In Looking at Cities. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1985, pp. 1-13.
Fleming, Ronald Lee. “Questions to Ask a Space.” Places 6, no. 4 (Summer 1990): 12-13. |
| 3 | A Methodology For Physical Analysis |
Jacobs, Allan B. “Clues.” In Looking at Cities. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1985, pp. 30-83.
“Site Inventory.” 1992. Krier, Leon. “Urban Components.” 1979. |
| 4 | Walk - South End/Back Bay |
Moudon, Anne Vernez. “A Catholic Approach to Organizing What Urban Designers Should Know.” Journal of Planning Literature 6, no. 4 (May 1992): 331-348.
Bookout, Lloyd W., and James W. Wentling. “Density by Design.” In Urban Land. June 1988, pp. 10-15. Jacobs, Allan B. Great Streets. Cambridge, MIT Press, 1993. |
| 5 | Freehand Sketching and Drawing Types I |
Guptill, Arthur L. Rendering in Pen and Ink. Edited by Susan E. Meyer. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1976.
Browning, Hugh C. The Principles of Architectural Drafting: A Sourcebook of Techniques and Graphic Standards. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1996. (Reference.) |
| 6 | Walk - Fens/Muddy River |
Dramstad, Wenche E., James D. Olson, et al. Landscape Ecology Principles in Landscape Architecture and Land-Use Planning. Washington, DC: Island Press, 1996, pp. 18-45.
Calthorpe, Peter, and Sim Van der Ryn. “Introduction: Ecology and the Commons.” In Sustainable Communities: A New Design Synthesis for Cities, Suburbs and Towns. San Francisco, Sierra Club Books, 1986, pp. viii-xvii. |
| Part II: Interpreting the City | ||
| 7 | Freehand Sketching and Drawing Types II | Francis, Mark, ed. “Parking Gardens.” In The Meaning of Gardens. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1990, pp. 130-137. |
| 8 | In Class Presentation (Assignment 1 - Part A and B) | |
| 9 | Rendering By Hand | Doyle, Michael E. Color Drawing: A marker/colored-pencil approach for architects, landscape architects, interior and graphic designers, and artists. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1980. (Reference.) |
| 10 | Walk - Alewife | |
| 11 | Fundamentals of Line Drawings I | |
| 12 | Walk - Cambridgeport | |
| 13 | Fundamentals of Digital Work | |
| 14 | Walk - Suburbs | |
| 15 | Fundamentals of Digital Work II | |
| 16 | Review Assignment Two | |
| Part III: Representing the City | ||
| 17 | Models | |
| 18 | Walk - Final Project Site | |
| 19 | Perspective Basics | |
| 20 | Presentations - Case Studies | |
| 21 | Graphic Presentations | |
| 22 | Laying Out Final Panels | |
| 23 | Work Day | |
| 24 | Final Review | |
Urban Design Bibliography
Adams, Thomas. The Design of Residential Areas: Basic Considerations, Principles and Methods. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1934.
Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.
———. A New Theory of Urban Design. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.
Anderson, Stanford Owen, ed. On Streets. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1978.
Appleyard, Donald. Livable Streets. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1981.
Bacon, Edmund N. Design of Cities. New York: Viking Press, 1967.
Barnett, Jonathan. An Introduction to Urban Design. New York: Harper & Row, 1982.
———. The Elusive City: Five Centuries of Design, Ambition and Miscalculation. New York: Harper and Row, 1986.
Benevolo, Leonardo. The Origins of Modern Town Planning. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1967.
Broadbent, Geoffrey. Emerging Concepts in Urban Space Design. London: Van Nostrand Reinhold (International), 1990.
Calthorpe, Peter. The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community, and the American Dream. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1993.
Calthorpe, Peter, and Sim Van der Ryn. Sustainable Communities: A New Design Synthesis for Cities, Suburbs and Towns. California: Sierra Club Books, 1986.
Cullen, Gordon. The Concise Townscape. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, c1961, 1971.
Duany, Andres, and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. Towns and Town-Making Principles. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, 1991.
Easterling, Keller. American Town Plans: A Comparative Time Line. Princeton Architectural Press, 1993.
Gehl, Jan. Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space. NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1987.
Gosling, David, and Barry Maitland. Concepts of Urban Design. London: Academy Eds.; New York: St. Martinís Press, 1984.
Greenbie, Barrie B. Spaces, Dimensions of the Human Landscape. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 1981.
Hester, Randolph. Neighborhood Spaces: User Need and Design Responsibility. Dowden Hutchinson & Ross, 1975.
Jacobs, Allan B. Great Streets. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1996.
Kostof, Spiro. The City Assembled: The Elements of Urban Form through History. Boston, MA: Little Brown, 1992.
Krier, Rob. Urban Space. New York: Rizzoli, 1979.
Lang, Jon T. Urban Design: The American Experience. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1994.
Lynch, Kevin. Site Planning. 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1971.
———. A Theory of Good City Form. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1981.
Marcus, Clare Cooper, and Carolyn Francis, eds. People Places: Design Guidelines for Urban Open Space. NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990.
McCluskey, Jim. Roadform and Townscape. London: Reed International, 1979.
Moudon, Anne Vernez, ed. Public Streets for Public Use. New York: Columbia University Press, 1991.
Newman, Oscar. Defensible Space; Crime Prevention through Urban Design. New York: Macmillan, 1972.
Perry, Clarence Arthur. Housing for the Machine Age. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1939.
Porter, Douglas R. Flexible Zoning: How It Works. Washington D.C.: Urban Land Institute, 1988.
Sitte, Camillo. City Planning According to Artistic Principles. New York: Random House. (orig. 1889, 1965.)
Southworth, Michael and Eran Ben-Joseph. Streets and the Shaping of Towns and Cities. New York: McGraw Hill, 1997.
Trancick, Rogers. Finding Lost Space: Theories of Urban Design. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1986.
Unwin, Raymond. Town Planning in Practice. London: Fisher Unwin, 1909.
Whyte, William Hollingsworth. The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. Washington D.C.: Conservation Foundation, 1980.
