Policy Press
Afterword: the urban jungle or urban jigsaw?
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Abstract
This section suggests that the urban future depends on thinking of cities as the human equivalent of trees, as Gaudi had envisioned in his great basilica – dense, diverse, light and dark, self-regenerating, strong, tall and small, life-supporting, and long-lasting. It explains that trees are magical in their wealth, strength, contrasts, and energy, carefully fitting one layer of growth inside another, just as our urban jigsaw fits together within the frame of the big picture. It further suggests the problems of the cities are not problems of chaos but of ‘organized complexity’ for which new solutions will emerge.
Abstract
This section suggests that the urban future depends on thinking of cities as the human equivalent of trees, as Gaudi had envisioned in his great basilica – dense, diverse, light and dark, self-regenerating, strong, tall and small, life-supporting, and long-lasting. It explains that trees are magical in their wealth, strength, contrasts, and energy, carefully fitting one layer of growth inside another, just as our urban jigsaw fits together within the frame of the big picture. It further suggests the problems of the cities are not problems of chaos but of ‘organized complexity’ for which new solutions will emerge.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables, figures and photographs vii
- Preface xi
- Introducing Jigsaw cities 1
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How did we get here?
- Jigsaws and Lego sets 13
- Breaking up the jigsaw 37
- Building the New Jerusalem – vision and reality 55
- Cities bounce back – piecing communities together again 79
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Where are we now?
- Britain’s cities today: a progress report 105
- Britain’s cities of yesterday and tomorrow 135
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Where do we go from here?
- Smart cities work 163
- Future cities: piecing the jigsaw together 187
- Afterword: the urban jungle or urban jigsaw? 215
- Notes and references 217
- Bibliography 241
- Index 255
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables, figures and photographs vii
- Preface xi
- Introducing Jigsaw cities 1
-
How did we get here?
- Jigsaws and Lego sets 13
- Breaking up the jigsaw 37
- Building the New Jerusalem – vision and reality 55
- Cities bounce back – piecing communities together again 79
-
Where are we now?
- Britain’s cities today: a progress report 105
- Britain’s cities of yesterday and tomorrow 135
-
Where do we go from here?
- Smart cities work 163
- Future cities: piecing the jigsaw together 187
- Afterword: the urban jungle or urban jigsaw? 215
- Notes and references 217
- Bibliography 241
- Index 255
