Urban planning is a complex field of knowledge and practice. Through the decades; theoretical debate has formed an eclectic set of possible perspectives; without finding; in our opinion; a coherent paradigmatic framework which can adequately guide the interpretation and action in urban planning. The hypothesis of this book is that the attempts of founding an autonomous planning theory are inadequate if they do not explore two interconnected fields: architecture and public policies.The book critically reviews a selected set of current practices and theoretical founding works of modern and contemporary urban planning by highlighting the continuous search for the epistemic legitimization of a large variety of experiences. The distinctive contribution of this book is a documented critique to the eclecticism and abstraction of the main international trends in current planning theory. The dialogic relationship with the traditions of architecture and public policy is proposed here in order to critically review planning theory and practice. The outcome is the proposal of a paradigmatic framework that; in the authorsrsquo; opinion; can adequately guide reflections and actions. A pragmatic and interpretative heritage and the project-orientated approach are the basis of this new spatial planning paradigm.
2010-12-21 2010-12-21File Name: B00F5VCT3A
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Not recommended unless you have no choice!By Yet Another Semi-Anonymous CustomerI am an interior design student (middle-aged career changer) who just finished a semester-long "Interior Codes and Standards" course using this book; so I did not purchase it entirely voluntarily. I concur with "Mary" that this is overkill for a student text. We were not able to get through the entire book in one semester; the chapters were just too long and too detailed to get through quickly. Its also a just plain miserable read - very dense; not well organized; with a lot of awkward sentence constructions that made things somewhat unclear. Most of the calculations were not well explained and a few had errors.Not one of the dozen students in my class had a single good thing to say about the book; except that it was heavy enough to be good for killing bugs (and the slick cover finish wiped off easily afterward; ha ha ha) and it does make a very satisfying thump when you chuck it across the room in frustration. ;) Many ID students go into that field specifically BECAUSE they are visually oriented learners/thinkers rather than verbally/textually oriented ones; and my classmates who were of that inclination found the book almost impenetrable. As "Mary" said; many more illustrations and diagrams could have helped in that respect; but mostly I think it should have been edited quite brutally. I AM a words-oriented person and still found the book very tough going - I had to convert my rental into a purchase because I found it incomprehensible without an enormous amount of highlighting and marginal notes. Speaking of highlighting; even with highlighters alleged to be bleedproof; the paper on which this book is printed sucked up the ink such that the opposite sides of the pages were spotted and streaked with neon colors. My instructor said she didnt much like it either but since she didnt know of another up-to-date; interiors-specific codes textbook available; we didnt have any choice.I plan on keeping my copy for reference instead of reselling it; although Im honestly not sure how much use it really will be; based on the fact that the indexing is INCREDIBLY poor so things take a long time to look up. I actually used Google more for writing my papers than I did the text simply because I could get the information I needed more quickly.For those who are stuck getting this book because it is assigned for class; I suggest getting a good set of highlighters (and just dealing with the fact that it will probably bleed through on these pages - some people like those highlighter pencils often used for Bibles and they dont bleed but I dont find them as eye-catching as a good thick marker line) and trying out some color-coded highlighting systems; a pad of oversized Post-It notes (I like the 4x4 or 3x5 size) for inserting the inevitable corrections and clarifications in the text itself; and 1" Post-It flags to supplement the lousy index; marking important points like major subsections within chapters and especially useful diagrams/tables (especially if you need to write papers based on the text or have open-book quizzes). Give yourself at least twice the time you think youll need to read because youll likely need to reread each section two or three times for it to make sense; and take a 5-10 minute break after each subsection in a chapter so you dont get too frustrated with it.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. This is a very good book that I am using for my Building Codes ...By Corey YoungThis is a very good book that I am using for my Building Codes class helping me earn my degree in Interior Design. It is thorough; however dry at times. However; its I understand thats just the way it is as not every aspect of interior design can be over the top exciting. I would recommend being careful buying from the supplier where I got this book. I bought as new; but after I unwrapped the cellophane I noticed that the cover had some deep scratches in it; as well as the edges of the paper were stained with some dirt/smudging. I didnt bother to return (my fault) as my class was starting and needed to utilize.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Great Book; Doesnt Work on Kindle!By Jenelle ChengIm an interior design student and have to keep up on the latest in building codes for my education. As such; I have purchased the last three iterations of this book and it has served me well and is one of the most used books in my library. The fifth edition even uses the most recent ADA standards that will be taking effect in 2012.However; DO NOT PURCHASE THE KINDLE EDITION!!! I thought it would be convenient to have the digital (searchable) version of this book on my computer rather than carrying it to class all the time. Im SO glad I didnt. After a little research; Ive discovered that the Kindle; while convenient for most leisure reading; uses low resolution text and graphics. This makes the charts and detail drawings (the very reason for having this book in the first place) all but unreadable!I dont know why they even offer a Kindle edition for text books with detailed graphics. Until the Kindle can render color at 300 dpi or above; I wont be supporting digital copies of reference books that depend on high resolution images.This book has been an essential part of my education and remains a valuable reference aid - in print only. It will be wonderful when this and (a few of my other reference books) can all become available in digital formats that are truly comparable to the print editions.