In this pioneering study of contemporary Chinese urban form; Duanfang Lu provides an analysis of how Chinese society constructed itself through the making and remaking of its built environment. She shows that as Chinarsquo;s quest for modernity created a perpetual scarcity as both a social reality and a national imagination; the realization of planning ideals was postponed. The work unit ndash; the socialist enterprise or institute ndash; gradually developed from workplace to social institution which integrated work; housing and social services. The Chinese city achieved a unique geography made up in large part of self-contained work units.Remaking Chinese Urban Form provides an important reference for academics and students conducting research on China. It will be a key source for courses on Asia in architecture; urban planning; geography; sociology and anthropology; at both the graduate and undergraduate level. The insightful yet accessible introduction to urban China will also be of interest to architects; urban designers and planners ndash; as well as general audience who wish to learn about contemporary Chinese society.
#2518985 in eBooks 2006-09-27 2006-09-27File Name: B000SI7DQ8
Review
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful. Sloppy; poor quality drawingsBy D. ColeThe contents of this book are useless to the graphics professional. They are hand-drawn illustrations of some other art form; but they are not art themselves. They are sloppy. Wobbly; clumsy line art without a hint of the sophisticated thick-thin line quality that is characteristic and key to northwest native art. At best Id say this book is full of "cartoon" representations. Dont judge the craftsmanship of the venerable native artists by this book. Their skill was far superior. The images in this book; although 100-300 years the younger; appear much more primitive than the original art that it is supposed to represent.Who might find this book useful? Kids making book reports about native American art. Maybe a crafter looking for some vague sense of inspiration. An artist might find some reference on the composition of PNW native art here; but specific elements are wobbly; sloppy and poorly rendered; so you would need some other reference to see get a complete picture.If you are a professional designer; architect or an artist looking for actual images or even elements that you can use in graphic design such as packaging; or interior decor - or perhaps a jewelry designer; sculptor or painter; there is nothing of use to you in this volume. Maybe its not intended for that audience.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Waste of paperBy D. ColeNot only is the content of this book; poorly rendered and amateurish; but the same book is available with a different cover design; so if youre not careful; and buying hastily; you can buy the same waste of paper TWICE!The images in this book are simply unusable; and I doubt even inspirational. They are poor-quality; sloppy illustrations that sort of "refer to" a wonderful native art form; but do not mistake; they do not do it justice. If you are looking for a source of actual; usable graphics for a project needing some NW native art - for jewelry design; graphic design; architecture; etc - this is NOT that book. Looks like it was drawn by an inexperienced and lazily teenager; not a professional designer or illustrator. The original native artists who created the work that this book is attempting to represent were a thousand times more careful and talented; with steady hands and impeccable eyes to design; composition; line quality; contrast and overall visual effect. None of that comes though in the pages of this graphic disgrace.8 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Simplistic; Misleading; Not UsefulBy Pooh GuyWhen this book came out; there were surprisingly few books about Pacific Northwest Coast artwork; and many of the books that had been written were out of print.I suppose its possible that the author or publisher honestly felt they saw a niche that needed to be filled; and intended to produce a simple; helpful book. But regardless of their intent; the impression I came away with was that this book was thrown together in order to cash in on the rising interest and; at that time; paucity of reference material related to this artform.The book is remarkably short; there is a lack of useful information about the artform or its elements; and many of the designs that are included in the book do not even appear to be native to this style of art.I hate to pan a book; because Im a part-time writer myself; but facts are facts. Regardless of what you are looking for when it comes to Northwest Coast Art - how to understand it; style variations amongst different northwest tribes; how to draw this type of art; etc. -- this book will not provide it for you. The only reason I can think of for buying this book is because you want a copy of every book ever written on the topic. Otherwise; dont waste your money on this one.[...]