Building and Dwelling

Resumen del libro

'Thank god for Richard Sennett ... essential reading for all students of the city' Anna Minton, Prospect'Constantly stimulating ideas from a veteran of urban thinking' Jonathan Meades, GuardianIn Building and Dwelling, Richard Sennett distils a lifetime's thinking and practical experience to explore the relationship between the good built environment and the good life. He argues for, and describes in rich detail, the idea of an open city, one in which people learn to manage complexity.

He shows how the design of cities can enrich or diminish the everyday experience of those who dwell in them. The book ranges widely - from London, Paris and Barcelona to Shanghai, Mumbai and Medellin in Colombia - and draws on classic thinkers such as Tocqueville, Heidegger, Max Weber, and Walter Benjamin. It also draws on Sennett's many decades as a practical planner himself, testing what works, what doesn't, and why.

He shows what works ethically is often the most practical solution for cities' problems. This is a humane and thrilling book, which allows us to think freshly about how we live in cities. 'Sennett is my kind of urbanist.

He sees the modern city. He reads its secrets as he walks down the street, kicking over the detritus of the past ... There is no alternative to the planner, but please a planner who has read Sennett's book' Simon Jenkins, Sunday Times

Biografía del autor

Richard Sennett es profesor honorario del Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose en Bartlett, University College of London, miembro del Council of Urban Iniatiatives de ONU-Habitat y Chair de Theatrum Mundi de LSE Cities. Como consultor de la ONU, lleva más de treinta años asesorando en proyectos de desarrollo urbano. Entre sus muchas obras se incluyen "La corrosión del carácter: Las consecuencias personales del trabajo en el nuevo capitalismo", "El artesano", "Construir y habitar: ética para la ciudad" o "Carne y piedra. El cuerpo y la ciudad en la civilización occidental", publicado en Alianza Editorial.