Download or read book Liberty s Grid written by Amir Alexander and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2024-05-30 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The surprising history behind a ubiquitous facet of the United States: the gridded landscape. Seen from an airplane, much of the United States appears to be a gridded land of startling uniformity. Perpendicular streets and rectangular fields, all precisely measured and perfectly aligned, turn both urban and rural America into a checkerboard landscape that stretches from horizon to horizon. In evidence throughout the country, but especially the West, the pattern is a hallmark of American life. One might consider it an administrative convenience—an easy way to divide land and lay down streets—but it is not. The colossal grid carved into the North American continent, argues historian and writer Amir Alexander, is a plan redolent with philosophical and political meaning. In 1784 Thomas Jefferson presented Congress with an audacious scheme to reshape the territory of the young United States. All western lands, he proposed, would be inscribed with a single rectilinear grid, transforming the natural landscape into a mathematical one. Following Isaac Newton and John Locke, he viewed mathematical space as a blank slate on which anything is possible and where new Americans, acting freely, could find liberty. And if the real America, with its diverse landscapes and rich human history, did not match his vision, then it must be made to match it. From the halls of Congress to the open prairies, and from the fight against George III to the Trail of Tears, Liberty’s Grid tells the story of the battle between grid makers and their opponents. When Congress endorsed Jefferson’s plan, it set off a struggle over American space that has not subsided. Transcendentalists, urban reformers, and conservationists saw the grid not as a place of possibility but as an artificial imposition that crushed the human spirit. Today, the ideas Jefferson associated with the grid still echo through political rhetoric about the country’s founding, and competing visions for the nation are visible from Manhattan avenues and Kansan pastures to Yosemite’s cliffs and suburbia’s cul-de-sacs. An engrossing read, Liberty’s Grid offers a powerful look at the ideological conflict written on the landscape.
Download or read book Annual Report written by Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Joint Report with Comprehensive Plan and Recommendations written by New York, New Jersey Port and Harbor Development Commission and published by . This book was released on 1920 with total page 554 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Town Planning written by and published by . This book was released on 1925 with total page 522 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Circular written by United States. National Resources Planning Board and published by . This book was released on 1934 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Builder written by and published by . This book was released on 1898 with total page 1130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book 20 Years of Urban Rebuilding written by Patrice Derrington and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-06-20 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following the destruction of the World Trade Center and the surrounding area of Lower Manhattan from the terrorist attack of 9/11/2001 there were many heroic and extensive efforts to rebuild this iconic urban area in New York City. Political accomplishments, economic recovery, and community rehabilitation were urgent and important concerns and were continually monitored and debated. Supporting this progress and restoration of the critical infrastructure and built environment, however, was a vast and varied gathering of legislative bodies, public institutions, interest groups, and private individuals and entities. This is their story. This book commences with a damage assessment of the immediate aftermath of the attack, describing the extent of destruction to the physical environment—buildings, public places, subway and train stations, roads and sidewalks—and the adverse consequences for the metropolitan economy, local businesses, communities, and families. Then, the story of the long route to recovery is presented, from early visionary intentions through brilliant leadership that confronted daunting bureaucratic procedures, to community voices achieving significant outcomes and eventually to an effective and exemplary partnership of public and private interests, that has produced the current vibrant urban center of downtown New York 23 years later. Of particular interest to researchers, students, and practitioners of urban development and planning, 20+ Years of Urban Recovery contributes to current research on the urban development crisis by focusing on the unique features in rebuilding urban centers following an unforeseen event of major devastation.
Download or read book Planning written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 650 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Pragmatism and Social Hope written by Judith M. Green and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2008-11-20 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 9/11, citizens of all nations have been searching for a democratic public philosophy that provides practical and inspiring answers to the problems of the twenty-first century. Drawing on the wisdom of past and present pragmatist thinkers, Judith M. Green maps a contemporary form of citizenship that emphasizes participation and cooperation and reclaims the critical role of social movements and nongovernmental organizations. Starting with empowering processes of storytelling, truth and reconciliation, and collaborative vision-questing that allow individuals to give voice and new meaning to their loss, anxiety, and hope, Green frames cooperative inquiries to guide transformative actions. From this "second strand" of the democratic experience, leaders and participating citizens can help to shape a more desirable democratic future. In dialogue with Richard Rorty, Judith Butler, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King Jr., Elie Wiesel, Viktor Frankl, Cornel West, and other contemporary thinkers, Green defines the need for deeper understanding and fulfillment of the potentials of the democratic ideal. Drawing insights from Thomas Jefferson, Walt Whitman, William James, John Dewey, Jane Adams, and other earlier thinkers, Green frames a pragmatist understanding of emerging realities and possibilities, growing wells of shared truths, multifaceted histories, and mutually transformative experiences of citizenship. Employing examples from America's complex history and from recent world events, Green locates four sites for effective citizen activism: government at all levels, nonprofit organizations, issue-focused campaigns and social movements, and daily urban living. Green shows how citizens can revive social hope and deepen the democratic experience by drawing on their own knowledge and developing their capabilities through inclusive civic participation.
Download or read book The Surveyor Municipal County Engineer written by and published by . This book was released on 1924 with total page 630 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Philadelphia written by Paul Kahan and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2024-10-29 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Philadelphia is famous for its colonial and revolutionary buildings and artifacts, which draw tourists from far and wide to gain a better understanding of the nation’s founding. Philadelphians, too, value these same buildings and artifacts for the stories they tell about their city. But Philadelphia existed long before the Liberty Bell was first rung, and its history extends well beyond the American Revolution.In Philadelphia: A Narrative History, Paul Kahan presents a comprehensive portrait of the city, from the region’s original Lenape inhabitants to the myriad of residents in the twenty-first century. As any history of Philadelphia should, this book chronicles the people and places that make the city unique: from Independence Hall to Eastern State Penitentiary, Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross to Cecil B. Moore and Cherelle Parker. Kahan also shows us how Philadelphia has always been defined by ethnic, religious, and racial diversity—from the seventeenth century, when Dutch, Swedes, and Lenapes lived side by side along the Delaware; to the nineteenth century, when the city was home to a vibrant community of free Black and formerly enslaved people; to the twentieth century, when it attracted immigrants from around the world. This diversity, however, often resulted in conflict, especially over access to public spaces. Those two themes— diversity and conflict— have shaped Philadelphia’s development and remain visible in the city’s culture, society, and even its geography. Understanding Philadelphia’s past, Kahan says, is key to envisioning future possibilities for the City of Brotherly Love.
Download or read book Regional Survey of New York and Its Environs written by Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs and published by . This book was released on 1927 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Hearings written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations and published by . This book was released on 1961 with total page 1578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Municipal Activities City of Cincinnati written by Cincinnati (Ohio). City Manager and published by . This book was released on 1926 with total page 782 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Pittsburgh Area Transportation Study written by and published by . This book was released on 1961 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Nation written by and published by . This book was released on 1896 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Regional Survey Highway traffic written by and published by . This book was released on 1927 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
