New Books in Architecture

Hank Dittmar, "DIY City: The Collective Power of Small Actions" (Island Press, 2020)


Listen Later

Some utopian plans have shaped our cities —from England’s New Towns and Garden Cities to the Haussmann plan for Paris and the L’Enfant plan for Washington, DC. But these grand plans are the exception, and seldom turn out as envisioned by the utopian planner. Inviting city neighborhoods are more often works of improvisation on a small scale. This type of bottom-up development gives cities both their character and the ability to respond to sudden change.

Hank Dittmar, urban planner, friend of artists and creatives, sometime rancher, “high priest of town planning” to the Prince of Wales, believed in letting small things happen. Dittmar concluded that big plans were often the problem. Looking at the global cities of the world, he saw a crisis of success, with gentrification and global capital driving up home prices in some cities, while others decayed for lack of investment.

In DIY City: The Collective Power of Small Actions (Island Press, 2020), Dittmar explains why individual initiative, small-scale business, and small development matter, using lively stories from his own experience and examples from recent history, such as the revival of Camden Lock in London and the nascent rebirth of Detroit. DIY City, Dittmar’s last original work, captures the lessons he learned throughout the course of his varied career—from transit-oriented development to Lean Urbanism—that can be replicated to create cities where people can flourish.

DIY City is a timely response to the challenges many cities face today, with a short supply of affordable housing, continued gentrification, and offshore investment. Dittmar’s answer to this crisis is to make Do-It-Yourself the norm rather than the exception by removing the barriers to small-scale building and local business. The message of DIY City can offer hope to anyone who cares about cities.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/architecture

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

New Books in ArchitectureBy Marshall Poe

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

11 ratings


More shows like New Books in Architecture

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,397 Listeners

The Book Review by The New York Times

The Book Review

3,853 Listeners

Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

295 Listeners

The New Yorker: Fiction by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker: Fiction

3,315 Listeners

New Books in History by Marshall Poe

New Books in History

209 Listeners

the memory palace by Nate DiMeo

the memory palace

6,841 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,145 Listeners

New Books in Psychoanalysis by Marshall Poe

New Books in Psychoanalysis

190 Listeners

New Books in Military History by Marshall Poe

New Books in Military History

163 Listeners

New Books in Economics by Marshall Poe

New Books in Economics

26 Listeners

New Books in African American Studies by New Books Network

New Books in African American Studies

161 Listeners

New Books in Environmental Studies by Marshall Poe

New Books in Environmental Studies

18 Listeners

New Books in Sociology by New Books Network

New Books in Sociology

46 Listeners

New Books in Philosophy by New Books Network

New Books in Philosophy

110 Listeners

The LRB Podcast by The London Review of Books

The LRB Podcast

292 Listeners

The History of English Podcast by Kevin Stroud

The History of English Podcast

6,355 Listeners

New Books in Critical Theory by Marshall Poe

New Books in Critical Theory

143 Listeners

New Books in Intellectual History by New Books Network

New Books in Intellectual History

62 Listeners

New Books in Asian American Studies by Marshall Poe

New Books in Asian American Studies

25 Listeners

The Allusionist by Helen Zaltzman

The Allusionist

3,011 Listeners

About Buildings + Cities by Luke Jones & George Gingell Discuss Architecture, History and Culture

About Buildings + Cities

264 Listeners

Sidedoor by Smithsonian Institution

Sidedoor

2,183 Listeners

Twenty Thousand Hertz by Dallas Taylor

Twenty Thousand Hertz

3,914 Listeners

Empire by Goalhanger

Empire

2,048 Listeners

Past Present Future by David Runciman

Past Present Future

316 Listeners