Cities
today are paradoxical. They are engines of innovation and opportunity, but they
are also plagued by significant income inequality and segregation by ethnicity,
race, and class. These inequalities and segregations are often reinforced
by the urban built environment: the planning of space and the design of
architecture. This condition threatens attainment of wider social and
economic prosperity. In this innovative new study, Dean Saitta explores
questions of urban sustainability by taking an intercultural, trans-historical
approach to city planning.
Saitta uses
a largely untapped body of knowledge—the archaeology of cities in the ancient
world—to generate ideas about how public space, housing, and civic architecture
might be better designed to promote inclusion and community, while also making
our cities more environmentally sustainable. By integrating this
knowledge with knowledge generated by evolutionary studies and urban
ethnography (including a detailed look at Denver, Colorado, one of America’s
most desirable and fastest growing ‘destination cities’ but one that is also
experiencing significant spatial segregation and gentrification), Saitta’s book
offers an invaluable new perspective for urban studies scholars and urban
planning professionals.”
