Building and Dwelling

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What is the relationship between how cities are built and how people live in them?

In his latest work, influential urbanist Richard Sennett distils a lifetime’s thinking and practical experience to demonstrate the profound effect that the design of cities has upon the everyday experience of those who dwell in them.

In describing how cities such as Paris, Barcelona and New York assumed their modern forms, Sennett explores the intimate relationship between the good built environment and the good life.

Showing how the 'closed city' - segregated, regimented, and controlled - has spread from the global North to the exploding urban agglomerations of the global South, he argues, as an alternative, for the 'open city,' where citizens learn to manage complexity, and planners experiment with urban forms that make it easier for residents to live side by side.

At a time when more humans live in urban spaces than ever before, Sennett draws upon decades of deep learning and engagement with city life to form a bold and original vision for the future of cities.