Creating Cities/Building Cities: Architecture and Urban Competitiveness - Hardcover

`In the 21st century, cities will increasingly become the dominant centres of economic and social activity and interaction. Understanding how they evolve and develop will be of crucial importance to ensuring their long-term success and sustainability. This book is a very welcome addition to the literature that seeks to explain both the tangible and intangible factors underpinning effective urban development.' -- Robert Huggins, Cardiff University, UK

For the past 150 years, architecture has been a significant tool in the hands of city planners and leaders. In Creating Cities/Building Cities, Peter Karl Kresl and Daniele Ietri illustrate how these planners and leaders have utilized architecture to achieve a variety of aims, influencing the situation, perception and competitiveness of their cities. Whether the objective is branding, re-vitalization of the economy, beautification, development of an economic and business center, status development, or seeking distinction with the tallest building, distinctive architecture has been an essential instrument for those who manage the course of a city's development. Since the 1870s, and the reconstruction of Chicago following the Great Fire, architecture has been affected powerfully by advances in design, technology and materials used in construction. The authors identify several key elements in such a strategic initiative and in the penultimate chapter examine several cases of cities that have ignored one or more of these elements and have failed in their attempt. A unique set of insights into this fascinating topic, this study will appeal to specialists in urban planning, economic geography and architecture. Readers interested in urban development will also find its coverage accessible and enlightening.