Author: Gruen Victor
Place: London
Publisher: Hudson and Thames
Year: 1965
Volume: of Our Cities hamt 8
Pages: 368
Source: Donated By Charles Correa
Subject: Urbanisation
Sub-Subject: Urban Devleopment
Keyword: Urban Development, Urban Crisis
Classification: 711.4
Shelf: C3R3
Accession No: B211
Contents: Introduction: Planning a Book on Planning Part One: The City Part Two: The Anti-City Part Three: The Counterattack Books Recommended to the Interested Reader Illustrations: Credits and Sources Index
Abstract: Victor Gruen, a visionary architect, criticized America’s postwar suburban sprawl and the loss of communal centers. In response, he envisioned malls not just as shopping spaces but as cultural and social hubs—dense, walkable town centers where people could gather, interact, and experience public life. During the late 1950s and 60s, he designed some of the first malls and pedestrian-friendly areas, aiming to counter the decentralization caused by suburban flight. Though his vision was often co-opted into purely commercial spaces, his ideas about urban cohesion and multifunctional design endure. His unfinished Fort Worth, Texas plan still influences modern urban planners.