Table of Contents
Chapter 1...... How to Build an Urban Village
Why the urban village is appealing and its three key architectural patterns.
Chapter 2...... Some Over-Riding Principles
Some approaches to the urban environment, software, philosophies and methods.
Chapter 3...... Bumping Into People
The city is a place to bump-into, to 'mix and meet.' Four general principles and some specific examples.
Chapter 4...... Knowing Where You Are
Our modern cities are vast and confusing. But there are ways to make the world more comprehensible.
Chapter 5...... Children in the City
Children are an indicator species of urban health.
Chapter 6...... Feeling Safe
The design of buildings and streetscapes alone does not make cities safer. But some basic principles-natural surveillance and territoriality-can make a difference.
Chapter 7...... Little Necessities
Little personal comforts make life, well, more comfortable.
Chapter 8...... Smoothing Edges: Buffers & Shields
Sharp change is unsettling. Certain uses conflict with others. There are ways to make them more compatible.
Chapter 9...... Fitting In
New buildings are often more unpopular than need be because they do not follow simple rules of being a good neighbor.
Chapter 10..... Waste Not, Want Not: Old Shoes are More Comfortable
Weaving the old and the new together is good business and good sense. There are several ways we do so-discovered spaces, habitat restoration, and recycling as three examples.
Chapter 11..... Getting Around
Motion is a joy and one of the virtues of our age is how widespread it is. 'Traffic calming,' bicycles-as-transport and universal accessibility keep a city moving ahead.
Chapter 12..... Personalizing the City with Art: "Kilroy was here"
Public art is important in helping to create places and breaking down the walls of personal isolation.
Chapter 13..... Some Final Thoughts
How this book came to be. What is the common denominator, if any?
Chapter 14..... How to Learn More
Some approaches to increasing our understanding of the physical environment.
Chapter 15..... What this Book is Not About
Expensive design, high density, heavy rail and government projects are not the basis for comfortable cities.
