Urban Natures: A Technological And Political History, 1600-2030

For more than 300 years, we have been exploring the role of nature in urban development. From the Tuileries in Paris and London's Hyde Park-both opened to the public in the late 17th century-to today's urban forests, the approaches of architects, engineers, landscape designers, and their clients to nature are inextricably linked to technical challenges as well as political and social demands. Since the Age of Enlightenment, urban nature has also been closely intertwined with concerns about hygiene and efforts to mitigate economic inequalities and social divisions. This marks a common thread of urban planning and has shaped the transformation of Paris under Baron Haussmann and the creation of New York's Central Park. To this day, the evolution of urban nature runs hand-in-hand with changing ideas of society. In his groundbreaking book, first published in French in 2024, distinguished architectural historian Antoine Picon demonstrates how urban nature has gained importance over centuries and reached an entirely new dimension in our age of global warming and climate crisis. He highlights the urgency to forge new connections between people and their environment: with soil, water, vegetation, and animal populations. Picon illustrates how far we have already come and invites us to be innovative about our cities' future. AUTHORS: Antoine Picon is the G. Ware Travelstead Professor of the History of Architecture and Technology at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. Erika Naginski is an architectural historian and the Robert P. Hubbard Professor of Architectural History at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. Reto Geiser is a designer and associate professor and Associate Dean for Research and Academic Affairs at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston, Texas. SELLING POINTS: . Distinguished architectural historian Antoine Picon's groundbreaking study of the history and importance of urban nature now available in English . Antoine Picon tells a vivid story of nature's role in urban space and urban design and how it has evolved since the 18th century . Illustrates how nature's presence in cities gives rise to evolving technological challenges . A timely and critical reflection on our changing relationship with urban nature 128 colour, 39 b/w illustrations