Housing and the City

Housing is a matter of great urgency around the world. In cities that drive technological change and staggering wealth, there is a fierce struggle over two different models of creating affordable living conditions for working people, the poor, and immigrants. In this thoughtful book--part history lesson, part memoir, part essay--award-winning architect Daniel Solomon explores the successes and failures of cities such as San Francisco, Paris, and Rome in a century-long battle between the so-called City of Hope, which sought to replace traditional urban fabric with more-rational housing patterns, and the City of Love--love of the city's layered history and respect for its intricate social fabric. Solomon demonstrates how the City of Hope has repeatedly failed its social purpose and driven a hot wedge into society's latent divisions, while the City of Love has succeeded as the portal of assimilation and social harmony. Interwoven with stories from Solomon's own 50-year career, this engaging book adds a powerful new voice to the housing discussion. It will appeal to planners, architects, and lay people interested in cities as places of continuity, resilience, and refuge.