To Scale

How big is Moscow’s Red Square in comparison to Tiananmen Square? Why are there fewer public squares in Japan than in Italy? What lessons might be found in the plan of Savannah, Georgia’s historic district?

To Scale is a collection of plans of urban spaces drawn at the same scale to help answer these questions by providing a single and accurate resource of urban plans for architects, urban designers, planners and teachers, and students.

The book contains one hundred figure-ground plans from seventy-eight cities around the world, describing an identical area (half a kilometer square) for each urban space. Accompanying each plan are photographs, diagrams and text that illustrate essential aspects of the plan or urban space for the designer.

This compilation is an excellent resource helping to visualize, compare and reconceptualize urban design for students wanting to understand the lessons of existing cities and the making of urban spaces.