Living Cities: Three Centuries of Park Systems traces the history and logic of urban park systems across five continents, making the case that civic design — purposefully oriented towards the common good — remains one of the most powerful tools available for building equitable, ecologically sound cities.
About This Book
From Goethe's landscaped gardens at Weimar in 1778 to contemporary interventions in Medellín and Seoul, Living Cities charts more than 30 park systems as coherent urban design strategies rather than incidental green space. Matthew Skjonsberg builds a compelling argument for the revival of civic design — the tradition of urban and landscape planning explicitly directed at collective benefit. Between 1900 and 1950, park systems functioned as “green armatures” threading public infrastructure — schools, hospitals, playgrounds, administrative buildings — through cities. This chronological survey demonstrates how that model addressed ecological health, social inclusion, and intergenerational access, and why it deserves renewed attention in contemporary urban planning and landscape architecture.
Key Features
- 288 pages of chronological case studies, historical analysis, and comparative urban design survey across five continents
- Author: Matthew Skjonsberg
- Notable case studies include Goethe's Park an der Ilm, Weimar (1778); John Nash's Regent Street, London (1806); Chicago's park system (1850); Albert Bodmer and Maurice Braillard's plans for Geneva (1936); Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Valley (1947); and contemporary projects in Addis Ababa, Madrid, Medellín, New York, and Seoul
- Published by Park Books, 2023
What You'll Discover
- How park systems have historically functioned as ecological infrastructure — securing clean soil, water, and air — rather than purely aesthetic amenities
- The peak era of civic design between 1900 and 1950, when green armatures organised public facilities across dense urban environments with measurable social effect
- A comparative reading of more than 30 park systems spanning three centuries, revealing recurring design principles across vastly different political and geographic contexts
- Why civic design as an intergenerational practice offers a historically grounded framework for addressing contemporary challenges in urban settlement and ecological resilience
About the Author
Matthew Skjonsberg is the author of Living Cities, a study that synthesises landscape history, urban planning, and civic design theory. His research draws on case studies across five continents to argue for the renewed relevance of park systems in contemporary city-making. [Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 288
- Dimensions: 30 × 24.5 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783038603634
- Publisher: Park Books
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Landscape architects, urban designers, and planners with an interest in civic design history; architects and academics researching ecological urbanism; design students seeking a comparative, historically grounded survey of public space and park systems.