The statesman and reformer James Oglethorpe was a significant
figure in the philosophical and political landscape of
eighteenth-century British America. His social contributions--all
informed by Enlightenment ideals--included prison reform, the
founding of the Georgia colony on behalf of the "worthy poor," and
stirring the founders of the abolitionist movement. He also
developed the famous ward design for the city of Savannah, a design
that became one of the most important planning innovations in
American history. Multilayered and connecting the urban core to
peripheral garden and farm lots, the Oglethorpe Plan was intended
by its author to both exhibit and foster his utopian ideas of
agrarian equality.
In his new book, the professional planner Thomas D. Wilson
reconsiders the Oglethorpe Plan, revealing that Oglethorpe was a
more dynamic force in urban planning than has generally been
supposed. In essence, claims Wilson, the Oglethorpe Plan offers a
portrait of the Enlightenment, and embodies all of the major themes
of that era, including science, humanism, and secularism. The
vibrancy of the ideas behind its conception invites an exploration
of the plan's enduring qualities. In addition to surveying
historical context and intellectual origins, this book aims to
rescue Oglethorpe's work from its relegation to the status of a
living museum in a revered historic district, and to demonstrate
instead how modern-day town planners might employ its principles.
Unique in its exclusive focus on the topic and written in a clear
and readable style, "The Oglethorpe Plan "explores this design as a
bridge between New Urbanism and other more naturally evolving and
socially engaged modes of urban development.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!