An enormous orange compendium, The Endless City approaches architecture itself in scale, scope and design. All of the little details are right, from its visually comfortable grid to the stunning panoramic long-exposure photos of cities and urban sprawl. The result of a joint project between The London School of Economics and Deutsche Bank's Alfred Herrhausen Society, the book contains so much data, information and statistics that some facts even needed to spill some over onto the cover. Despite the imposing cover, the information and opinions within prove not only to educate but also to inspire.
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Jacobs speaks lovingly about the diversity of the city streets, the need for a heterogeneous population and a "neighborhood" actively engaged in monitoring or policing its own behavior and growth. Walking down the quirky and vibrant streets of lower Manhattan, I can't help but feel that any other thesis would be tragically misguided. Consequently, I remained concerned until reading this book that urban planners might still hold some megalomaniacal tendencies. I was proven wrong only part way into the introduction and I still had a lot more to learn.
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Perhaps The Endless City is like a city-- enormous, deep and complex --while The Death and Life of American Cities is more like a neighborhood -- visceral, immediate and small. Jane Jacobs had one thesis while Burdett and Sudjic seem to have hundreds. If the The Endless City could be abridged into any one statement, it is this: The coming of the urban age is inevitable; we cannot control it, but we may be able to understand and shape how it develops and grows.
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