Richard Sennett's Building and Dwelling is an important book arguing for an 'ethical' city, open to the experience of dwelling. 'Ideal' city proposals since Vitruvius have ranged from aesthetic ideals to the practicalities of health. Le Corbusier's Radiant City sits firmly in this tradition, complete with sketches of Modular Man boxing in his light-filled apartment in the air. Sennett departs from such traditional ideals, in particular the Modernist city. Sennett examines the relationship between how we build and dwell in the contemporary city, arguing that an 'ethical' city, open to all, cannot exist where building and dwelling are divorced. Sennett elaborates on this distinction; the first a physical place, the second the experienced city. The French used the words ville and cite to distinguish the two. Initially ville referred to the whole city and cite a particular place. By the 16th century, cite referred to the character and life of a place; built incrementally, adapted over time by those that dwelt there.
展开▼
