Richard LeGates and Frederick Stout have established themselves firmly with their series of Readers in the overall field of urban studies. This Urban Design Reader is a welcome addition to their expanding list. It will be, and deserves to be, on the reading lists of urban design programmes and modules across the English-speaking world. Larice and Macdonald, the editors of this volume, faced a difficult task in choosing a selection of the most influential and informative readings across urban design. The difficulties are possibly slightly different from other Readers in the series in that urban design is still a relatively emergent area of distinct study, so that some readings are relatively new and face the risk of becoming rapidly outdated, or even de-bunked, whereas other aspects of the field, such as psychological responses to specific environments, suffer from the lack of an extensive authoritative literature. There is also the issue of practice. As the urban design matures as a professional activity, many influential texts are appearing as manuals and practice guidance.
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