Landscape and Utopia

Description

This book examines three landmark utopian visions central to 20th century landscape architectural, planning, and architectural theory. The period between the 1890s and the 1940s was a fertile time for utopian thinking. Significant geographic shifts of large populations; radically altered relations between capital and labor; rapid technological developments; large investments in transportation and energy infrastructure; and repetitive economic disruptions motivated many individuals to wholly reimagine society – including the connections between social relations and the built environment. Landscape and Utopia examines the role of landscapes in the political imaginations of the Garden City, the Radiant City, and Broadacre City. Each project uses landscapes to propose a reconstruction of the relationships between land, labor, and capital but - while the projects are well-known – the role played by landscapes has been largely left unexamined. Similarly, the radical anti-capitalism that underpinned each project has similarly been, for the most part, left out of contemporary discussions. This book sets these projects within a historical and philosophical context and opens a discussion on the role of landscapes in society today. This book will be a must-read for instructors, students, and researchers of the history and theory of landscape architecture, planning, and architecture as well as utopian studies, cultural and social history, and environmental theory. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments 1 Why Utopia? Why Landscape? The Garden City The Radiant City Broadacre City Landscape in Utopia Conclusion Notes Bibliography 2 Landscapes as Political Media Politics Landscapes as Political Media Landscapes as Political Media Role #1: Structure of Resource Distribution and Access Landscapes as Political Media Role #2: Political Imagination Landscapes as Political Media Role #3: Form-Of-Life Conclusion Notes Bibliography 3 When the Social Order Was a Public Question Capital Progress and Poverty Looking Backward: 2000–1887 Fields, Factories, and Workshops Conclusion Notes Bibliography 4 Land, Capital, and Labor The Garden City Capital in the Garden City Labor in the Garden City Land in the Garden City The Radiant City Land in the Radiant City Capital in the Radiant City Labor in the Radiant City Broadacre City Land in Broadacre City Labor in Broadacre City Capital in Broadacre City Conclusion Notes Bibliography 5 Technology Electricity Transportation Building Technology Technologies of War, Political Will, and Landscape Conclusion Notes Bibliography 6 Food and Agriculture Agriculture and Food in the Garden City Food and Agriculture in the Radiant City Agriculture and Food in Broadacre City Conclusion Notes Bibliography 7 Leisure Leisure in the Garden City Leisure in the Radiant City Leisure in Broadacre City Conclusion Notes Bibliography 8 Freedom, Cooperation, and Authority Cooperation, Freedom, and Authority in the Garden City Cooperation Is the Foundation of Freedom Authority Is Derived From Cooperation The Individual Is a Free Member of the Collective Authority, Freedom, and Cooperation in the Radiant City Authority and Where It Comes From Cooperation Required By Authority Authority and Cooperation Are Justified By the Freedom They Make Possible Collective and Individual Freedom Freedom, Cooperation, and Authority in the Broadacre City Freedom Leads to Cooperation Authority Derived From Freedom and Cooperation Individual Dominant Concern But Aim Is Healthy Collective Body Conclusion Notes Bibliography 9 History, Nature, Agency; and So, What Next? Nature Nature and Human Nature in the Garden City Nature and Human Nature in the Radiant City Nature and Human Nature in Broadacre City History The Garden City in History The Radiant City in History Broadacre City in History Agency Agency Required as the Preconditions of Utopia Agency Required for the Implementation of Utopia So, What Next? Notes Bibliography Afterword Index