Concrete Reveries: Consciousness and the City
by Mark Kingwell
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Description
In Concrete Reveries, acclaimed philosopher and cultural critic Mark Kingwell offers a thoughtful answer to Socrates' injunction about the life worth living, using the urban experience to illustrate the dynamic between concreteness and abstraction that operates within us.Witty and authoritative, the book is an exhilarating journey through unexpected terrain.Tags
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Member Reviews
Between Space and Place
I really enjoyed reading "Concrete Reveries" -- to me the book felt like a series of landscape essays describing the evolution of spaces into places. Kingwell is a very philosophical writer and so we really get a the meta-knowledge of why cities are the way they are.
As Kingwell himself states, the book is not a blueprint for an ideal city, it is not a polemic of Le Corbusier, nor is it an extension of Jane Jacobs, it is an exploration into what makes a city a city, what makes New York New York, what makes Shanghai Shanghai.
Though I found the book highly readable, I think the philosophical density may appear daunting to the average reader -- Kingwell is heavy into Heidegger, Descartes, and Freud. I highly show more recommend "Concrete Reveries" for anyone studying urban planning or modern architecture. show less
I really enjoyed reading "Concrete Reveries" -- to me the book felt like a series of landscape essays describing the evolution of spaces into places. Kingwell is a very philosophical writer and so we really get a the meta-knowledge of why cities are the way they are.
As Kingwell himself states, the book is not a blueprint for an ideal city, it is not a polemic of Le Corbusier, nor is it an extension of Jane Jacobs, it is an exploration into what makes a city a city, what makes New York New York, what makes Shanghai Shanghai.
Though I found the book highly readable, I think the philosophical density may appear daunting to the average reader -- Kingwell is heavy into Heidegger, Descartes, and Freud. I highly show more recommend "Concrete Reveries" for anyone studying urban planning or modern architecture. show less
p 46 favorite quote so far: "Solvitur ambulando, medieval monks liked to say: it is solved by walking."
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The Hermenautic Bookshelf
111 works; 7 members
Author Information
29+ Works 838 Members
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- Genres
- Sociology, Nonfiction, Philosophy, General Nonfiction, Art & Design
- DDC/MDS
- 307.7609747 — Society, government, & culture Social sciences, sociology & anthropology Communities Specific kinds of communities Urban communities Biography And History North America Northeastern U.S.
- LCC
- HN80 .N5 .K56 — Social sciences Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform Social history and conditions. Social problems. By region or country
- BISAC
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- 91
- Popularity
- 352,808
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.21)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 4
- ASINs
- 3
