The Evolution of Urban Form

Scheer's investigation of building types in the context of urbanism offers a rigorous introduction for students as well as a strong review for academics and practitioners. The book is especially valuable in that it avoids traditionalist nostalgia and tries to under--stand the most "disordered" parts of our American urban fabric in a way that is honest and optimistic about possibilities for change in the contemporary metropolis. -Marshall Brown, Illinois Institute of Technology This book helps link academic studies of building types with contemporary practice, by providing a clear introduction to the history, theory, and present-day attitudes toward building types. The language is clear, the illustrations well-chosen, and the relationship between history and contemporary ideas is strongly made. - Howard Davis, University of Oregon One of the most thoughtful and penetrating critiques of form-based regulations and new urbanism. Scheer provides a fresh perspective on the relation between ideal forms and actual places. Essential reading for all thinking planners and architects. -Christopher J. Duerksen