Housing and the City

Housing is a matter of great urgency around the world. In cities that drive technological change and staggering wealth, there is a fierce struggle over two different models of creating affordable living conditions for working people, the poor, and immigrants. In this thoughtful book—part history lesson, part memoir, part essay—award-winning architect Daniel Solomon explores the successes and failures of cities such as San Francisco, Paris, and Rome in a century-long battle between the so-called City of Hope, which sought to replace traditional urban fabric with more-rational housing patterns, and the City of Love—love of the city's layered history and respect for its intricate social fabric. Solomon demonstrates how the City of Hope has repeatedly failed its social purpose and driven a hot wedge into society's latent divisions, while the City of Love has succeeded as the portal of assimilation and social harmony. Interwoven with stories from Solomon's own 50-year career, this engaging book adds a powerful new voice to the housing discussion. It will appeal to planners, architects, and lay people interested in cities as places of continuity, resilience, and refuge.