Public Places Urban Spaces

Matthew Carmona, Steven Tiesdell, Tim Heath, Taner Oc (2010), Architectural Press

This book, by Matthew Carmona, is a holistic guide to the many complex and interacting dimensions of urban design; in this Second Edition now in full colour, comprehensively illustrated, and fully updated with expanded discussions on many aspects of urban design including on sustainability, health and inclusion.

The discussion moves systematically through ideas, theories, research and the practice of urban design from an unrivalled range of sources. It aids the reader by gradually building the concepts one upon the other towards a total view of the subject – allowing it to be dipped into for specific information, or read from cover to cover.

The author team explain the catalysts of change and renewal, and explore the global and local contexts and processes within which urban design as ‘place-making’ occurs. The book presents six key dimensions of urban design theory and practice – the social, visual, functional, temporal, morphological and perceptual – and relates these to discussions of the market, regulatory processes and how design is communicated. This is a clear and accessible text that provides a comprehensive discussion of this complex subject

Matthew Carmona, The Bartlett School of Planning, University College London.
Steven Tiesdell, Department of Urban Studies, University of Glasgow.
Tim Heath, School of the Built Environment, University of Nottingham.
Taner Oc, University of Nottingham and University College London.