[ book tip by Michael Boyle ] I stumbled across this book through a description of the Street Life Project in the book The Wisdom of Crowds and actually expected something a little bit different. This does not mean I ended up being disappointed. BTW, this is from the same author as The Organization Man

This book is one part social observation, one part defence of the city (and ALL of its inhabitants), and two parts urban landscape's best practices. Whyte goes into detail in describing the optimal layout of underpasses, stairs, sidewalks, shop entrances, height of buildings and length of city blocks. Sun and shadow, bounce light and sun easements are described in a way that was both understandable and meaningful. Did you know there was such a thing as air-rights transfer?

Belletristic Post-It #1: They bully cars if they can. When a driver slows to make a right turn they do everything possible to thwart him. They pretend not to see the cars. They make themselves hostage and force an impossible choice. Make way for me or kill me.

Belletristic Post-It #2: Whyte brings up some very interesting points when discussing life for the companies that moved out of NYC. Apart from the fact that most moved their businesses very close to where their respective CEOs were residing, most created an environment far removed from reality (and their clients). Stay hungry!

I would definitely recommend this.

[ book info ] Whyte, William H: City. Doubleday, New York, 1988 . ISBN: 0-385-05458-0.