Title: Plan for New Haven /
Authors: Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1870-1957.; Gilbert, Cass, 1859-1934.; Scully, Vincent, 1920-; Plattus, Alan J.,; Rae, Douglas W.,; Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1870-1957.
Year: 2012
Subjects: City planning Connecticut New Haven.; Art, Municipal Connecticut New Haven.; Parks Connecticut New Haven.; New Haven (Conn.) Statistics, Vital.
Abstract: "Long before cities were scrambling to go green and eco-conscious commuters were sensibly strapping on their bike helmets, New Haven, Connecticut, was envisioning a plan for its growth taken from the challenging ideas of the City Beautiful Movement and its call for civic monumentality. In a 1910 plan commissioned from legendary landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and prominent architect Cass Gilbert, New Haven's leaders charted new ground by incorporating revolutionary models for studying social and demographic data and using that information to help guide the physical plan for the city's growth. The visionary result is a gem of American urban planning history that became a benchmark in discussions about the shape the new American city would take in the twentieth century. This facsimile edition of the 1910 Plan for New Haven, available to general readers for the first time, includes a critical contemporary review of the century-old plan. Architectural scholar Alan Plattus and urban economist Douglas Rae contribute modern perspectives on the plan's importance to the development of both New Haven and American urbanism in the current rediscovery of urban livability and sustainability. The lessons of master urban planners like Cass and Gilbert have never been more valuable and can guide an exploration of how American urbanism has evolved and where it is going in the twenty-first century. "--
Contents: Preface : Plans of New Haven / by Vincent J. Scully -- Introduction : The 1910 Civic Commission Report and the American City Planning Tradition / by Alan J. Plattus -- Report of the New Haven Civic Improvement Commission -- Appendix : Prefatory notes / by George Dudley Seymour -- Appendix : Part I. Statistical report on the City of New Haven -- Appendix : Part II. Mr. Olmsted's report on building lines -- Afterword : The fate of the 1910 plan / by Douglas W. Rae.