The everyday ballet of the street
A reader tipped us off to a great little book recently published called “Urban Code: 100 Lessons for Understanding the City“, co-written by Anne Mikoleit and Moritz Purckhauer. The authors observe the daily (and nightly) street life of the Soho neighborhood in Manhattan (Prince Street, above), and outline 100 short lessons about what they find. Some of these lessons are obvious, others surprising. Taken as a whole, it’s a delightful way of mapping the urban experience in a way that feels fresh and accessible.
Surprising observation. Read and find out
Crisply designed with black-and-white photos and simple diagrams (above) which illustrate each lesson, this book is highly recommended for anyone interested in what makes urban neighborhoods, and public space, really work. Happy reading.
[images courtesy of MIT Press]
Bhamarchitect's Blog 
Sounds a lot like William H. Whyte’s seminal work “City” which I think came out in the late 1980’s. It was a study of street life in New York City. A must-read!
Yes–good point. There are other earlier works that take this same approach. I have a well-worn copy of Whyte on my shelf! Thanks.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Some may find the writing a bit “dry”, perhaps typical of Swiss researchers. But I thought the style was well suited to the purpose of the book. Thanks!