Philosophical Urban Theories: The Real(m) of Relph
The only knowledge I had of theories going into urban design were those glossed over when studying Corbusier in a mandatory architectural history class. As you'd imagine when you're in a stuffy lecture hall with 60 other people, who just like you all have better things to do on a Thursday morning at 8a.m. and who all don't want to be there, much of that information is retained. But as I was delving into the world of Urban Design theories I started to feel that knowledge come back to me. As I found I do not much care for theories about the outcome or being (form) of urban design but rather what formed the ideals that created what we know today as urban design I quickly found myself drawn back to Corbusier’s Contemporary City. Steeping in societal ideals it dealt with rationalization and choreography; moving parts to make a whole. The tagline for societal theory is “the city as an expression of society”, I stared at that statement for hours. How can a city form society when