"A port is very different from a city in the desert; a city built around a river is not the same as one extending over flat plains. A medieval street plan is unlike a logical cartesian grid layout. Architects talk of urbanism, of the fabric of the city and designs for the metropolis, but the reality is that the urbanity of Dallas has nothing in common with that of Venice, the urban fabric of Fez differs radically from that of Buenos Aires and, obviously, metropolitan design has a very different character in Vienna or Calcutta." "For these reasons, this book does not treat the city as one indivisible idea, but rather concentrates on individual cities, focusing on around twenty cities by means of a look at their latest architectural works."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved