The city is often depicted as a sort of self-organizing chaos. This collection of essays
edited by Pier Vittorio Aureli makes the case for the opposite hypothesis: The city is always
the result of political intention often in the form of specific architectural projects.
Cities are shaped not only by material forces but also by cultural and didactic visions. This
thesis is substantiated by eight thoroughly researched essays scrutinizing a fascinating
line-up of urban conditions across more than two thousands years of history: from the political
theology of the Islamic city to the political economy of Renaissance architecture from the
rise of public architecture in 17th-century France to the laissez-faire development of the
contemporary Greek city from the exemplary teachings of Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand to the
collaborative work of Hannes Meyer and from the plan of the Mesoamerican metropolis to that
of the Fordist factory floor. In challenging the split between theory and practice The City
as a Project reveals the powerful ways in which the city arises from the constant interaction
between ideas and spatial conditions.
