In this book Michael Maltzan holds conversations with a photographer, architects, a landscape architect, a futurists, and a urban planner about Los Angeles’s recent past and its near and distant future. For Maltzan, Los Angeles is currently in a delicate moment of transformation “where past vocabularies of the city and of urbanism are no longer adequate, and at this moment, the very word no longer applies.” In order to guide this transformation in a positive direction Maltzan asserts that “architects, urban theorists, architects, designers, planners, and city leaders requires keen investigation to produce forms that represent this city and and its culture, as opposed to importing other urban models.” The conversations along with the photographs by Iwan Baan presented in this book are part of the keen investigation Maltzan advocates for. This makes for a very engaging book for anyone interested in Los Angeles and shaping the future of cities in general.
Conversations contributors include: Catherine Opie, Sarah Whiting, Charles Waldheim, Matthew Coolidge, Geoff Manaugh, Mirko Zardini, Edward J. Soja, James Flanigan, Charles Jencks and Qingyun Ma.
Contents 39 Conversation with Los Angeles / Michael Maltzan 44 Conversation from Nearby / Jessica Varner
46 Conversation with Catherine Opie / Home 59 Conversation with Sarah Whiting / Cultural Infrastructure 84 Conversation with Charles Waldheim / Urban Landscape
94 Conversation with Matthew Coolidge / Land Use 106 Conversation with Geoff Manaugh / Dense Urban Futures 135 Conversation with Mirko Zardini / Experience of the City 142 Conversation with Edward J. Soja / Spatial Polity
154 Conversation with James Flanigan / Local LA, Global LA
181 Conversation with Charles Jencks / New Community
190 Conversation with Qingyun Ma / LA School Again
Edited by Jessica Varner Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: Hatje Cantz (March 29, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: 9783775728461 ISBN-13: 978-3775728461
