L'Enfant's Legacy

Public Open Spaces in Washington, D.C.
Erscheinungsjahr 2006
ISBN: 978-0-8018-8318-7
Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press

Buch, Englisch, 304 Seiten, Format (B × H): 187 mm x 263 mm, Gewicht: 735 g

Reihe: Creating the North American Landscape

Outstanding Academic Title for 2007, Choice Magazine

Many American democratic ideals are embodied in the public spaces of its cities, especially in Washington, D.C. In L'Enfant's Legacy architect and scholar Michael Bednar explores the public spaces of the nation's capital, examining the context of the surrounding architecture and the roles of the spaces in the changing functional life of the city.

Bednar examines the ways in which L'Enfant's innovative plan of 1791, along with later developments, symbolizes and encourages democratic freedoms and traditions. In the spaces of Capitol Square, citizens expect to encounter their government directly in a dignified setting, a symbolic public forum. On the White House grounds they expect to meet the president where he works and lives. At the National Mall—America's front lawn—citizens exercise their rights of assembly and free speech, as well as play football, eat lunch, and socialize.

From historic Lincoln Square, Dupont Circle, and Judiciary Square to the newly developed Freedom Plaza, Pershing Park, and Market Square, Bednar's thoughtful study provides a fresh perspective on the role of public space in the expression of democratic ideals.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bednar, Michael

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The L'Enfant Plan
2. Public Space and Democratic Ideals
3. The Mall
4. Capitol Square
5. President's Park
6. Early Squares
7. Office Squares
8. Constituent City
9. Capitol Hill
10. New Public Places
Conclusion
Appendix: Public-Space Analysis
Notes
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Bednar, Michael
Michael Bednar is a senior professor of architecture at the University of Virginia.