Intercultural Urbanism

Citiestoday are paradoxical. They are engines of innovation and opportunity, but theyare also plagued by significant income inequality and segregation by ethnicity,race, and class. These inequalities and segregations are often reinforcedby the urban built environment: the planning of space and the design ofarchitecture. This condition threatens attainment of wider social andeconomic prosperity. In this innovative new study, Dean Saitta exploresquestions of urban sustainability by taking an intercultural, trans-historicalapproach to city planning.Saitta usesa largely untapped body of knowledge-the archaeology of cities in the ancientworld-to generate ideas about how public space, housing, and civic architecturemight be better designed to promote inclusion and community, while also makingour cities more environmentally sustainable. By integrating thisknowledge with knowledge generated by evolutionary studies and urbanethnography (including a detailed look at Denver, Colorado, one of America'smost desirable and fastest growing 'destination cities' but one that is alsoexperiencing significant spatial segregation and gentrification), Saitta's bookoffers an invaluable new perspective for urban studies scholars and urbanplanning professionals.