Richard Sennett
Originally a musician, Richard Senett was inspired to study sociology by Hannah Arendt. A professor at the London School of Economics, he teaches social sciences at the University of New York and has written a number of reference books. His recent publications, The Culture of the New Capitalism, (Yale, 2006), Respect in an Age of Inequality, (Penguin, 2003) and The Corrosion of Character, (Norton 1998), study modern capitalism. He analyzes society in modern cities.
Moving City
According to Richard Sennett, cities are naturally diverse, even complex: different activities go on in them simultaneously. This permanent state of effervescence is the sign of a living city. The role of urban planning is to preserve this diversity, which literally makes cities what they are, rather than to rigidly assign a specific function to each space, which then loses all meaning.
Overpopulated City
The perception of a city's density varies by continent. Richard Sennett stresses that Westerners will not find a city such as Shanghai overpopulated, but will be struck by the "slowness" of the traffic caused by its density. Modes of transportation affect perceptions of the city. In London, for example, drivers describe the city as more populated than metro riders.
Thierry Paquot
Ideal City:
Green City :
