Temples and Towns: The Form, Elements, and Principles of Planned Towns Paperback – October 18, 2022

Another brilliantly compiled book by Michael Dennis, 'Temples and Towns' is the history of planned cities from Greek and Roman times to the present day. This extraordinarily detailed book is beautifully illustrated with drawings, plans and photographs that take us on a journey through history. He shows us the nature of planned cities, their street and block patterns; the history of the French bastide towns, Renaissance towns; the sophisticated planning of public spaces in the Baroque period; the 19th century city expansions after city walls came down; the tragic disintegration of urbanism in the Modernist era until 1975; and the more hopeful return to traditional city planning in recent years. The book ends with the challenges faced by Climate Change and the need for compact walkable urbanism. A must-buy for students, urban designers and planners.

This is an important book for urban designers and architects as well as a spectacular treat for the general public. Michael Dennis explores the history of planned cities and towns from Greek and Roman times to the present day covering historic eras such as the medieval Bastide towns in France, Renaissance and Baroque plans, 18th, 19th and 20th century cities. The book is extensively illustrated with plans, aerial photographs, and diagrams. He describes the close interaction between town planning and architecture until the advent of Modernism when the two diverged and cities became disrupted. The two final chapters cover what Michael calls 'The Recovery of the City', the return to traditional city form, and a sobering analysis of the catastrophic implications of Climate Change. He ends with an examination of a number of recent examples of sustainable urbanism.