Demolition in American city planning

Author(s)
Josephson, Anna M. (Anna McKinney)
Thumbnail
DownloadFull printable version (4.335Mb)
Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.
Advisor
Sam Bass Warner.
Terms of use
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
Demolition is deeply embedded in urban systems. It has been explained as both the inevitable churn of the built environment and as a grand gesture of human control of the urban organism. This thesis examines the three main arguments for demolition: social reform, modernization, and non-conformity. Through the lens of each, it looks at the history of American demolition and points out the flawed reasoning that justifies demolition today. It focuses especially on the history of Boston, Massachusetts. It proposes that demolition does not serve a legitimate function in city planning, and offers a new rubric for decision-making around demolition.
Description
Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2010.
 
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
 
Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-65).
 
Date issued
2010
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/59749
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Urban Studies and Planning.
Collections