The Plan of Chicago Chosen as Fall’s One Book, One Chicago Read

nd lets all hope that it causes as many fireworks as Sandra Cisneros’ House on Mango Street did (see here, and here).

Here’ a little blurb about Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City by Carl Smith, and published by the University of Chicago Press, in case you’re interested.

“Arguably the most influential document in the history of urban planning, Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago, coauthored by Edward Bennett and produced in collaboration with the Commercial Club of Chicago, proposed many of the city’s most distinctive features, including its lakefront parks and roadways, the Magnificent Mile, and Navy Pier. Carl Smith’s fascinating history reveals the Plan’s central role in shaping the ways people envision the cityscape and urban life itself.

“Smith’s concise and accessible narrative begins with a survey of Chicago’s stunning rise from a tiny frontier settlement to the nation’s second-largest city. He then offers an illuminating exploration of the Plan’s creation and reveals how it embodies the renowned architect’s belief that cities can and must be remade for the better. The Plan defined the City Beautiful movement and was the first comprehensive attempt to reimagine a major American city. Smith points out the ways the Plan continues to influence debates, even a century after its publication, about how to create a vibrant and habitable urban environment. ”

The University of Chicago Press has also, apparently, started at Facebook page that will be regularly updated starting in August when discussions about the book begin.  This seems like a somewhat silly, but somewhat interesting idea to me.  I guess that’s what the internet is for, isn’t it?