New Amsterdams

• Published in: TLS. Times literary supplement (1969) no. 5766; pp. 3 - 5
• Main Author: Hines, Thomas S
• Format: Journal Article Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: London TES Global Limited 04-10-2013
• Subjects: Architecture; Brook, Daniel; Cities; History; Nonfiction; Urban development; Dubai United Arab Emirates; Shanghai China
• ISSN: 0307-661X; 2517-7729

Reviews A History of Future Cities by Daniel Brook, a book which examines how the cities of St Petersburg, Bombay, Shanghai and Dubai modelled themselves on Western cities. It charts the history of each of these cities and how the designers came to be influenced by Western cities for their urban creations, it then goes through the histories of these cities and how they have impacted on each of the country's socio-political contexts. The architectural evolution of the cities is examined through the eyes of creators and visionaries and the styles they sought to replicate. St Petersburg was modelled on Amsterdam, and Brook examines the political trajectories of the city, especially in the context of the Russian revolutions and how the capital was moved from St Petersburg and the city itself was renamed to Leningrad. Bombay's evolution came from the expansion of the British Empire, and the desire to replicate a vision of London in India, but with becoming the centre of the Indian film industry, Bombay has become modelled on Hollywood too. Shanghai evolved from a cluster of fishing camps into a prosperous trade centre, and the ensuing conflict between the British and Chinese led the city to becoming another model of Western-style urban planning in the far east. Dubai has the most recent history, beginning in the 1830s when a sheikhdom was established there by the Arabian Maktoum family, whose descendants have ruled it ever since. It wasn't until the second half of the twentieth century that this city began to really expand in a monumental fashion, and has took its influences from cities all over the world. (Quotes from original text)