Also, perhaps you've read Marshall Berman's All That is Solid Melts into Air? One of my all time favorites, and connects a lot with the theme here. Discussed also by Ned in his series (which is maybe the basis of his upcoming book?) https://publiccomment.blog/p/notes-toward-a-unified-theory-of
Thanks, Zak. I feel like this was an underrated post (😂), so I very much appreciate your comment. Thanks also for the recommendations—I'll check out both!
I did not have a mature notion of "downtown" until after reading Fogelson. This is a must read for urbanists, even if most of the book is dry. To put a finer point on the emergence of concentrating commercial land uses, Fogelson's example is from one of Hone's diary entries in 1836, setting a latest possible year of emergence. But this was happened in New York before 1836. By mid-century, the phenomena were common enough to necessitate new words in local vernacular, such as "downtown."
This is so great, Ryan! You might like this review I read recently that was largely about the literature of early modern cities: https://metropolitanreview.com/the-miraculous-and-miserable-city/
Also, perhaps you've read Marshall Berman's All That is Solid Melts into Air? One of my all time favorites, and connects a lot with the theme here. Discussed also by Ned in his series (which is maybe the basis of his upcoming book?) https://publiccomment.blog/p/notes-toward-a-unified-theory-of
Thanks, Zak. I feel like this was an underrated post (😂), so I very much appreciate your comment. Thanks also for the recommendations—I'll check out both!
I did not have a mature notion of "downtown" until after reading Fogelson. This is a must read for urbanists, even if most of the book is dry. To put a finer point on the emergence of concentrating commercial land uses, Fogelson's example is from one of Hone's diary entries in 1836, setting a latest possible year of emergence. But this was happened in New York before 1836. By mid-century, the phenomena were common enough to necessitate new words in local vernacular, such as "downtown."