World capitals

A national capital is a multifunctional city-it stands as a symbol of desired national greatness and political power and also as a cultural and social cen ter. At the same time it is a working day-to-day city that must perform the many varieties of urban activities and fulfill the needs of its people. For these reasons it is not surprising that nation states have lavished scarce re sources on the quality of life in their capitals, especially in urban design and grandiose architectural furnish ings.

In this book an impressive array of experts in the field of city planning from different parts of the world study the problems and successes of eleven major world capitals. The cities rep resent a broad range of economic and political levels, and each is pre sented on a global, intercultural and interdisciplinary scale. Further, each city is traced by its historical growth, its planning or lack of it, its present condition and the prospects for future development. The lessons learned from these studies are tied together in four synthesizing essays by the gen eral editor.

WORLD CAPITALS is richly illustrated and provides in one volume the most. complete survey of major cities avail able.