December 10, 2011
"The Nature of Place" Explores People-Friendly Places
Robert Doyle READ TIME: 2 MIN.
NEW YORK, NY - "The Nature of Place" is the result of Avi Friedman's worldwide quest for successful environments where people congregate and feel comfortable. Whether he writes of the casual hospitality of a restaurant in Tuscany, the crowded streets of Hong Kong, the squatter settlements of Tijuana, or the architectural harmony of neighborhoods in London, Friedman conveys his excitement at discovering people-friendly places, and he explores why they work-why they attract us and invite us to linger-while other seemingly similar places do not.
In Dalian, China, a city in transition between an agrarian past and a technological future, Friedman chances upon an open-air market one bright morning and reflects on the community-building effect that markets have in neighborhoods around the world.
In Yorkshire, England, he finds a town square built during Roman times that still draws crowds year round, leading him to explore the history of urban public spaces. The life-sized soapstone sculptures in a Canadian Arctic town inspire Friedman to think about how folk art expresses the personality of a place. And in Assisi, Italy, he seeks to understand sacred places, what defines them and how they affect the pilgrims who visit.
With the warmth and vivid detail of great travel writing, "The Nature of Place" is finely attuned to the way people form intricate and emotional connections to certain places. Friedman touches on history, economics, psychology, religion, and architecture as he celebrates these unique spots and reminds us why we treasure the special places in our own lives.
Avi Friedman is a professor of architecture at McGill University in Montreal. He is the author of ten books, including Narrow Houses and The Grow Home and is a recipient of multiple awards including the United Nations World Habitat Award. Friedman has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Good Morning America and was named by Wallpaper magazine as "one of the ten people from around the world most likely to change the way we live."
DETAILS:
The Nature of Place: A Search for Authenticity
by
Avi Friedman
5 x 7 in
192 pp / 20 b+w
Paperback
ISBN 978-161689-038-4
$19.95
Long-term New Yorkers, Mark and Robert have also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center, Mark is a PhD in American history and literature, as well as the author of the novels Wolfchild and My Hawaiian Penthouse. Robert is the producer of the documentary We Are All Children of God. Their work has appeared in numerous publications, as well as at : www.mrny.com.
