Town and Square from the Agora to the Village Green

By Paul Zucker

By
1340 Rakesh Zinzala
1313 Ravi Ghelani
 Excerpt

Heretofore there have been many excellent books about the various aspects of city
planning, past and present, but they have been written essentially from the viewpoint
of the architect, of the man who imagines and thinks primarily in terms of the three-
dimensional mass, of volume. Space as a three-dimensional void has been
considered rather as a by-product, although more and more attention has been
given to this matter during the last decades. This book takes as its starting point a
concept different from the usual position. It tries to develop the history and aesthetics
of the artistically shaped void, which finds its most outspoken and characteristic form
in the square, in the plaza, the focal point in the organization of the town.

Although a comprehensive survey is aimed at, completeness is of course

unobtainable. The problem is to combine broadness of scope with contextural
depth. Actually such a comprehensive evaluation should be undertaken only when
detailed research in all individual locations and epochs has been carried through
and clarified. However, since progress in research goes on indefinitely and future
scholars may find source material yet unknown, the author believes that the basic
aesthetic categories must first be established and succinctly defined; later, detailed
special studies may follow.
Some paragraphs in this book concern areas outside the development of Western
civilization. In dealing with this material the author has been fully aware of his limited
knowledge in these fields, but, on the other hand, he felt the necessity of touching on
these areas in order to round out the complete picture. However, as Lao-tse said,
"Those who justify themselves do not convince."

An author is expected to express his gratitude to all those who have contributed to
whatever extent through their advice, especially in a work of this kind which covers
such a broad field and which needed so much time for . . .