Camillo Sitte and the Birth of Modern City Planning - by Goerge R. Collins & Christiane Crasemann Collins

Camillo Sitte: The Birth of Modern City Planning (originally published in 1965, with a Dover edition in 2006) is a seminal work that includes a translation of Camillo Sitte’s 1889 book City Planning According to Artistic Principles (Der Städtebau nach seinen künstlerischen Grundsätzen), alongside extensive commentary by George R. Collins and Christiane Crasemann Collins. This work introduces Sitte’s revolutionary ideas on urban planning, emphasizing aesthetic and cultural principles over the technical and utilitarian approaches dominant in the late 19th century. The book is a critical resource for understanding the foundations of modern urban design, particularly its focus on human-centered public spaces.Camillo Sitte (1843–1903), an Austrian architect, art historian, and urban theorist, reacted against the rigid, grid-based urban planning of his time, exemplified by Vienna’s Ringstrasse, which he saw as prioritizing engineering over livability. Drawing inspiration from medieval and Baroque cities in Italy and Germany, Sitte argued for an incremental, organic approach to urbanism that prioritized the spatial experience of individuals. His book, first published in 1889, critiques the sterile symmetry of modern plazas and boulevards, advocating for irregular street alignments, T-intersections, and “turbine squares” (civic spaces with streets entering like pinwheel arms) to create dynamic, human-friendly environments. He emphasized the integration of art and aesthetics, using sketches and diagrams of European plazas to illustrate how historical cities achieved a harmonious balance of buildings, monuments, and open spaces.