This radical new look at urban design asks why our modern cities so often lack a sense of natural growth, and suggests some guidelines for putting that `organic' character back into our High Streets and public buildings.

In this radical new look at the theory and practice of urban design, Christopher Alexander asks why our modern cities so often lack a sense of natural growth, and suggests a set of rules and guidelines by which we can inject that `organic' character back into our High Streets, buildings, and squares. At a time when so many of Britain's inner cities are undergoing, or are in need of, drastic renovation, Christopher Alexander's detailed account of his own experiments in urban-renewal in San Francisco makes thought-provoking reading.

'is of great value in continuing a major process extending back over twenty years' David Gosling, University of Sheffield, Town Planning Review