An Urban Odyssey: A Critic’s Search for the Soul of Cities and Self by Sam Hall Kaplan
A Zelig of urbanism,
Kaplan has rubbed shoulders—and rankled egos—with seemingly every major player
in modern urban design and architecture. His very enjoyable memoir outlines his
consistent mission that planning and architecture need to serve the public.
Kaplan weaves unblinking commentary as he takes us on his promised odyssey as
an observer of community—from his native Brooklyn stoop to his longtime Malibu
home. In between is a dizzying array of jobs: fresh fruit and vegetable
inspector, bit player on “Beverly Hills 90210,” consultant to Disney
Imagineering, teacher, Emmy-winning producer, planner, and most significantly
as reporter, writer, and critic at New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Planning Report, KCRW-FM, KTTV News, KPCC, and Village Voice,
among so many others.
More than any other,
the chapter that encapsulates the essence of Kaplan is “Disney Hall and Its
Discontents.” Frank Gehry emerges at several points in the book—more often than
anyone except for Jane Jacobs—as the anti-exemplar of what Kaplan believes is a
responsible steward of the city fabric. He has no time for ego-driven
design—and no barriers in stating his opinion. However contrary to fans and
fawners, Kaplan has no fear of losing a job or access, as his first allegiance
is to the greater community. He always considers the full scope of a building’s
effect on its users—workers, builders, patrons—before any artistic gesture.
Stalwartly writing his mind—paying no heed to trend or hype—Kaplan consistently
maintains that if something looks good but isn’t user friendly, then it isn’t
architecture.
