Our top reads of 2009

As 2010 gets started we’re taking one look back at 2009. It’s time for our second annual list of our favourite reads from the past year.

By the re:place team

We at re:place read a lot of great books - new and old - this past year, but we’ve managed to come up with our ten favourites from the dozens that we’ve reviewed in 2009.

There are a handful of local reads (including two courtesy of local historian John Atkin) that take an interesting look at Vancouver and its residents. Others examine cities, architecture and pedal power. All of these are recommended reads for any urban enthusiast.

re:place welcomes review copies of books published in 2009 - or old titles one believes should be “rediscovered” - for consideration for next year’s Top 10 Books List.

We’ve listed our picks below in alphabetical order. Please click on the title of any of the books to read the full review.

Basics Urban Analysis
By Gerrit Schwalbach (Birkhäuser, 2009)

Architect and researcher Gerrit Schwalbach concisely describes the techniques and processes for analyzing cities. Well structured, compact, readily comprehensible and easily navigated, this book sits in a league of its own given the complexity of its subject.

The BLDG BLOG Book
By Geoff Manaugh (Chronicle Books, 2009)

Emerging from the online BLDG BLOG, the book isn’t a straight blog-to-book adaptation but is composed of revised, elaborated and more developed blog posts. The site was Manaugh’s reaction to the limited academic vision of architecture. With a strong interest in science, literature, gaming, and pop futurism - among other things - the blog explores the intersection of these themes with implications for architecture (which is much more broadly defined to include all human constructed environments). Over time, Manaugh’s lucid prose and quirky topics have gathered awards, an international crowd of followers….and now a book. Manaugh’s work seems more in keeping with the organic way creativity works - attempting to make connections between disparate (and seemingly isolated) fragments of everyday life and funneling it through the “lens” of ones passions.

Exploring Vancouverism
By Howard Rotberg (Canadian Values Press, 2008)

This does not paint a pretty picture of Vancouver, but strikes at the heart of many of this city’s major problems including a lack of affordable housing. Rotberg describes a Vancouver that is shallow, narcissistic and more obsessed with apperances to the outside world than with solving the problems of its most vulnerable citizens.

Hatch: The New Architectural Generation
Edited by Kieran Long (2008 Laurence King Publishing)

An impressive anthology of current architectural design, photography, and writing, Long has drawn from a broad multi-disciplinary demographic of both local London and international designers, including architects, engineers, writers, photographers, teachers, and fashion designers, to name only a few. Hatch is the roadmap to the next fifty years of architectural discourse, and a visually stunning encyclopedia of our current architectural zeitgeist.

Hope in Shadows
By Brad Cran and Gillian Jerome (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2008)

This is probably the  best book to capture the essence of the Downtown Eastside. A brutally honest narrative tells the stories of 33 residents and gives the reader a sense of the community spirit that exists in the DTES. There are so many misconceptions about what life is like in the Downtown Eastside that it is refreshing to read a book that gives a voice to many people who are only occassionally used for soundbites for news stories, but other than that are mostly ignored.

Mannahatta
By Eric W. Sanderson (Abrams, 2009)

To celebrate New York’s 400th anniversary, ecologist Eric Sanderson tells the engrossing tale of reconstructing and visualizing the landscape of New York on the eve of its birth in 1609. Manhatta deserves all the acclaim it has received for its technological achievement but, more importantly, for the sheer determination and will of its makers who undertook the detective work that lead to the beautiful imagery throughout.

The Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities
By Jeff Mapes (Oregon State University Press, 2009)

This book takes the cultural temperature of cycling in America right now, against the backdrop of biking history and biking in European cities. Moving with agility between anecdotal stories collected first-hand by the author and weighty urban studies, Mapes presents a remarkably diverse collection of points of view on this form of transportation.

SkyTrain Explorer: Heritage Walks From Every Station
By John Atkin (Steller Press, 2005)

Written as a carry-along guide for short walking tours around the 15 stations serviced in common by the Expo and Millenium Lines, this book takes explorers through tiny pockets of Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster. While providing a rich and unsentimental understanding of how these 15 neighborhoods came to be, SkyTrain Explorer will also sharpen your skills as an astute observer of the city.

Tall Building: Imagining the Skyscraper
By Scott Johnson (2008 Balcony Press)

A current and relevant homage to the history of the tall building and its accompanying iconography, this book is an impressive collection of illustrations and black-and-white photography of tall buildings from early Chicago and NY, to the present day innovations of Norman Foster and Ken Yeang. It’s an important and up-to-date contribution to the dialogue of this proliferating building type, as well as a thoughtful exploration of our fascination with them

Vancouver Walks: Discovering City Heritage
By John Atkin and Michael Kluckner (2nd edition, Stellar Press Limited, 2005)

Reknowned local historians John Atkin and Michael Kluckner bring stories of the built environment, cultural heritage and the wonderful people who have contributed to the city to life in Vancouver Walks: Discovering City Heritage. This is a must for anybody interested in understanding the who, what, and why’s of our fair city and those of us who believe, in the wise words of John Stilgoe, that outside lies magic.