City on a Hill: Urban Idealism in America from the Puritans to the Present

150 Staniford St. Suite 7,Boston MA 02114

18 November, 2021

Description

A talk by Harvard professor and author Alex Krieger on the idealism that has guided America’s understanding of cities through history. Alex Krieger, Research Professor in Practice of Urban Design, will discuss the topics explored in his 2019 book City on a Hill: Urban Idealism in America from the Puritans to the Present at The West End Museum on November 18th at 6:30 pm. City on a Hill explores the history of idealism in the American understanding of our built environments in towns and cities through historical examples including the Puritan ideal of Boston as a “city on a hill”, the utopian settlements of the Great Awakening, the dreams of a perfect new world in the west, and the wholesale design of new communities in projects like EPCOT. Krieger will explore this history in his talk, as well as how the dream of a perfect settlement influenced the urban renewal programs that took dozens of American communities – including the West End. City on a Hill is a clear and concise history of American urban design and planning that one reviewer called “the one resource you might need to get started in urbanism”. The West End Museum’s Director, Sebastian Belfanti, agrees – noting that it was the book he read as an introduction to the topic soon after starting as Director. The argument of Krieger’s work, that Americans have continually searched for utopian communities through construction – building anew and leaving behind the old – is closely tied with the story of the West End in obvious ways, and understanding the full history of that movement, and it’s roots in the very founding of Boston, makes this piece of history relevant to every Bostonian, city dweller, and urbanist. Alex will be happy to sign copies of his book brought to the event. 150 Staniford St., Suite 7, Boston, MA 02114 The West End Museum is a neighborhood museum dedicated to the collection, preservation and interpretation of the history and culture of the West End of Boston.