Includes bibliographical references (pages 298-301) and index.

Cities without plans -- The natural town -- The spontaneous slum -- The subtle art of masterplanning -- In search of nowhere -- Cities from scratch -- Room to expand -- Boulevards and dictators -- The terrifying exploding city -- The incredible shrinking city -- The astounding sprawling city -- The imposition of order -- Grey sky modernists -- With the best of intentions -- The climax city of the 21st century?

Human settlements are the result of a mix of self-organisation and planning. Planners are fighting a losing battle to impose order on chaotic systems. Connections between the process of urban growth and the fields of complexity theory are of increasing importance to planners and urbanists alike; the idea that cities are emergent structures created not by design but from the interplay of relatively simple rules and forces over time. From the the small Tuscan hill town to the megacities of Asia: the struggle between the planned and the unplanned is universal. Based on years of international research, Climax City is a critical exploration of the growth of cities and masterplanning. Challenging the idea that the city can be entirely planned on paper, this book implores you to work with chaos when planning cities. Beautifully illustrated with striking hand-drawn plans of global cities, this is a vital and accessible contribution to urban theory and planning. It's the perfect title for practitioners and academics across planning and urban design looking to make sense out of chaos.