Raymond Unwin
Raymond Unwin was a prominent architect and engineer from the late 19th and early 20th century. He helped popularize the Arts and Crafts movement and was one of the first english voices in the town planning movement. For more information on his life and work, visit the destinations at the bottom of this page.
This page exists to share his most influential work, Town Planning in Practice: An Introduction to the Art of Designing Cities and Suburbs, in audio form. Town Planning in Practice was published in 1909 and still resonates with planners and urban designers today. Relevant discussions include the organization of government planning powers, importance of street design and building placement, as well the idea that “suburbs occupied solely by any individual class is bad, socially, economically, and aesthetically.”
Purchase the Audio Version
Read by Mark Tester, this book is an unabridged version of the copy found at the Internet Archive link below. There are many images in the book, however we chose not to include them in the interest of making the book more accessible in Audio format. You can access the original PDF with images here, and a timestamped reader with image references here.
Get the Audiobook:
Awesound
To read the book in PDF and see all the images inside, visit the Internet Archive page for Town Planning in Practice.
For a better understanding of how modern town-building might incorporate the wisdom of the past, there is no more important period to study. And it would be hard to find a more thorough and clear introduction than Unwin’s century-old Town Planning.