Here Comes the Sun: Architecture and Public Space in 20th-century European Culture: Architecture and Public Space in Twentieth Century European Culture [Paperback]

'A fascinating account of the political idealism that informed urban planning for the first two-thirds of the twentieth-century . . . full of insights into how public space influences a sense of belonging and ownership.'
--The Guardian

'This is one of those books you stroke lovingly. Open it, and there is page after page of beautiful photographs . . . this book combines history, society, politics, environment and place in a well-written and emotive text. The strength of the book is the way it crosses these traditional boundaries and disciplines.' --Town and Country Planning

'Drawing on architectural theories, philosophy, literature and even filmmaking, Worpole's book is wide-ranging and erudite and should be of interest to the layperson as well as to the urban planner. It is also elegantly written and complemented by a mixture of black and white and colour photographs to provide a visual emphasis to the points he raises.'
--N16 Magazine

"Here Comes the Sun" looks at how social reformers, planners and architects in the early twentieth century tried to remake the city in the image of a sunlit, ordered utopia. While much has been written about architectural modernism, Worpole concentrates less on buildings and more on the planning of the spaces in-between - the parks, public squares, open-air museums, promenades, public pools and other public leisure facilities. Life in the open was of particular concern to early urban planners and reformers, with their dreams of release from the confines of overcrowded, unsanitary slums. Picturing youthful working-class bodies made healthy by exercise and tanned by the sun, they imagined an escape route from cities. Worpole demonstrates how open-air public spaces became sought-after commissions for many early modernist architects in the early 1900s, resulting in the transformation of the European cityscape.

Critical praise for Here Comes the Sun
'This beautifully produced book makes a host of thought-provoking links between private faces and public places. It will surely make you see familiar and forgotten architectural landmarks in a new light.' – THE ARCHITECTS' JOURNAL

'...a fascinating account of the political idealism that informed urban planning for the first two-thirds of the twentieth-century...full of insights into how public space influences a sense of belonging and ownership.' –THE GUARDIAN

'This is one of those books you stroke lovingly. Open it, and there is page after page of beautiful photographs ...this book combines history, society, politics, environment and place in a well-written and emotive text. The strength of the book is the way it crosses these traditional boundaries and disciplines.' – TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING

'As an authority on both urban and environmental issues, Worpole presents a wealth of information on early 20th century theory, practice and planning...an invaluable guide for assessing our social life in the 21st century urban sprawl.' – LANDSCAPE AND ART

Ken Worpole has written a number of pamphlets and books on urban and cultural policy, most recently Cemetery in the City (1997), Richer Futures: Fashioning a New Politics (1998), and Last Landscapes: The Architecture of the Cemetary in the West (Reaktion, 2003). For more information on Ken Worpole visit: www.worpole.dircon.co.uk.