{"pk":3613,"title":"Dreaming the Rational City: The Myth of American City Planning by Christine Boyer","subtitle":null,"abstract":"Planners rely upon planning history to provide a sense of their position in society and the importance of their work. To reinter­ pret that history is to change the background upon which planners operate in the present and to influence their vision of the future. Traditional histories of American city planning tell a story of gra­ dual, but inexorable, progress, beginning with the reform move­ ments of the late nineteenth century and leading steadily toward increasing social acceptance, technical advancement, and institu­ tional consolidation. Personalities, famous plans, and legislative milestones march past, forming a narrative that is, on the whole, reassuring. Planning is portrayed as an activity that has emerged from tenuous beginnings to become a sophisticated profession, guiding urban change in the public interest.","language":"en","license":null,"keywords":[],"section":"Book Reviews","is_remote":true,"remote_url":"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9743h257","frozenauthors":[{"first_name":"Cliff","middle_name":"","last_name":"Ellis","name_suffix":"","institution":"","department":"None"}],"date_submitted":"2012-07-31T17:55:20Z","date_accepted":"2012-07-31T17:55:20Z","date_published":"1985-07-31T07:00:00Z","render_galley":null,"galleys":[{"label":"","type":"","path":"https://journalpub.escholarship.org/ucb_crp_bpj/article/3613/galley/2370/download/"}]}