Philadelphia’s Planner: A Conversation with Edmund Bacon

Abstract

Architect, city planner, educator, and writer, Edmund N. Bacon (1910 -) orchestrated revitalization of downtown Philadelphia after World War II and served as one of the most articulate voices for a vigorous urban planning process in American cities. As executive director of Philadelphia’s City Planning Commission from 1949 to 1970, he created Penn Center, restored Society Hill, and preserved open space throughout the revitalized center city. His widely read book, Design of Cities (1967), has greatly influenced the way cities are understood and planned. Architect Alexander Garvin explores the influences on Bacon’s many contributions to twentieth-century planning through a conversation with the exuberant urbanist.