Instant Cities: Urbanization and the Rise of San Francisco and Denver by Gunther Barth

Abstract

302 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE demand for improved public health, the response of small investors to the market, and the strategies of large land developers.” Basic developments in the 20th century are covered in four strong essays: David A. Johnson’s masterful summary of regional planning for New York City between the world wars is followed by John Hancock on the New Deal and American planning, John F. Bauman on downtown revitalization and housing after World War II, and Robert Fishman on the postwar suburb. Hancock’s contribution may be the best brief summary of urban planning during the 1930s we have. Fishman, whose work is invariably well crafted and provocative, perceives American suburbs through the vision of Frank Lloyd Wright and concludes that “Broadacre City already exists, and most Americans are already living in it.” The concluding essays are by Howell S. Baum, on the problems and opportunities in the planning profession, especially in the 1980s, and David R. Goldfield, who reflects on the future of the metropolitan region and the challenges that this “new city” and its social and economic realities will pose for equity and American democracy. Some essays are better than others, but each one is solid and some are exceptional. References are uneven, with some contributors delving much more deeply into the literature. Although the title refers to American planning, this book actually deals with urban or community development rather than with national or economic planning. There is no distinct regional bias, though the Northeast and Midwest receive the most coverage, and the largest cities get the most attention. Taken together, these essays constitute the best and most up-to-date single-volume history of American urban planning—a testament to the conscientious efforts of the contributors and the astute judgment of the editor. Blaine A. Brownell Dr. Brownell teaches at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Instant Cities: Urbanization and the Rise of San Francisco and Denver. By Gunther Barth. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1988. Pp. xxix + 310; notes, bibliography, index. $12.95 (paper). In Instant Cities: Urbanization and the Rise of San Francisco and Denver, Gunther Barth presents a new model for urban growth not only for the American West but throughout the world. His concept describes an in­ stant city as “a type of settlement that condensed the protracted growth from wilderness to city into the span of a generation” (p. xiii). According to Barth, the instant city is a historic phenomenon that includes Alex­ andria, Constantinople, Aix-la-Chapelle, Alessandria, and St. Petersburg. In the United States, the first instant city was Washington, D.C. In more technology and culture Book Reviews 303 recent years, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, New Delhi, Canberra, and Brasilia have appeared as instant cities. Barth chose San Francisco and Denver because he seeks to place urbanization of the American West in proper perspective. Expanding on Richard Wade’s thesis that cities were the spearhead of the Ohio Valley frontier, Barth argues that instant cities dominated the Rocky Mountain and far western frontier. Unlike typical frontier settlements such as Santa Fe, Monterey, and Champoeg in Oregon, San Francisco and Denver did not resist change, stagnate, and decline. On the con­ trary, they defied their western heritage and environment to become the epitome of change itself. In a period of two-and-a-half decades, San Francisco achieved what took Boston two-and-a-half centuries—a population of over 340,000! During the same time period (1870 to 1890), Denver grew twenty-fold to become the fastest-growing city in the country. What fascinates Barth about San Francisco and Denver is that these instant cities initially bore most of those characteristics identified as distinctly western. Combined with their rapid growth was their wild, hectic, and unplanned pattern of urbanization. Founded during the Gold Rush days, these were two gigantic, grotesque boomtowns. With many early residents going from rags to riches and back to rags yet again, there was a minimum of order. Whatever culture existed was momentary, and there was plenty of drinking, gambling, and whor­ ing. Since the majority of the early residents came for quick profits, little thought was given to city...