{"title":"Blair Kamin","description":"\u003cp\u003eBlair Kamin’s work explores the dynamic relationship between urban spaces and the people who inhabit them. His writing offers insightful perspectives on architecture, public spaces, and the cultural forces shaping modern cities, encouraging readers to consider \u003cem\u003ewho the city truly serves\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThrough thoughtful analysis and engaging narrative, Kamin's books invite readers to reflect on the built environment's impact on society and culture. Ideal for those interested in \u003cstrong\u003earts and culture\u003c\/strong\u003e, his work blends critical observation with a passion for urban life.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"who-is-the-city-for-by-blair-kamin-9780226822730","title":"Who Is the City For?","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA vividly illustrated collaboration between two of Chicago’s most celebrated architecture critics casts a wise and unsparing eye on inequities in the built environment and attempts to rectify them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom his high-profile battles with Donald Trump to his insightful celebrations of Frank Lloyd Wright and front-page takedowns of Chicago mega-projects like Lincoln Yards, Pulitzer Prize–winning architecture critic Blair Kamin has long informed and delighted readers with his illuminating commentary. Kamin’s newest collection, \u003ci\u003eWho Is the City For?\u003c\/i\u003e, does more than gather fifty-five of his most notable \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e columns from the past decade: it pairs his words with striking new images by photographer and architecture critic Lee Bey, Kamin’s former rival at the \u003ci\u003eChicago Sun-Times\u003c\/i\u003e. Together, they paint a revealing portrait of Chicago that reaches beyond its glamorous downtown and dramatic buildings by renowned architects like Jeanne Gang to its culturally diverse neighborhoods, including modest structures associated with storied figures from the city’s Black history, such as Emmett Till.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt the book’s heart is its expansive approach to a central concept in contemporary political and architectural discourse: equity. Kamin argues for a broad understanding of the term, one that prioritizes both the shared spaces of the public realm and the urgent need to rebuild Black and brown neighborhoods devastated by decades of discrimination and disinvestment. “At best,” he writes in the book’s introduction, “the public realm can serve as an equalizing force, a democratizing force. It can spread life’s pleasures and confer dignity, irrespective of a person’s race, income, creed, or gender. In doing so, the public realm can promote the social contract — the notion that we are more than our individual selves, that our common humanity is made manifest in common ground.” Yet the reality in Chicago, as \u003ci\u003eWho Is the City For?\u003c\/i\u003e powerfully demonstrates, often falls painfully short of that ideal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47428447142124,"sku":"9780226822730","price":54.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780226822730.jpg?v=1774496608"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/blair-kamin.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}