Tristan Navarro Rare Books & Manuscripts

[California - Alameda County]

Scarce planning document, introducing the broad strokes of what would become the Berkeley Master Plan of 1955, which shaped the development of the city until its reform in 1973. The Berkeley Master Plan was created by the Berkeley Planning Commission, of which T.J. Kent, Jr. was a notable member. Kent, a notable UC Berkeley professor spearheaded a vision in which urban planning would move away from project- and design-oriented approvals by city council, towards articulating a broader vision for the character of the city and its neighborhoods, out of which projects and designs for public and private development would arise. The legacy of the 1955 Master Plan can still be felt today in its positive and negative effects: while it reinforced existing socioeconomic and racial stratification, it also laid the groundwork for the "Save the Bay" movement by strictly limiting development of the Berkeley Waterfront, which was slated to be filled in and developed for industrial use. An interesting snapshot of the cultural and economic milieu of the mid-20th century Bay Area.

Berkeley, California: Berkeley City Planning Commission, 1953. Illustrated with diagrams, charts, and from photographs, folding map laid in pocket at rear. x, 132 pp. Oblong quarto (215x280 mm). Comb binding. Light wear overall, some age toning and stains to pages, a few period annotations in pencil. Very Good. Item #472

Price: $150.00