Urban Design in Action
Urban Design in Action is the documentation of a record of achievement by professional assistance teams who answer to appeals for help from our cities. Called Regional/Urban Design Assistance Teams, or RIUDATs, they began in 1967 in response to a citizen’s chance perception that the American Institute of Architects could help resolve the problems of his community. The first team discovered that the city is a living organism, embodying within prototypical problems the local culture, history and aspirations of its citizens. They sensed its continual evolution, from past to future forms. Most of all, they realized that the citizens wanted to help shape their own destinies, to participate in the formulation of policies whose implementation would result in a new sense of community.
Contributors: Charles Brewer, John Clarke, Ben Cunningham, John Gaillard, Jules Gregory, John Kriken, Charles Redmon, Ronald Straka