In the first passage by Rossi, he explains how the city represents itself through its architecture. Throughout the passage, he brings up architecture in America, which he is a self proclaimed expert in, and quite fond of, with examples from New England and New York City and he explains how monuments and other structures and features in the architecture of the city give it its character or flavor. This can be related to Jane Jacobs are her vision of a city and community, and how then architecture of the area really gives it its spirit. As we stated earlier he is intrigued by American architecture, and he explains how “there is ultimately a relationship between any single architectural project and the destiny of the city” (12). Later in the passage, he begins to reference many European cities and the differences between the two, and he explains how ultimately the Greek city of Athens is the template for all cities, and every other architect is attempting to emulate, or produce some sort of derivative, to this Greek golden formula. this quote is also a good representation of his thoughts on how a city represents itself.. “The city, like the biography of an individual man, presents itself through certain clearly defined elements such as house, school, church, factory monument” (13). Rossi brings up permanances as well, another way in which the city represents itself, and this reference to the “biography” can be related back to the Metabolist Japanese architects who believed in a similar way a city should be designed.
Rossi, Aldo. The Architecture of the City. Cambridge, MA: The MIT press, 1982.