Charles Mulford Robinson
Encyclopedia
Charles Mulford Robinson (1869–1917) was a journalist and a writer who became famous as a pioneering Urban Planning
theorist. He was the first Professor for Civic Design at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
, which was only one of two universities offering courses in Urban Planning at the time, the other being Harvard
.
Robinson wrote The Fair of Spectacle in 1893, an illustrated description of Chicago's World Columbian Exposition, a watershed event for the City Beautiful Movement, and went on to write the first guide to City Planning in 1901, titled The Improvement of Towns and Cities.
He was hired in 1910 to review the city design and planning of St. Joseph, Missouri. Fully half of his report dealt with the need for park space in the city, leading to the design of the National Register of Historic Places
–listed St. Joseph Park and Parkway System.
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
theorist. He was the first Professor for Civic Design at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, which was only one of two universities offering courses in Urban Planning at the time, the other being Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Robinson wrote The Fair of Spectacle in 1893, an illustrated description of Chicago's World Columbian Exposition, a watershed event for the City Beautiful Movement, and went on to write the first guide to City Planning in 1901, titled The Improvement of Towns and Cities.
He was hired in 1910 to review the city design and planning of St. Joseph, Missouri. Fully half of his report dealt with the need for park space in the city, leading to the design of the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
–listed St. Joseph Park and Parkway System.
Works
- The Fair of Spectacle, A Report on Chicago's World Columbian Exposition, 1893.
- Rochester Ways. Scrantom Wetmore & Company, Rochester, New York, 1900.
- The Improvement of Towns and Cities. Or the Practical Basic of Civic Aesthetics. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1901.
- Modern Civic Art, or the City Made Beautiful. G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1903.
- The Call of the City. Paul Elder & Company, San Francisco/New York, 1908.
- City Planning. G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1916.