Reviewed by:

• Improbable Metropolis: Houston's Architectural and Urban History by Barrie Scardino Bradley
• Kate Sayen Kirkland

Barrie Scardino Bradley has observed and explained the built environment of Houston, Texas, for four decades. Although Houston has been the fourth-largest city in the United States since 1969, it does not receive the scholarly attention from historians that its size deserves; Bradley's handsome volume helps rectify this neglect. Viewing Houston's history (1836−2017) through an architect's lens, Bradley considers the economic and political conditions that undergirded building booms and explains the sociocultural context and impact of development decisions. Bradley announces her intentions in the preface: to document Houston's building history and to acknowledge those who designed, built, and occupied Houston's structures; to encourage historic preservation; to promote the work of professional architects and urban planners; to reveal how income, race, and industrial growth have affected development patterns; and to make Houstonians engage with their built environment. These purposes support Bradley's overarching arguments: Houston's no-zoning policy has "benefited the economy and even the cultural landscape," and the city's ability to absorb newcomers and new ideas has assured "continuing economic and cultural success" (pp. xi–xii, 202).

Bradley skillfully combines 351 rarely seen maps, plats, building plans, watercolors, and photographs with a well-documented narrative that traces Houston's development through eight building booms, each marked by new industries, political change, and sociocultural transformation. Each chapter includes institutional, commercial, residential, cultural, religious, and recreational structures and explains the unrelenting expansion of the city's perimeters by annexation of suburban areas. Each chapter ends with a reflective essay that explores an unresolved urban issue. In "Market Square," Bradley reviews the role of city government to regulate commerce, noting an 1840 ordinance that outlawed private markets and authorized hiring a municipal market master to ensure quality standards. "The Wards" reveals the long-term cultural influence of ward identity. "Montrose" details the evolution of a "uniquely Houston" subdivision (p. 113). "Petroleum Industry Structures" reprises the impact of oil refineries, chemical plants, and tank farms on the cityscape. "Public Housing" and "Public Transportation" explore two contentious urban issues. In "Diversity" and "New Urbanism," Bradley addresses Houston's influence as "the most racially and ethnically diverse metropolitan area in the country" and explores the challenge of absorbing this diversity while achieving the goals of New Urbanism—described as "common sense" principles such as walkability, mixed use, good urban design, neighborhood identity, and sustainability (pp. 262, 306). These essays introduce new information and provoke thought [End Page 336] about Houston's future. They also reflect Bradley's enthusiasm for preservation of existing structures, cutting-edge green architecture, and continued acceptance of the no-zoning ethos.

Bradley has mined the city's archives and photography collections, and she includes an extensive bibliography, an adequate index, and careful endnotes. I found one editorial choice unsatisfactory: relevant factual information is too often buried in endnotes. I would have preferred ten to fifteen more pages of text rather than risk missing delightful and relevant details.

Bradley's deep familiarity with her subject will enthrall lay readers and will inspire specialists to enrich Houston's story by exploring numerous topics further.

审核人：

• 不可能的大都市：休斯顿的建筑和城市历史，作者：Barrie Scardino Bradley
• 凯特·塞恩·柯克兰

巴里·斯卡迪诺·布拉德利（Barrie Scardino Bradley）观察并解释了得克萨斯州休斯敦的建筑环境已有40年了。尽管自1969年以来，休斯敦一直是美国第四大城市，但它没有得到历史学家应有的学术关注，其规模应得到应有的重视。布拉德利（Bradley）的英俊身材有助于纠正这种疏忽。布拉德利从建筑师的角度审视休斯顿的历史（1836-2017），他考虑了支撑建筑繁荣的经济和政治条件，并解释了社会文化背景和发展决定的影响。布拉德利在序言中宣布了自己的意图：记录休斯顿的建筑历史，并感谢那些设计，建造和占领休斯顿建筑的人；鼓励历史保护；促进专业建筑师和城市规划师的工作；揭示收入，种族和工业增长如何影响发展模式；并使休斯顿人与他们的建筑环境互动。这些目的支持了布拉德利的最高论点：休斯顿的无区划政策“有利于经济乃至文化景观”，而纽约市吸收新移民和新思想的能力确保了“持续的经济和文化成就”（第xi-xii页， 202）。

布拉德利巧妙地将351张鲜为人知的地图，平台，建筑平面图，水彩画和照片与经过充分记录的叙述相结合，通过八个建筑繁荣来追踪休斯顿的发展，每个建筑以新产业，政治变革和社会文化变革为特征。每章都包括机构，商业，住宅，文化，宗教和娱乐结构，并通过兼并郊区来说明城市周边地区的持续发展。每章都以反思性文章结尾，探讨了尚未解决的城市问题。布拉德利（Bradley）在“市场广场”（Market Square）中回顾了市政府在规范商业活动中的作用，并指出1840年的一项法令禁止了私人市场并授权雇用市政市场负责人以确保质量标准。“病房” 揭示了病区身份的长期文化影响。“蒙特罗斯”详细介绍了“独特的休斯顿”细分的演变（第113页）。“石油产业结构”重新定义了炼油厂，化工厂和油库对城市景观的影响。“公共住房”和“公共交通”探讨了两个有争议的城市问题。在《多样性》和《新都市主义》中，布拉德利称休斯顿为“美国最种族和种族最多样化的都市地区”的影响力，并探讨了在实现新都市主义目标（即“常识”）的同时吸收这种多样性的挑战。步行，混合使用，良好的城市设计，邻里身份和可持续性等原则（第262、306页）。[结束页面336]关于休斯敦的未来。它们还反映了布拉德利（Bradley）对保存现有结构，尖端的绿色建筑以及继续接受无分区精神的热情。

布拉德利（Bradley）已采集了该市的档案和摄影作品集，并提供了大量的参考书目，足够的索引以及详尽的尾注。我发现一个社论选择并不令人满意：相关的事实信息经常被掩盖在尾注中。我希望再增加十到十五页的文字，而不要冒险错过令人愉快且相关的细节。

布拉德利（Bradley）对主题的深刻了解会吸引非专业读者，并会激发专家通过进一步探索众多主题来丰富休斯顿的故事。