City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction
Written and Illustrated by David Macaulay
Houghton Mifflin, 1974

David Macaulay's highly praised 1974 book, City, will marvel readers with its detailed drawings and descriptive but straightforward text on the creation of the fictional Roman Empire city of Verbonia. Construction of the city begins in 26 BC in the fertile Po Valley in what is now Northern Italy. Before the first stone is laid, however, planners, surveyors, and engineers pick the perfect site and draw the master plan. Their foresight in using a rational street grid, setting a population limit, zoning for public and private spaces, and providing for an organized system of utilities will help Verbonia prosper over time.

Through Macaulay's prolific creative power, the reader assumes the role of a Senator touring each element of Verbonia's growth, from those as grand as the layout of streets to those as particular as the materials used in roof tiles. One gets an in-depth look at the architecture -- both interior and exterior -- of the period's major building types: the forum with its temples, shops, and government buildings; the theater and amphitheater; the market with its long colonnades; thermae (baths); private homes for the wealthy; apartments for the lower classes; and others.

Though imaginary, Verbonia is a reflection of actual Roman cities of the time. City brings out the persevering qualities of Roman town planning and administration. Not only are streets arranged in a grid with two major, perpendicular arteries (the Cardo and Decumanus), they are built to be pedestrian friendly, with curbs, awnings, sewer grills, and elevated stone crosswalks that double as speed bumps. Regulations are enacted to control the movement of carts and chariots. Arch-supported aqueducts bring a reliable water supply from the highlands into the reservoirs and pressure-creating water towers that supply the city's water pipes, and sewage systems dispose of stormwater and waste just as efficiently.

Provisions are made well in advance for future growth. Sites for future markets are set aside for when the city's main market cannot accommodate population growth by itself. Construction of the first multistory apartments is at first restricted to the north and west sides of Verbonia to shield the rest of the city from cold winds. Recreation and entertainment areas like the theater and amphitheater are established to give Verbonians a break from the monotony of everyday life. These planning qualities provide more than enough evidence for Macaulay's assertion that the need for them today is "more important than ever."

During Macaulay's writing career (in which he has produced several popular books such as Black and White and The Way Things Work) he has won many awards and accolades. The one that is perhaps best localized to City is that he "sees the world with a writer's grace, but with an engineer's clarity." Although technical and engineering details abound (e.g. how to build an arch, how to build the most effective outer wall, how to heat the various thermae pools to different temperatures, and a catalogue of Roman building tools), they do not detract from the human story (e.g. how the laborers are treated; the self-advertised philanthropy of the city elite; the shrines, temples, and religious rituals of Roman culture; and the social role of the barber). On the contrary, they add to it because the reader is treated to such an involved and multifaceted depiction of Verbonia's everyday life.

City concludes 125 years after Verbonia's founding, after several emperors have died and been exalted. The thriving metropolis has reached its pre-calculated population limit of 50,000 and its utilities are still functioning properly, a testament to the skill and wisdom of Roman planning and engineering. The wall, first built primarily to protect Verbonia from an invasion, has come to serve, intentionally, as an urban growth boundary, a prescient planning principle that has much use today.

The book has the capacity to interest readers of all ages. Its text is simple and clear enough for middle school and junior high students, yet is historically dense enough for older readers. Pre-middle school students can learn much just from the intricate drawings. Now over 30 years old, City has lost neither its informative power nor its ability to engage readers in a fascinating story of a Roman city's progression.

* Visit the publisher's website to purchase the book.