Can architecture ever be democratic? An elegant, timely new theory of politics and urban design from the acclaimed author of What is Populism? and Democracy Rules
Building requires power and resources - then, once created, our environment structures how we relate to each other. But what would a distinctly democratic built environment look like? Should we prioritize an inclusive process by which as many citizens as possible can decide how a building is designed? Or is it about how architecture and urban spaces can best represent democracy to citizens - and how building and city planning can concretely facilitate democratic action by citizens?
In Street, Palace, Square, political theorist Jan-Werner Müller offers an elegant new account of architecture and democracy that draws on examples from Washington DC to Dhaka, Cairo to Berlin. Ranging widely across political philosophy, history and design, he shows that bringing architecture and democracy together has an unexpected benefit.
As we reflect on spaces and symbols on the one hand and our understandings of democracy on the other, we might see possibilities we did not see before: how to create spaces for citizens to make politics their own.
| ISBN: | 9780241382035 |
| Publication date: | 7th May 2026 |
| Author: | JanWerner Müller |
| Publisher: | Allen Lane an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 208 pages |
| Genres: |
City and town planning: architectural aspects Political science and theory Political ideologies and movements Urban and municipal planning and policy |
Can architecture ever be democratic? An elegant, timely new theory of politics and urban design from the acclaimed author of What is Populism? and Democracy Rules
Building requires power and resources - then, once created, our environment structures how we relate to each other. But what would a distinctly democratic built environment look like? Should we prioritize an inclusive process by which as many citizens as possible can decide how a building is designed? Or is it about how architecture and urban spaces can best represent democracy to citizens - and how building and city planning can concretely facilitate democratic action by citizens?
In Street, Palace, Square, political theorist Jan-Werner Müller offers an elegant new account of architecture and democracy that draws on examples from Washington DC to Dhaka, Cairo to Berlin. Ranging widely across political philosophy, history and design, he shows that bringing architecture and democracy together has an unexpected benefit.
As we reflect on spaces and symbols on the one hand and our understandings of democracy on the other, we might see possibilities we did not see before: how to create spaces for citizens to make politics their own.
Street, Palace, Square features in the following genres: City and town planning: architectural aspects, Political science and theory, Political ideologies and movements, Urban and municipal planning and policy
Street, Palace, Square is available in Hardback
Street, Palace, Square was written by JanWerner Müller and published by Allen Lane an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd
Street, Palace, Square has 208 pages
£18.00