The Handbuch der Stadtbaukunst is a compendium of essential urban design expertise. Using 150 examples from over 70 German cities, it illustrates, analyzes, and compares a wide range of urban spaces, courtyards, squares, and streets. The four-volume work impressively documents the qualities of European cities as described in the Leipzig Charter: beauty and durability, mixed usage, social diversity, density and the separation of public and private spaces. Editor Christoph Mäckler builds on the textbooks of the early twentieth century by Cornelius Gurlitt, Raymond Unwin, and Josef Stübben and offers a well-grounded framework for city planning.

Featuring contributions by Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani, Christoph Mäckler, Werner Oechslin, Alexander Pellnitz, Jan Pieper, Birgit Roth, Mirjam Schmidt, Wolfgang Sonne, Jürg Sulzer and Anne Pfeil, and Thomas Will