A sweeping historical analysis of the complex relationship between social criticism and built form, EMANCIPATING SPACE argues that those concerned with urban design and social change should make their contribution to bringing about a better world by designing spaces based in utopian or emancipatory theories. Author Ross King examines significant political, economic and social changes from the Enlightenment to the present day, tracing accompanying shifts in the ways that space, time, nature and difference have been experienced and represented in architectural discourse. Integrating architecture, urban design, geography, and social criticism to elucidate new questions facing concerned planners and architects, this richly illustrated volume provides an innovative framework from which to explore the meanings and the possibilities of urban space in the postmodern era.