Mumford, Lewis (1895–1990)

US urban planner and social critic, concerned with the adverse effect of technology on contemporary society.

He was also concerned about the dehumanization of the individual as a response to a deadening environment. His writings show faith in human capacity to renew the world, however. He is noted for The Culture of Cities 1938 and The City in History 1961.

Born at Flushing, Long Island, he was educated at New York and Columbia universities. In 1920 he visited London and, under the influence of Patric Geddes, developed his interest in cities, becoming a freelance writer. He was co-founder of the Regional Planning Association of America and became involved in the preparation of a number of reports, including that for the New York State Housing and Regional Planning Commission. These reports introduced a new sociological and ecological approach to the analysis of planning problems and American culture as a whole.

His first book, The Story of Utopias, 1922, was followed by Sticks and Stones, 1924, The Golden Day, 1926, The Brown Decades, 1932, Men Must Act, 1939, and Faith for Living, 1940. The Conduct of Life, 1952, which discusses human nature and destiny, completed the series of which the earlier volumes had been Technics and Civilization, The Culture of Cities, and The Condition of Man, 1944.

He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Town Planning Institute in 1957.