"The Urban Ideal is the first book to explore Soleri's achievement in readily accessible terms. It brings together seven conversations, recorded between 1973 and 2000, that trace the development of his ideas over a period of extraordinary creativity, focusing not only on his architectural designs and inspiring built structures, but also on his iconoclastic ideas about religion, society, the environment, art and technology. Through these carefully edited and organized interviews, Soleri introduces a harmonious vision of our world that connects an understanding of the inner nature of humanity with the design of our social spaces. He also tells a fascinating story that takes the reader from Fascist Italy to Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West, from the brink of an isolated mesa seventy miles north of Phoenix to the perfection of evolution in a state of comprehensive equity and compassion.". "The Urban Ideal is an essential work not only for readers interested in the career of Paolo Soleri, but also for those prepared to engage many of the most challenging issues society faces as we enter the twenty-first century."--BOOK JACKET.