His efforts begin with a critique of urban design saying that it “lacks cohesive theoretical foundations. Instead urban design focuses on how planners attempt to improve a community.

Sternberg agues that a theory of urban design needs to fulfill five criteria:

1. It should not relie on one set of design approaches but should rather reveal the principles that underlie several of them.

2. It should be a substantive theory.

3. It should make us aware of the constituents of the human experience.

4. It should recognize the sources of urban form in both markets and plans.

5. It should direct out attention to pertinent features of reality.

His efforts to create an intergrative theory of Urban Design continues with an anaylisis and critique of the focuses of past urban theorists related to the urban economy, Organic theory, Good Form, Legibility, vitality and meaning. Through hi

Sternberg then moves on to Kevin Lynch whose also discussed the to give a sense of place to urban design. Much like Sitte, Lynch argues for building to be placed in context with one another. Both the natural and built environment must be interrelated. Lynch speaks of "edges" that divide space, "nodes" with lots of activity, "landmarks" used as reference points and "districts" which provide and individual sense of place. This can be compared to Sitte's Plaza. The edge buildings of the plaza provide a sense of enclosure, a distictive building provides a reference for pedestrians and also provides the area with a unique character. Lynch is self-critical for having only focused on "way finding" yet Sternberg argues that lynch's ideas have merit. Sternberg wisely considers how Lynch's ideas about "wasy-finding supports

Clearly Sternberg vision of the role of the designer has connections to the organic theories laid out by Geddes and Mumford. It attempts to create a relationship between the built environment and the observers visual system. A more recent application of these ideas is found in Edmund Bacon who discussed the need for a connection between buildings in relation to eachother. Neither of these priciples gives favor to the market-failure model. However good form theory recognizes that externalies are created by the built environment

Some topics in this essay:
Ernest Sternberg, Lewis Mumford, Karl Polanyi, Sitte Sitte, Sitte's Plaza, Sitte Lynch, Edmund Bacon, Urban Design, Form Legibility, Geddes Mumford, urban design, organic theory, organic theories, free market, built environment, theory urban design, theory urban, theory organic theory, support natural, lynch's ideas, community sternberg, urban form, support natural growth, intergrative theory urban,