Temenos: The Design and Experience of Urbanism as Spiritual Path

The unfortunate state of our cities and towns is not so much a problem of design and policy as a reflection of a loss of spiritual values and purpose on a civilizational scale. But if our built environment reflects our deeper spiritual intentions, the experience of the city can be a source of psychic uplift. So argues urban consultant Will Selman in his tour de force book Temenos: The Design and Experience of Urbanism as Spiritual Path.

Selman begins with the assertion that the fundamental task of humanity, throughout time and across cultures, is the spiritual quest to awaken to greater insight and more conscious awareness. This is an evolutionary process on the personal and collective level, and, as he then illustrates, our built environments have an important role to play in that psycho-spiritual awakening.

Temenos takes the reader on an eclectic journey through ancient mythology, shamanism, Jungian psychology, integral spirituality, sacred geometry, money and materialism, the history of suburban sprawl, and urbanism as storytelling, to name a few stops along the way to his final destination-a new approach to design he calls ＂Symbolic Urbanism,＂ based on the example of L’Enfant’s plan for Washington, DC. Using images and compelling storytelling, Temenos is an engaging read for spiritual seekers who desire to discover the potential of urban towns and cities to support their journey, and for advocates of urban placemaking who desire to infuse their work with a more soulful approach.
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Will Selman, CNU-A, is a New Urbanist land planning consultant in Washington, DC and founder of the Institute for Symbolic Urbanism. A thirty-year member of the Congress for the New Urbanism, he is professionally focused on issues surrounding land development, zoning and comprehensive planning, the design of traditional walkable and sustainable mixed-use neighborhoods, community visioning and charrettes.