Describes the visual and mental models by which urban environment has been recognized, depicted and planned. This analysis draws from geography, critical theory, architecture, literature and painting to identify these maps of the city - as a work of art, as panorama and as spectacle.

This book traces the history of the development, abandonment, and eventual revival of George Washington's original vision for a grand national capital on the Potomac. 'George Washington's Washington' is not simply a history of the city during the first president's life but a history of his vision for the national capital and of the local and national conflicts surrounding this vision's acceptance and implementation.