Lewis Mumford was a prolific author, social philosopher and prominent American critic of architecture and Urbanism. A native of New York City, he penned a column on architecture that was published in The New Yorker from 1931 to 1975, extending his work to a broad audience. He evaluated the built world based on its relationship to its inhabitants and the natural environment, disregarding physical design and the development of a ‘modern’ style in favor of social functionality. Primarily concerned with the role of technology within civilization, he criticized the dehumanizing effects of mechanization.