Primary and Secondary Sources in the History of Cities 
Primary Sources
- An original source plan proposal or study, documentation from the original event; original plans and drawings, personal correspondence, works of art, historical newspaper articles.
- Finding primary sources,
- [NAME] + [PRIMARY SOURCE FORMAT]
- Example Search Terms: Jane Jacobs letters; Archigram Drawings
- Conduct Searches across digital collections, library catalogs, and library databases
- Example: Tange, Kenzo. 1987. “A Plan for Tokyo, 1986.” Japan Architect 62 (November): 8–45.
"The article presents a proposal for the structural reorganization of the Coastal City of Tokyo and Tokyo Bay City in Japan. ...The author states that the proposal was developed in cooperation with commissions from government agencies and from the city of Tokyo. "
- On the Web
- Library Databases
Including JStor/ArtStor, and Oxford Art Online
News & Media
Secondary Sources
- Written after the fact, in response to, or including analysis of an original writing, artwork, design plan or building.
- Interpret, Critique, or Explain Primary Sources
- Found in scholarly and editorial journals. Search across databases such as OneSearch, Avery, and Google Scholar
- Example: Dunn, Sarah, and Martin Felsen. 2019. “Behind the Wheel: Charles Darwin and Superstudio Do the Driving.” Architectural Design 89 (4): 94–99. doi:10.1002/ad.2462. (Article includes analysis of Superstudio ideas (secondary source) and explains new plans (primary).
Tertiary Sources
- Often the place we start and gather background research, Tertiary sources combine information and related topics.
- Summarize one or more bodies of knowledge on a topic. These sources point to the commentary and original primary sources.
- Examples include,
- Add this extension to your browser to connect web searches to full text subscriptions behind paywalls.
Reference:
Cristiano Toraldo di Francia, (Artist), Italian, born 1941, Adolfo Natalini, (Artist), Italian, born 1941, Gian Piero Frassinelli, (Artist), Italian, born 1939, Roberto Magris, (Artist), Italian, born 1935, Superstudio, (Artist), founded 1966-1982, and Alessandro. The Continuous Monument: St. Moritz Revisited, Project Perspective. Drawing date: 1969. Cut-and-pasted printed paper, color pencil, and oil stick on board, 16 7/8 x 19 1/8" (42.9 x 48.6 cm). Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.). https://jstor.org/stable/community.14645193.
See Also,
