Book excerpt: Miami and Miami Beach from the ground up "This book provides an important--and readable--addition to the bookshelf addressing the context of contemporary Miami and Miami Beach. By presenting the built environment of the Miami area for its compelling variety and unique mélange of styles, the authors go far in interpreting a long overlooked portion of our continent."--Gregory W. Bush, coauthor of Miami: An American Crossroad A major urban center perched between vast natural ecosystems, Miami is known for a strikingly diverse built environment that is barely 100 years old. Within this brief span, the city has constantly reinvented itself, seeking a tangible identity as Florida's largest metropolis. In this invented landscape, architecture, landscape design, and urban planning have played a particularly important role in creating Miami's modern character and unique identity. Miami Architecture grew out of the Miami Architecture Project, a community-based, nonprofit association that organized more than a dozen local forums to develop deeper appreciation of architecture and the role of architecture in community revitalization. Ideal for residents, professionals, vacationers, and day-trippers, this authoritative guidebook provides a broad, accessible architectural overview of the notable buildings that can be found in the core of downtown Miami, Miami Beach, and Coconut Grove.