What Kind of City Do We Want? Victor Gruen, Theories and Projects. Amid the mid-century debates surrounding the development and transformation of the American city and suburb, a renowned architect-planner, Victor Gruen (1903-80), became one of the most important figures in this rapidly changing context. Tremendously influential during the 1950's and 60s, Gruen's work was driven by urban planning problems created by the rapid onset of new suburbias, urban highways, and the subsequent deterioration of existing downtowns. Dubbed the "pioneer of the shopping center," Gruen envisioned the suburban...