- Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) Photographs courtesy of the Sophia Mumford Estate Urban planner, historian, sociologist, local advocate, and architectural critic Lewis Mumford is recognized as one of the greatest urbanists of the 20th Century. A lifelong opponent of large-scale public works, much of his writings concern the effect of buildings on the human condition and the environment. Most notable ...www.albany.edu/mumford/About_us/who_is_lm.html