Five books on the advantages, problems and future of the places where most people live and work
half the world’s population lives in cities. In rich countries the share is four-fifths. Contrary to some predictions, remote working has so far done little to interrupt the advance of urbanisation. The rise of cities is nothing to lament: productivity is higher in urban than in rural areas, which means that urbanites tend to be richer than rural folk. Yet not all cities are equal. Some are ladders of economic opportunity.
Published in 1961, the same year as “The City in History”, this book is widely considered to be among the most important contributions to urban theory. Jane Jacobs, a journalist, wrote at a time when cities like New York were ripping out their cores to make room for highways. She argued that suburban sprawl, encouraged by the automobile, jeopardised cities’ healthy functioning.
A striking reversal of that pattern began around the turn of the century, when a new generation of well-paid professionals flocked back to the inner city. In this influential book published in 2002 Richard Florida, an urban theorist, linked that reversal to a rejection by young, educated workers of suburbia’s commercialised values in favour of the more bohemian and “authentic” lifestyles on offer in inner cities.
Despite its cringeworthy title, “Happy City”, published in 2013, offers an insightful account of the vanguard of thinking in urban planning. Drawing on examples from around the world and on behavioural science, Charles Montgomery, an urbanist, considers how cities can maximise the quality of life for their residents while minimising their carbon footprint.
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