Triumph of the City

February 1, 2011
Glaesers academic specialty, urban economics, informs his survey of how cities around the world thrive and wither. Using a range of expository formshistory, biography, economic research, and personal storyhe defines what makes a city successful. That changes through time, and a flourishing Industrial Age model may not work in the service-age economy, as rust-belt towns like Detroit have learned. One thing constantly attracts people to one city rather than anotherhow much housing construction is permitted. Restrictive places, such as New York City, coastal California, and Paris, have a tight housing supply with prices only the wealthy can afford. Hence, middle-class people move to the suburbs or cities like Houston. Other features of metropolisestheir incidences of poverty and crime, traffic congestion, quality of schools, and cultural amenitiesalso figure in Glaesers analysis. Whatever the city under discussion, Mumbai or Woodlands, Texas, Glaeser is discerning and independent; for example, he believes that historic preservation isnt an unalloyed good and that bigger, denser cities militate against global warming. Thought-provoking material for urban-affairs students.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)