Happy City

September 9, 2013
Can cities make us better people? Is the suburban American Dream really a nightmare? In this lively and accessible book, journalist Montgomery (The Shark God) marshals decades of interdisciplinary research into an effective argument against what he calls the “dispersed city”—the modern city/suburb designed around the automobile. The result is a succession of arguments meant to debunk individualism and show how citizens thrive on contact with others. In Montgomery’s hands, urban design proves not only exciting, but integral to our future. He persuasively demonstrates that designing cities with social beings in mind can make them more pleasant places to live, and shows why suburbs are experiencing higher crime, as well as a significant happiness deficit. Furthermore, this passionate jeremiad argues that urban design often reinforces inequality, and Montgomery includes useful prescriptions for creating what he calls “the fair city,” as well as addressing issues like gentrification. For Montgomery, the city is a “happiness project” that exists in part to corral our conviviality and channel it productively. Though Montgomery’s argument may seem strange at first, the book will likely make you a believer. 68 b&w illus. Agent: Rebecca Gradinger, Fletcher & Co.

October 1, 2013
Canadian journalist Montgomery (The Shark God: Encounters with Ghosts and Ancestors in the South Pacific, 2006) explores the many ideas and movements seeking to change the structures and souls of our cities to make them more meaningful, heart-gladdening places. Even the most die-hard urban fans will admit to aspects of city life that grate and stress: the frequent lack of neighborhood conviviality, the hateful commutes, the in-your-face lack of social justice, the absence of trust and security. This could go on and on, for we each have our pet peeves, just as we each could enumerate urban-design elements that would make us happy, considering our "unique set of abilities, weaknesses, and desires": good education, jobs, health; serious engagement with nature and public spaces; comfortable opportunities to socialize; a sense of equality, challenge, civic duty and purpose. Thus, each individual will have a perfect city, but any of the above positives would spark an uptick in our lives. Montgomery's bugbear--and many will share his preoccupation with the issue--is the unbridled sovereignty of the motor vehicle, from inner city to exurbia. The author presents a wide array of urban-design features that ameliorate many of the negatives of city life. He examines various modes of transport other than the automobile and seeks out the ideal population density for a "happy city." He finds and describes hundreds of examples of urban redesign that are not only imaginative and affordable, but inspiring, design elements for the common good that can be done--in fact, that have been done. An elegant charting of the intersection of urban design and the ever-shifting conception and appreciation of happiness.

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October 1, 2013
What is considered the happiest city on earth? Improbably, it just might be Bogot, Colombia, where drug lords ruled, bicycles now roll, and pedestrians stroll in a city with a mayor committed to transforming his town's image and its people's lives. What's the secret to his success? Not surprisingly, restricting traffic plays a huge part in Bogot's livability, but banning cars isn't the be-all and end-all to urban bliss. As Montgomery illustrates through vibrant discussions of the physics, physiology, and psychology of urban, suburban, and exurban dwellers, multiple factors must coalesce before a city, large or small, can achieve perfection. All of which may become terribly muddled as climate change and resource depletion stress urban centers to an untenable tipping point. Touting extensive research tempered by anecdotal examples, Montgomery enumerates the mistakes made not only by the people who plan and govern cities but also by the people who live in them, and he offers cautious reassurance that it's not too late to turn things around for all cities.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)