List of Figures Preface 1 Introduction 2 Engines of Progress 3 Levelling Up 4 Divided Cities 5 Remote Work: The Threat to Cities 6 Cities, Cyberspace, and the Future of Community 7 Beyond the Rich World 8 The Spectre of Disease 9 A Climate of Peril 10 Conclusion: Better Together Acknowledgements Notes Bibliography
An in-depth look at the major challenges facing humanity today and why the city – the ultimate symbol of human ingenuity – is where these battles will be won or lost.
Ian Goldin is Professor of Development and Globalisation at the University of Oxford and former Vice President of the World Bank. Ian’s recent publications include Rescue: From Global Crisis to a Better World (HC, 2021), Terra Incognita: 100 Maps to Survive the Next 100 Years (PRH, 2020), and Age of Discovery (Bloomsbury, 2016). Tom Lee-Devlin is a writer at The Economist and co-host of the Money Talks podcast. He previously worked as a management consultant at Bain & Company and led research for the firm's global think tank, Bain Futures.
A fresh, clear-eyed and timely analysis of the challenges and
opportunities that comes from one of the most important themes of
the 21st century – the rise of urbanisation and the fact that more
people live in cities than at any time in human history.
*Peter Frankopan, author of The Earth Transformed and The Silk
Roads*
Age of the City takes us on an absorbing journey through the
relationships connecting civilization, progress, and the city.
*Tim Marshall, author of The Future of Geography*
Age of the City is the book we need now. Ian Goldin and Tom
Lee-Devlin take aim at those who believe the age of our great
cities is over. They marshal powerful and much needed evidence to
show that cities are becoming even more important to our economy
and society. Their book illuminates the ongoing ability of cities
to preserve and thrive in the face of all manner of adversity, as
platforms to harness and unleash the human creativity which stands
as the engine of human progress. Their book is essential reading
for political and business leaders and each and every one of us who
cares about and wishes to help create a better collective
future.
*Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class.*
A sweeping survey of the history and modern challenges facing
cities that will persuade you that they are the key to a happier
and more sustainable future together.
*Baroness Minouche Shafik, President and Vice-Chancellor, London
School of Economics and Political Science*
Ian Goldin and Tom Lee-Devlin have written a compelling volume
explaining why cities will survive and thrive despite the twin
threats of remote work and pandemic. This book vividly explains how
cities are engines of cooperation, which fundamentally enable us to
become more human. Using a compelling combination of history and
data, the authors remind us that life is better lived in urban
streets and cafes than in Zoom waiting rooms. This is an important
read for anyone who cares about cities.
*Professor Edward Glaeser, Economics Department Chair, Harvard
University*
A compelling, holistic and well-balanced narrative on the critical
role of cities in an age of global warming – full of insights based
on hard data. From cover to cover, a great read. Full of positive
ideas for the future, and grounded in vital lessons from the past.
The authors link together many disparate subjects into one
integrated whole – bringing alive history, planning,
infrastructure, pandemics, urbanism, deprivation,
industrialisation, fertility, wars, governance and more – all in
support of the city.
*Lord Norman Foster, architect and designer*
Age of the City provides a startlingly fresh and compellingly
readable account of the forces that have defined our past and will
shape our future. An essential and enjoyable guide for all our
lives.
*Professor Saskia Sassen, Columbia University and author of The
Global City*
A sharp and lively urbanist manifesto…the chapters on pandemics and
the rise of remote work sound a fresh and timely note.
*The Times Literary Supplement*
An insightful analysis.
*Irish Times*
This fascinating book explains the challenges [cities] pose and
what needs to be done to make them work better for all their
inhabitants.
*Financial Times*
Represent[s] useful approaches for understanding the urban space in
which we live, work and play.
*financialtimes.com*
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