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Edward L. Glaeser

Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier Paperback – January 31, 2012

by Edward Glaeser (Author)

484 ratings

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Shortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Best Book of the Year Award in 2011

“A masterpiece.” —Steven D. Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics

“Bursting with insights.” —The New York Times Book Review

A pioneering urban economist presents a myth-shattering look at the majesty and greatness of cities

America is an urban nation, yet cities get a bad rap: they're dirty, poor, unhealthy, environmentally unfriendly . . . or are they? In this revelatory book, Edward Glaeser, a leading urban economist, declares that cities are actually the healthiest, greenest, and richest (in both cultural and economic terms) places to live. He travels through history and around the globe to reveal the hidden workings of cities and how they bring out the best in humankind. Using intrepid reportage, keen analysis, and cogent argument, Glaeser makes an urgent, eloquent case for the city's importance and splendor, offering inspiring proof that the city is humanity's greatest creation and our best hope for the future.

Print length

352 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

January 31, 2012
Dimensions

5.47 x 0.77 x 8.38 inches
ISBN-10

0143120549
ISBN-13

978-0143120544
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A masterpiece.” —Steven D. Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics

“Bursting with insights.” —The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Edward L. Glaeser is the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He studies the economics of cities, housing, segregation, obesity, crime, innovation and other subjects, and writes about many of these issues for Economix. He serves as the director of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government and the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston. He is also a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1992.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Reprint edition (January 31, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0143120549
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143120544
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.47 x 0.77 x 8.38 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #45,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9 in Urban & Regional Economics (Books)
- #14 in Demography Studies
- #61 in Sociology of Urban Areas

Customer Reviews:
484 ratings

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5 star		69%
4 star		18%
3 star		8%
2 star		2%
1 star		3%

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Kindle Customer

Read Jane Jacobs instead

Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2021

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Great disappointment.

Although this book is only a decade old, it doesn't wear well. Cities are wonderful except for all the people living in them who think they should have a say. So no regulations and charter schools and no historic preservation. And poor people should be helped but not where they live because that would be throwing good money after bad.

Blah blah blah.

Author also either doesn't know or ignores that housing covenants banned Jews, Asians and Catholics as well as Black people, that Levitt town's appeal was that it was segregated or that part of the reason that housing stock in cities deteriorated was redlining.

Seriously, how do you write a book about cities and never mention redlining? Or pretend that discrimination went away after 1965?

Even decades later, Jane Jacobs is a better read.

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

Abaldess

The best pop-econ book I have read

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2017

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Perhaps you live in a large city. If not, you have certainly wondered about life there. “Triumph Of the City” answers all your questions: why they succeed (educated/skilled people and diverse industries); why they fail (not enough entrepreneurs and one dominant industry); why they look so different (do people mostly walk? Drive? Take the bus?); what are sprawl's benefits (space and time) and costs (pollution.) You find out why in a city you are more likely to eat gourmet food, be pick-pocketed, or meet your ideal mate. You also make counter-intuitive discoveries: the movement against building in the coastal California actually makes the world browner, not greener.

I greatly admire Edward Glaeser. He revived the field of urban economics, almost single-handedly. He has investigated every aspect of city life. He masters theory, statistics, and history. He is not ideological. All his qualities transpire here.

Yet The book reads easily. The economics and statistics are clearly explained. Examples abound: New York, Detroit, Houston, Milan, Mumbai, Rio, and then some.

As a non-ideologue, Glaeser heaps both scorn and praise on both markets and governments. Want to make house affordable? Let developers build up and out (in passim he criticizes the “eyes on the street” theory.) Do not look down on suburbia: many embraces it because life is cheaper and better than in the center. But you need governments to take care of public health, congestion and global warning.

Glaeser endorses water utilities, congestion taxes and some infrastructure. He lambasts the mortgage-interest deduction, most building restrictions (including for Conservancy and Preservation) and most efforts at urban renewal, like conference centers.) On the eternal struggle over the merits of centralized versus decentralized government he takes a middle ground: different levels are needed to look over each others' shoulders. I appreciated such nuanced views

This is the best pop-econ book I have read. Highly recommended

19 people found this helpful

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Heather L. Westerberg

Overall, this is not a bad book, but it is not a great book either

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2015

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This book offers some interesting narrative on the history of cities, but Glaeser's arguments about the importance of cities in the modern world fall a little flat. His historical perspective is compelling, largely due to the fact that he is able to give real life examples of cities throughout history to bolster his narrative. The main gist of his argument is that cities bring people together, and it is only because of this that civilization can advance. While this might have been true historically, I do not necessarily believe that this will remain true of civilization in the future.

For example, he argues that telecommunication and technology cannot replace face-to-face interaction, but this is not necessarily true. More and more people work from home, and some studies have demonstrated that these people are actually more productive than those who are in a face-to-face office environment. I think that this type of interaction will become more pronounced as technology advances, eventually eliminating the need for a centralized office environment altogether.

Glaeser is more successful with his economic arguments, which makes sense, since he is an economist. However, he relies too heavily on correlation to prove his points, and we all know that correlation does not necessarily equate to causation. When he delves into environmentalism, his arguments just seem tacked on and unsupported in order to add a PC chapter on climate change. How stuffing more and more people into an urban setting without addressing the underlying problem of population growth makes little sense. His arguments are solely based upon carbon emissions as the issue.

Overall, this is not a bad book, but it is not a great book either. The historical bits are more interesting than the persuasive bits. It is a bit longer than necessary and jumps around without clear structure. I also have a major issue with him not directly citing his sources throughout the book via footnotes or endnotes. Instead, he has a section of sources at the end that aren't linked to anything in particular, so actually fact-checking some of his statistics or suppositions is a fairly difficult endeavor, as if he were intentionally trying to obfuscate his sources.

23 people found this helpful

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Carno Polo

persuasive if not exhaustive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2012

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This is a persuasive book. Today many "green" thinking people consider cities a scourge, imposed on us by economic development but to be avoided if at all possible. In fact, cities are what made all progress in human history possible, what made us humans in the first place.

Glaeser discusses the merits of planning vs free market, and comes to the conclusions you need some of both. He cites many case studies of cities around the world, but I was left with the impression his picks of case studies was not methodical enough. Often it seems to have been dictated by where he lived.

Interesting to note that during the "dark ages" (about 1000 AD) Europe had only four "cities" with 50k+ people, and, besides Costantinople, the other three had Islamic rulers (Palermo, Seville, Cordoba), reflecting the predominant culture of the time. Cities have always been a conduit of cultural mix, and I was surprised to learn that as of 2008 half of New Yorkers speak a language other than English at home.

It is not obvious that asphalt covered cities with tall buildings that take light away from narrow streets are environmentally sounder than leafy suburbs with tree-lined roads, but the author makes a convincing case they are. The skyscraper is greener than the suburban home, as it takes less energy to heat and cool, to get there and away, to run its water piping and sewers.

And, perhaps less obviously, cities continue to be the focus of innovation even in the internet era, when some argue that multimedia communication makes physical meetings redundant.

2 people found this helpful

markr

interesting homage to cities

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 13, 2012

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In this interesting book, Glaeser makes a strong economic, social and environmental case for cities. He shows how cities, by creating greater population density reduce carbon emissions from car use, through higher use of public or foot transport. He also shows how cities attract the poor who arrive in search of better lives and suggests that the the greatest cities do indeed afford that opportunity. City poverty, especially in the developing world is better than rural poverty, and there is greater chance for advancement.

Glaeser also makes clear the transformative effects of education in creating great cities, with Singapore, Boston and others given as strong examples of how good educational policies create a virtuous cycle; better educated populations create new ideas which drive forward economic growth, art and culture, which in turn attracts other well educated people, who continue the advance. The destructive effect of the best educated people leaving areas, putting this cycle into reverse, are exemplified in Detroit which has lost almost 60% of its population over the last 40 years and is now one of poorest cities in the USA.

This book is largely focused on the USA, but makes important points about Europe, China, and India too - where allowing greater concentration of building in city centres, particularly high rise building, is shown as the route to economic growth, whilst minimising environmental damage.

Whilst all of this is presented in an interesting, and easily read style, there are times when the messages can be a little repetitive - but it is an entertaining and informative read

3 people found this helpful

Hello

Who knew cities were so interesting.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2020

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This book was recommended reading for a course I was applying to, I must say I was expecting to be quite bored. However, I was surprised by how interesting the topic is and how multifaceted it was. The book has the power to open your eyes to the tower blocks that surround you in cities, whether there effect on innovation or climate change. Highly recommend.

J. Spencer

Great for the enthusiastic amateur

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2012

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Let me put this out there first; this is not a serious, in depth piece of economic analysis (or geographical for that matter) but what this is is a very good book. I literally was unable to put it down, and despite its occasionally repetitive rhetoric (excusable due to its central message) I found each new chapter to be just as fascinating as the last.. Glaeser cuts through the old fashioned and somewhat biased views of the general public and surplants somewhat of an idealistic portrayal of a world where we should really be heading towards, yet at the same time giving great weight to the current development of the city and also of countries as a whole (relying of income from cities). All in all a great book, I would particularly reccomend it to people (like myself) who are currently studying for A Level Economics or Geography as many of the issues raised are pertinent to these courses!

Isaac William Gibson

Interesting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 20, 2012

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I believe the subject of cities is very interesting and exciting and would like to see more books like this. I would recommend this to anyone to read to open their mind to ideas regarding urban/rural spaces. However, I do have to say the book annoyed me a little with its structure and writing which stopped it getting the 5 stars a book like this really should have. I could never get truly engaged with the style of writing and it could have been more concise and to the point.

2 people found this helpful

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