Triumph of the City

How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier

De: Edward Glaeser

Narrado por: Lloyd James

America is an urban nation. More than two thirds of us live on the three percent of land that contains our cities. Yet cities get a bad rap: they're dirty, poor, unhealthy, crime ridden, expensive, environmentally unfriendly. Or are they? As Edward Glaeser proves in this myth-shattering book, cities are actually the healthiest, greenest, and richest (in cultural and economic terms) places to live.

New Yorkers, for instance, live longer than other Americans; heart disease and cancer rates are lower in Gotham than in the nation as a whole. More than half of America's income is earned in 22 metropolitan areas. And city dwellers use, on average, 40 percent less energy than suburbanites. Glaeser travels through history and around the globe to reveal the hidden workings of cities and how they bring out the best in humankind. Even the worst cities---Kinshasa, Kolkata, Lagos---confer surprising benefits on the people who flock to them, including better health and more jobs than the rural areas that surround them. Glaeser visits Bangalore and Silicon Valley, whose strangely similar histories prove how essential education is to urban success and how new technology actually encourages people to gather together physically. He discovers why Detroit is dying while other old industrial cities---Chicago, Boston, New York---thrive. He investigates why a new house costs 350 percent more in Los Angeles than in Houston, even though building costs are only 25 percent higher in Los Angeles. He pinpoints the single factor that most influences urban growth---January temperatures---and explains how certain chilly cities manage to defy that link. He explains how West Coast environmentalists have harmed the environment, and how struggling cities from Youngstown to New Orleans can "shrink to greatness." And he exposes the dangerous anti-urban political bias that is harming both cities and the entire country.

©2011 Edward Glaeser (P)2011 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"You'll...walk away dazzled by the greatness of cities and fascinated by this writer's nimble mind." ( The New York Times)

Triumph of the City

This is an important read for those who do not know the history and formation of cities in America and around the world. It will answer many of the guestions you may have, and those that you do not.

Excellent book

The book is so comprehensive, touching on history, strategy and economic themes. Very well done.

please have every major read this

i read this book because I'm moving to LA and was dreading living in an urban area. This book changed my view of cities and how they are managed. I wish more elected officials would read this wonderful book.

Well written

I heard about this book from "Good Economics for Hard Times". A strong case for greatness of cities. The author covers all his bases and takes time to discuss opposing views. His idea that "The Lorax" is anti-city is misplaced though. It's more about unnecessary consumption. That was my only problem with this book.

Education . . . and water for all my people

Would you consider the audio edition of Triumph of the City to be better than the print version?

I've only listened to the audio

What other book might you compare Triumph of the City to and why?

it is like no other that I have enjoyed

Which character – as performed by Lloyd James – was your favorite?

I don't understand your question, have you listened to the book?

If you could give Triumph of the City a new subtitle, what would it be?

aligned incentives of urban planning, the key to our future innovation

Any additional comments?

this was a fascinating listen - my daughter is graduating this year with a degree focused on urban planning for healthy living so I was extra tuned in. The ripple effects of policy, the suggestions for immigration, the keys to so many different reasons for innovation and urban success were insightful - I keep telling all my friends about it, so it must have stuck with me. I got the suggestion for the listen from an article featuring Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh.