An urbanist and a public health expert join forces to explain the current social and economic climate of American cities and provide a prescription to help them move toward a healthy future.
... an ambitious agenda for addressing what ails our largest cities ... Those like myself expecting a focused package of predictions about the shape and implications of pandemic recovery will find something entirely more expansive and entertaining ... The discussion about the American health system that follows is a sobering one—drawing the distinction between its ability to care for the individual and its failure to protect the population as a whole ...If there’s a weak link in this fast-paced and highly readable journey through the challenges facing America’s cities, it’s the inevitable gulf between ideas and implementation, which the authors themselves at points recognize ... Solutions aside, the book serves as a useful tool in the effort to redefine the role of the city in an age of increasingly polarized politics ... I would have liked to see this book touch even briefly on the future of America’s second- and third-tier cities ... If we have learned nothing else from the era of Donald Trump, it is that our biggest, bluest urban centers—and the outsize challenges they face—should not be the sole lens through which we look at America’s future.
... ambitious and timely ... Though the authors’ tendency to make sweeping generalizations about the role cities have historically played in turning 'poor children into richer adults' grates, their central arguments are sound. This is a valuable resource on how to make America’s cities better.
