Messy Cities
Why We Can't Plan Everything
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Can messiness make our cities more liveable, lively, and inclusive?
Crowded streets, sidewalk vendors, jumbled architecture, constant clamour, graffitied walls, parks gone wild: are these signs of a poorly managed city or indicators of urban vitality?
Messy Cities: Why We Can’t Plan Everything argues that spontaneity and urban workarounds are not liabilities but essential elements in all thriving cities.
Forty-three essays by a range of writers from around the world illuminate the role of messy urbanism in enabling creativity, enterprise, and grassroots initiatives to flourish within dense modern cities.
With pieces on guerrilla beaches, desire lines, urban interruptions, and the inner lives of unlovely buildings written by experts from all walks of life, Messy Cities makes the case for embracing disorder while not shying away from confronting its challenges.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
You don’t need to be an urban planner to find this essay collection fascinating. Messy Cities makes a compelling case that urban life thrives in spontaneity, informality, and the thoughtful loosening of rigid boundaries. These 43 essays aren’t about zoning laws—they’re about people and how we live alongside each other. Like the social connection of neighborhood parades, a 24-hour LA burrito joint where unlikely subcultures mingle, and how low-income apartment towers can become vibrant and sustaining ecosystems. We were particularly struck by Zahra Ebrahim’s essay, “Interruptions,” an evocative walk through how neighbors, strangers, and friends interact in her West Toronto community, forming a constantly shifting social infrastructure that’s one of the most vital and underappreciated parts of city life. Wherever you live, Messy Cities will make you see your surroundings in a whole new light.
