Consider yoursurroundings. Maybeyou're in a house orin an apartment building. Maybe you're at a desk in an office building, or in a cafe looking out on a lively main street. The urban landscape is not simply the backdrop to your life. Itdetermines, to a remarkable degree, what kind of life you're able to live. Today, the horizonsof Americanlife are constrained by a built environment that has not significantly changedsince the 1970s. American cities used to constantly evolve, experimenting with new urban designs and ambitious infrastructure projects, from railroads and subways to public housing and shopping malls. But now we keep pursuing the same 20th century urban development plans-freeways, downtown office towers, suburban housing developments. Thispattern is whyAmericans are so dependent on their cars, why housing is so expensive and homelessness is at crisis levels, and why downtowns are struggling and communities are fraying. In The Unfinished Metropolis, Benjamin Schneider argues that city-building is a lostart. We need to embrace new transportation technologies, new typesof housing, new ways to use streets other than for cars and parking. In this insightful and entertaining tour of the built environment, Schneider explores common urban designs that shape ourlives and color our culturalimagination: office parks, apartments, single family homes,and transit systems. He explains how these forms came to be, why they nolonger functionas promised, and introduces readers to the advocates and professionals around the country who are working on transformative new solutions. Learrung from past mistakes, we can remakeour cities and create better lives for ourselves and future generations.
