Book Author: Joe Berridge
Format: PDF File
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐)
In The Perfect City, Joe Berridge provides a vivid description of his journey as an "urban fixer." Throughout the introductory chapter, Berridge presents the case of the city and the city planner in terms of a machine and a mechanic. This unique metaphor sets the tone for the rest of the text. In my opinion, Berridge wants the reader to recognize how the city planners work as a mechanic to fine-tune the intricacies and workings of a city.
I was intrigued by Perfect City because my doctoral program, Public Policy, and Administration, works closely with the Urban and Regional Planning Program at Jackson State University. Many of my friends and colleagues are trained urban planners, so I was curious as to how Perfect City would inform me about the discipline. Surprisingly, this text does not read like an academic textbook, but it flows like an autobiography that has embedded within the lines, which can be used in the urban planning classroom. Several chapters are dedicated to individual cities, which Berridge uses to highlight pertinent information that can be used in transforming cities into models of urban perfection.
Berridge did an excellent job of detailing how cities can grow and improve while providing examples of how cities are hindering their transformation. I believe that everyone would enjoy Perfect City, especially residents in urban areas. Individuals who work in urban areas or who are urban planners would enjoy this text, which can be used as a guidebook to improve urban communities.
Let me know if you order the text. I would love to learn your thoughts on Perfect City.
There is no such thing as a perfect city, but all great cities have moments of perfection — perfect streets or buildings, perfect places to raise a family or to relax with a coffee — and all strive for perfection when they undertake grand civic projects revitalizing their downtowns or waterfronts, or building innovation hubs, airports, and arenas, or reforming their governance systems, or integrating streams of new immigrants. Cities, more than ever, are the engines of our economies and the ecosystems in which our lives play out, which makes questions about the perfectibility of urban life all the more urgent. Joe Berridge, one of the world’s leading urban planners, takes us on an insider’s tour of some of the world’s largest and most diverse cities, from New York to London, Shanghai to Singapore, Toronto to Sydney, Manchester to Belfast, to scrutinize what is working and what is not, what is promising and what needs to be fixed in the contemporary megalopolis. We meet the people, politicians, and thinkers at the cutting edge of global city making, and share their struggles and successes as they balance the competing priorities of growing their economies, upgrading the urban machinery that keeps a city humming, and protecting, serving, and delighting their citizens. We visit a succession of great urban innovations, stop to eat in many of Joe’s favorite places, and leave with a startling view of the magical urban future that awaits us all.
Let me know if you order the text. I would love to learn your thoughts on Perfect City.
About the Book
There is no such thing as a perfect city, but all great cities have moments of perfection — perfect streets or buildings, perfect places to raise a family or to relax with a coffee — and all strive for perfection when they undertake grand civic projects revitalizing their downtowns or waterfronts, or building innovation hubs, airports, and arenas, or reforming their governance systems, or integrating streams of new immigrants. Cities, more than ever, are the engines of our economies and the ecosystems in which our lives play out, which makes questions about the perfectibility of urban life all the more urgent. Joe Berridge, one of the world’s leading urban planners, takes us on an insider’s tour of some of the world’s largest and most diverse cities, from New York to London, Shanghai to Singapore, Toronto to Sydney, Manchester to Belfast, to scrutinize what is working and what is not, what is promising and what needs to be fixed in the contemporary megalopolis. We meet the people, politicians, and thinkers at the cutting edge of global city making, and share their struggles and successes as they balance the competing priorities of growing their economies, upgrading the urban machinery that keeps a city humming, and protecting, serving, and delighting their citizens. We visit a succession of great urban innovations, stop to eat in many of Joe’s favorite places, and leave with a startling view of the magical urban future that awaits us all.
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