50 Books like Building and Dwelling

Against the smart city

by Adam Greenfield • 2013

Smart cities sell efficiency but deliver surveillance. The real operating system is people.

3.96

132

🏙️ Smart Cities 📐 Urban Planning 🔬 Technological Critique 🤖 Algorithmic Control 💰 Neoliberal Urbanism

Against the smart city 97%

Smart cities sell efficiency but deliver surveillance. The real operating system is people.

by Adam Greenfield 2013

3.96

132 ratings

🏙️ Smart Cities 📐 Urban Planning 🔬 Technological Critique 🤖 Algorithmic Control 💰 Neoliberal Urbanism

The Smart Enough City

by Ben Green • 2019

Smart cities dress up political problems as engineering ones. The fix is governance, not gadgets.

4.12

208

🏙️ Smart Cities 🏛️ Urban Policy 💻 Technology Criticism ⚙️ Techno-Solutionism ⚖️ Algorithmic Bias

The Smart Enough City 96%

Smart cities dress up political problems as engineering ones. The fix is governance, not gadgets.

by Ben Green 2019

4.12

208 ratings

🏙️ Smart Cities 🏛️ Urban Policy 💻 Technology Criticism ⚙️ Techno-Solutionism ⚖️ Algorithmic Bias

The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces

by William H. Whyte • 1980

A decade of time-lapse footage on New York plazas upended every assumption about what draws a crowd.

4.33

927

🏙️ Public Space 🚶 Street Life 🏘️ Human-Scale Urbanism ✨ Placemaking 🌍 Urban Anthropology

The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces Summary

The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces 96%

A decade of time-lapse footage on New York plazas upended every assumption about what draws a crowd.

by William H. Whyte 1980

4.33

927 ratings

🏙️ Public Space 🚶 Street Life 🏘️ Human-Scale Urbanism ✨ Placemaking 🌍 Urban Anthropology

Smart Cities

by Anthony M. Townsend • 2013

Corporations are selling smart cities. A movement of civic hackers has a better blueprint.

3.61

817

🏙️ Urban Technology 🔌 Digital Infrastructure 🗳️ Civic Technology 📊 Open Data 🌱 Grassroots Innovation

Smart Cities 96%

Corporations are selling smart cities. A movement of civic hackers has a better blueprint.

by Anthony M. Townsend 2013

3.61

817 ratings

🏙️ Urban Technology 🔌 Digital Infrastructure 🗳️ Civic Technology 📊 Open Data 🌱 Grassroots Innovation

Tactical Urbanism

by Mike Lydon • 2014

How to hack your city with paint, planters, and pop-up parks, and prove change is possible now.

3.99

315

🛠️ Diy Urbanism 🎨 Creative Placemaking 🏗️ Pop-Up Urbanism 🚲 Street Reclamation 🗳️ Participatory Planning

Tactical Urbanism 95%

How to hack your city with paint, planters, and pop-up parks, and prove change is possible now.

by Mike Lydon 2014

3.99

315 ratings

🛠️ Diy Urbanism 🎨 Creative Placemaking 🏗️ Pop-Up Urbanism 🚲 Street Reclamation 🗳️ Participatory Planning

Palaces for the People

by Eric Klinenberg • 2018

Stronger than seawalls: the shared spaces that hold communities together when everything breaks.

3.97

5k+

🏙️ Public Space 🧱 Placemaking 🤝 Social Capital 💪 Community Resilience 📚 Libraries And Community

Palaces for the People 95%

Stronger than seawalls: the shared spaces that hold communities together when everything breaks.

by Eric Klinenberg 2018

3.97

5k+ ratings

🏙️ Public Space 🧱 Placemaking 🤝 Social Capital 💪 Community Resilience 📚 Libraries And Community

Streetfight

by Janette Sadik-Khan • 2016

Paint, data, and political nerve: beating the car-first status quo.

4.26

2k+

🛣️ Street Design 🎨 Tactical Urbanism 🌳 Public Space 🚲 Bike Advocacy 🚌 Transit Equity

Streetfight 95%

Paint, data, and political nerve: beating the car-first status quo.

by Janette Sadik-Khan 2016

4.26

2k+ ratings

🛣️ Street Design 🎨 Tactical Urbanism 🌳 Public Space 🚲 Bike Advocacy 🚌 Transit Equity

Escaping the Housing Trap

by Charles L. Marohn Jr. • 2024

Housing can't be both affordable shelter and a good investment. That conflict is the trap.

4.37

503

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏠 Housing Policy 📜 Zoning Reform 💰 Affordability Crisis 🌱 Bottom-Up Urbanism

Escaping the Housing Trap 95%

Housing can't be both affordable shelter and a good investment. That conflict is the trap.

by Charles L. Marohn Jr. 2024

4.37

503 ratings

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏠 Housing Policy 📜 Zoning Reform 💰 Affordability Crisis 🌱 Bottom-Up Urbanism

The Just City

by Susan S. Fainstein • 2010

Stop asking if a city is growing. Start asking who it's growing for.

3.75

174

🏙️ Urban Policy 📐 Planning Theory ⚖️ Distributive Justice 🏛️ Urban Political Economy 💼 Neoliberal Critique

The Just City 95%

Stop asking if a city is growing. Start asking who it's growing for.

by Susan S. Fainstein 2010

3.75

174 ratings

🏙️ Urban Policy 📐 Planning Theory ⚖️ Distributive Justice 🏛️ Urban Political Economy 💼 Neoliberal Critique

Uses of Disorder

by Richard Sennett • 1970

The young craving for purity is architecting our cities into sterile, segregated cages.

3.88

258

🏙️ Urban Sociology 🧩 Identity Formation 🚧 Social Segregation 🏛️ Bureaucratic Power 💰 Affluent Isolation

Uses of Disorder 95%

The young craving for purity is architecting our cities into sterile, segregated cages.

by Richard Sennett 1970

3.88

258 ratings

🏙️ Urban Sociology 🧩 Identity Formation 🚧 Social Segregation 🏛️ Bureaucratic Power 💰 Affluent Isolation

Curbing Traffic

by Melissa Bruntlett • 2021

Dutch cities prove removing cars heals loneliness, restores childhood, and makes everyone richer.

4.38

633

🏛️ Urban Policy 🏗️ Urban Design 🚗 Car Dependency 🚶 Walkable Cities 🌳 Public Space

Curbing Traffic 94%

Dutch cities prove removing cars heals loneliness, restores childhood, and makes everyone richer.

by Melissa Bruntlett 2021

4.38

633 ratings

🏛️ Urban Policy 🏗️ Urban Design 🚗 Car Dependency 🚶 Walkable Cities 🌳 Public Space

Road to Nowhere

by Paris Marx • 2022

The tech-driven transportation future is a dead end. The real fix: fewer cars, better transit.

4.16

643

🚗 Car Culture 🏙️ Urban Planning 💻 Techno-Solutionism 🚌 Public Transit 🛵 Gig Economy

Road to Nowhere 94%

The tech-driven transportation future is a dead end. The real fix: fewer cars, better transit.

by Paris Marx 2022

4.16

643 ratings

🚗 Car Culture 🏙️ Urban Planning 💻 Techno-Solutionism 🚌 Public Transit 🛵 Gig Economy

Triumph of the City

by Edward L. Glaeser • 2011

Poverty flocks to cities because cities are the escape route. The economic case for density.

3.91

6k+

🏙️ Urban Economics 🏗️ City Planning 🏘️ Urban Density 🧠 Human Capital 💡 Knowledge Spillovers

Triumph of the City 94%

Poverty flocks to cities because cities are the escape route. The economic case for density.

by Edward L. Glaeser 2011

3.91

6k+ ratings

🏙️ Urban Economics 🏗️ City Planning 🏘️ Urban Density 🧠 Human Capital 💡 Knowledge Spillovers

Radical Cities

by Justin McGuirk • 2014

The slums and squatter towers of Latin America are the world's most daring urban experiments.

4.27

434

🏚️ Informal Settlements ✊ Activist Architecture 🌎 Latin American Cities ⚖️ Urban Inequality 🚌 Public Transit

Radical Cities 94%

The slums and squatter towers of Latin America are the world's most daring urban experiments.

by Justin McGuirk 2014

4.27

434 ratings

🏚️ Informal Settlements ✊ Activist Architecture 🌎 Latin American Cities ⚖️ Urban Inequality 🚌 Public Transit

The Option of Urbanism

by Christopher B. Leinberger • 2007

America's car suburbs were built by policy, not consumer choice. The market now wants the opposite.

3.89

185

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏘️ Sprawl 🏗️ New Urbanism 🚶 Walkable Cities 🏚️ Gentrification

The Option of Urbanism 94%

America's car suburbs were built by policy, not consumer choice. The market now wants the opposite.

by Christopher B. Leinberger 2007

3.89

185 ratings

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏘️ Sprawl 🏗️ New Urbanism 🚶 Walkable Cities 🏚️ Gentrification

Happy City

by Charles Montgomery • 2012

Sprawl isolates and exhausts. The evidence for repairing cities around human connection and joy.

4.36

10k+

🏙️ New Urbanism 🚶 Walkable Cities 🧠 Urban Psychology 🚗 Car Dependency 🌳 Public Space

Happy City 94%

Sprawl isolates and exhausts. The evidence for repairing cities around human connection and joy.

by Charles Montgomery 2012

4.36

10k+ ratings

🏙️ New Urbanism 🚶 Walkable Cities 🧠 Urban Psychology 🚗 Car Dependency 🌳 Public Space

The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City

by Alan Ehrenhalt • 2012

American metros are inverting: affluence returns downtown, immigrants settle the suburbs.

3.77

678

📊 Demographic Shifts 🏘️ Suburban Transformation 🏗️ Gentrification ☀️ Sun Belt Cities 🏙️ Density And Sprawl

The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City Summary

The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City 94%

American metros are inverting: affluence returns downtown, immigrants settle the suburbs.

by Alan Ehrenhalt 2012

3.77

678 ratings

📊 Demographic Shifts 🏘️ Suburban Transformation 🏗️ Gentrification ☀️ Sun Belt Cities 🏙️ Density And Sprawl

Speculative Everything

by Anthony Dunne • 2013

Most design fixes problems. This design invents fictional worlds to test-drive better ones.

4.12

999

🧐 Design Criticism 🔮 Futures Thinking ⚙️ Technology Studies 💭 Social Imagination 🌍 World Building

Speculative Everything 94%

Most design fixes problems. This design invents fictional worlds to test-drive better ones.

by Anthony Dunne 2013

4.12

999 ratings

🧐 Design Criticism 🔮 Futures Thinking ⚙️ Technology Studies 💭 Social Imagination 🌍 World Building

Cities

by Monica L. Smith • 2019

Cities were never about efficiency. They were about all the things you cannot get alone.

3.26

446

🏙️ Urban History 🏛️ Ancient Cities 🏺 Material Culture 🌆 Urban Anthropology 🚶 Everyday Urbanism

Cities 94%

Cities were never about efficiency. They were about all the things you cannot get alone.

by Monica L. Smith 2019

3.26

446 ratings

🏙️ Urban History 🏛️ Ancient Cities 🏺 Material Culture 🌆 Urban Anthropology 🚶 Everyday Urbanism

How Infrastructure Works

by Deb Chachra • 2023

The hidden networks you rely on were built for a climate that no longer exists.

3.64

937

🏗️ Infrastructure Design 🧩 Systems Thinking 🕸️ Network Effects ⚡ Energy Transition ⚖️ Environmental Justice

How Infrastructure Works 94%

The hidden networks you rely on were built for a climate that no longer exists.

by Deb Chachra 2023

3.64

937 ratings

🏗️ Infrastructure Design 🧩 Systems Thinking 🕸️ Network Effects ⚡ Energy Transition ⚖️ Environmental Justice

Networks of New York

by Ingrid Burrington • 2016

Orange lines on the pavement mark fiber-optic cables: a field guide to the visible internet.

3.80

232

🏙️ Urban Infrastructure 🌐 Network Infrastructure 📖 Visual Field Guides 🔭 Urban Observation 📡 Surveillance Technology

Networks of New York 93%

Orange lines on the pavement mark fiber-optic cables: a field guide to the visible internet.

by Ingrid Burrington 2016

3.80

232 ratings

🏙️ Urban Infrastructure 🌐 Network Infrastructure 📖 Visual Field Guides 🔭 Urban Observation 📡 Surveillance Technology

Discursive Design

by Bruce M. Tharp • 2019

What if your toaster had an opinion? A field guide to design that argues.

4.36

🧠 Design Theory 🔮 Speculative Design 🔬 Design Research 🎓 Design Education ⚖️ Design Ethics

Discursive Design 93%

What if your toaster had an opinion? A field guide to design that argues.

by Bruce M. Tharp 2019

4.36

25 ratings

🧠 Design Theory 🔮 Speculative Design 🔬 Design Research 🎓 Design Education ⚖️ Design Ethics

Capital City

by Samuel Stein • 2019

Gentrification is not a market outcome. It is policy, written by the real estate industry.

3.92

2k+

🏙️ Urban Political Economy 🏗️ Gentrification Studies 🚚 Urban Displacement 📖 Marxist Urban Theory 🏠 Housing Justice

Capital City 93%

Gentrification is not a market outcome. It is policy, written by the real estate industry.

by Samuel Stein 2019

3.92

2k+ ratings

🏙️ Urban Political Economy 🏗️ Gentrification Studies 🚚 Urban Displacement 📖 Marxist Urban Theory 🏠 Housing Justice

The Rise of the Creative Class

by Richard Florida • 2004

Jobs once followed factories. Now a class of creatives clusters in the most tolerant cities.

3.68

3k+

🏙️ Urban Economics 🎨 Creative Industries 🧠 Knowledge Work 🌍 Economic Geography 🏗️ Place Making

The Rise of the Creative Class 93%

Jobs once followed factories. Now a class of creatives clusters in the most tolerant cities.

by Richard Florida 2004

3.68

3k+ ratings

🏙️ Urban Economics 🎨 Creative Industries 🧠 Knowledge Work 🌍 Economic Geography 🏗️ Place Making

You Belong to the Universe

by Jonathan Keats • 2016

Buckminster Fuller never built a world-saving machine. He invented a way of thinking that could.

3.65

393

🕸️ Systems Thinking 🦎 Biomimicry 🚀 Futurism 🏙️ Utopian Design 💡 Design Philosophy

You Belong to the Universe 93%

Buckminster Fuller never built a world-saving machine. He invented a way of thinking that could.

by Jonathan Keats 2016

3.65

393 ratings

🕸️ Systems Thinking 🦎 Biomimicry 🚀 Futurism 🏙️ Utopian Design 💡 Design Philosophy

The Architecture of Happiness

by Alain de Botton • 2006

The buildings we love don't just look good. They model the person we want to be.

3.86

15k+

🧠 Environmental Psychology 📐 Architecture Theory 🎨 Design Psychology ✨ Beauty And Meaning 🏙️ Built Environment

The Architecture of Happiness 93%

The buildings we love don't just look good. They model the person we want to be.

by Alain de Botton 2006

3.86

15k+ ratings

🧠 Environmental Psychology 📐 Architecture Theory 🎨 Design Psychology ✨ Beauty And Meaning 🏙️ Built Environment

On Power

by Robert A. Caro • 2017

How one man built a financial empire inside the government and became untouchable.

3.95

1k+

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏛️ Political Power 🗳️ Machine Politics 🏚️ Displacement 🏢 Public Authorities

On Power 93%

How one man built a financial empire inside the government and became untouchable.

by Robert A. Caro 2017

3.95

1k+ ratings

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏛️ Political Power 🗳️ Machine Politics 🏚️ Displacement 🏢 Public Authorities

Zoned in the USA

by Sonia A. Hirt • 2014

The detached home with its own yard is globally rare. American zoning manufactured it at scale.

4.01

136

🏛️ Zoning Law 🏙️ Urban Planning 🌍 Comparative Urbanism 🏡 American Sprawl 🏘️ Single-Family Housing

Zoned in the USA 93%

The detached home with its own yard is globally rare. American zoning manufactured it at scale.

by Sonia A. Hirt 2014

4.01

136 ratings

🏛️ Zoning Law 🏙️ Urban Planning 🌍 Comparative Urbanism 🏡 American Sprawl 🏘️ Single-Family Housing

Liquid Times

by Zygmunt Bauman • 2007

The stable world of careers, communities, and safety nets is gone, replaced by a permanent churn.

3.87

2k+

🧠 Social Theory 🏭 Late Capitalism ⚠️ Precarity 😨 Culture Of Fear 🧳 Displacement

Liquid Times 93%

The stable world of careers, communities, and safety nets is gone, replaced by a permanent churn.

by Zygmunt Bauman 2007

3.87

2k+ ratings

🧠 Social Theory 🏭 Late Capitalism ⚠️ Precarity 😨 Culture Of Fear 🧳 Displacement

Team Human

by Douglas Rushkoff • 2019

Technology promised connection but atomized us. The fix is not code; it is reclaiming our humanity.

3.83

1k+

📱 Digital Criticism ⚠️ Algorithmic Bias 🧬 Social Creatures 🤝 Collective Action 🏘️ Localism

Team Human 93%

Technology promised connection but atomized us. The fix is not code; it is reclaiming our humanity.

by Douglas Rushkoff 2019

3.83

1k+ ratings

📱 Digital Criticism ⚠️ Algorithmic Bias 🧬 Social Creatures 🤝 Collective Action 🏘️ Localism

The Economy of Cities

by Jane Jacobs • 1969

Cities didn't follow farms; farms followed cities. That reversal explains every economic boom.

4.09

1k+

🏙️ Urban Economics 📦 Import Substitution ⚙️ Division Of Labor 🔄 Systems Thinking 🔀 Heterodox Economics

The Economy of Cities 93%

Cities didn't follow farms; farms followed cities. That reversal explains every economic boom.

by Jane Jacobs 1969

4.09

1k+ ratings

🏙️ Urban Economics 📦 Import Substitution ⚙️ Division Of Labor 🔄 Systems Thinking 🔀 Heterodox Economics

The Edifice Complex

by Deyan Sudjic • 2006

From Hitler's Reich Chancellery to the Bilbao Guggenheim, what monuments are really for.

3.8

380

🏛️ Architecture And Power 🧠 Political Psychology ⭐ Starchitecture 🏗️ Authoritarian Architecture 🏙️ Skyscraper History

The Edifice Complex 93%

From Hitler's Reich Chancellery to the Bilbao Guggenheim, what monuments are really for.

by Deyan Sudjic 2006

3.8

380 ratings

🏛️ Architecture And Power 🧠 Political Psychology ⭐ Starchitecture 🏗️ Authoritarian Architecture 🏙️ Skyscraper History

You Are Not a Gadget

by Jaron Lanier • 2010

The internet reduces people to data points. The people who built it call that wisdom.

3.57

6k+

🖥️ Digital Criticism 🧑‍💻 Tech Humanism 🤔 Technoskepticism 💼 Creative Economy ⚙️ Technological Determinism

You Are Not a Gadget 93%

The internet reduces people to data points. The people who built it call that wisdom.

by Jaron Lanier 2010

3.57

6k+ ratings

🖥️ Digital Criticism 🧑‍💻 Tech Humanism 🤔 Technoskepticism 💼 Creative Economy ⚙️ Technological Determinism

Design for the Real World

by Victor Papanek • 1972

Design fills the world with disposables. A manifesto for building what people actually need.

4.24

2k+

🏭 Industrial Design ⚖️ Design Ethics 🌱 Sustainable Design ♻️ Planned Obsolescence 🔧 Appropriate Technology

Design for the Real World 93%

Design fills the world with disposables. A manifesto for building what people actually need.

by Victor Papanek 1972

4.24

2k+ ratings

🏭 Industrial Design ⚖️ Design Ethics 🌱 Sustainable Design ♻️ Planned Obsolescence 🔧 Appropriate Technology

Nowhere to Live

by James S. Burling • 2024

Why can't Americans afford homes? A century of rules made building them illegal.

4.00

🏠 Housing Policy 🏛️ Property Rights 🏗️ Zoning Reform ⚖️ Eminent Domain 📜 Government Overreach

Nowhere to Live 93%

Why can't Americans afford homes? A century of rules made building them illegal.

by James S. Burling 2024

4.00

12 ratings

🏠 Housing Policy 🏛️ Property Rights 🏗️ Zoning Reform ⚖️ Eminent Domain 📜 Government Overreach

Ruined by Design

by Mike Monteiro • 2019

Every harmful app was a designer's decision. The principles for refusing to build the next one.

4.11

2k+

🧭 Design Ethics 🌐 Tech Criticism 🌈 Diversity In Tech ✊ Collective Action ⚖️ Platform Accountability

Ruined by Design 93%

Every harmful app was a designer's decision. The principles for refusing to build the next one.

by Mike Monteiro 2019

4.11

2k+ ratings

🧭 Design Ethics 🌐 Tech Criticism 🌈 Diversity In Tech ✊ Collective Action ⚖️ Platform Accountability

In the Long Run

by Jonathan White • 2024

The future made democracy possible. Calculated, secret, and algorithmic futures are dismantling it.

3.78

🗳️ Democratic Theory 📜 Intellectual History 💭 Political Imagination ⏳ Long-Term Thinking 🤖 Algorithmic Governance

In the Long Run 93%

The future made democracy possible. Calculated, secret, and algorithmic futures are dismantling it.

by Jonathan White 2024

3.78

85 ratings

🗳️ Democratic Theory 📜 Intellectual History 💭 Political Imagination ⏳ Long-Term Thinking 🤖 Algorithmic Governance

Seeing Like a State

by James C. Scott • 1998

Why grand state plans fail: the same simplifications that make society governable make it fragile.

4.21

7k+

🏛️ Political Theory 🏗️ State Planning 🌱 Local Knowledge 🚧 Development Critique 🌿 Ecological Thinking

Seeing Like a State 93%

Why grand state plans fail: the same simplifications that make society governable make it fragile.

by James C. Scott 1998

4.21

7k+ ratings

🏛️ Political Theory 🏗️ State Planning 🌱 Local Knowledge 🚧 Development Critique 🌿 Ecological Thinking

Municipal Dreams

by John Boughton • 2018

Britain built some of the world's best public housing, then spent 40 years dismantling it.

3.92

769

🏠 Social Housing 🏙️ Urban History 📋 Housing Policy 🏛️ Welfare State 🏭 Privatization

Municipal Dreams 93%

Britain built some of the world's best public housing, then spent 40 years dismantling it.

by John Boughton 2018

3.92

769 ratings

🏠 Social Housing 🏙️ Urban History 📋 Housing Policy 🏛️ Welfare State 🏭 Privatization

The Great Reset

by Richard Florida • 2010

Crashes rebuild how we live. Two gave us factories and suburbs. The third is remaking cities.

3.59

656

🏙️ Urban Economics 🗺️ Economic Geography 🏗️ Infrastructure 💡 Creative Economy 🔄 Post-Industrial Society

The Great Reset 93%

Crashes rebuild how we live. Two gave us factories and suburbs. The third is remaking cities.

by Richard Florida 2010

3.59

656 ratings

🏙️ Urban Economics 🗺️ Economic Geography 🏗️ Infrastructure 💡 Creative Economy 🔄 Post-Industrial Society

How to Fix the Future

by Andrew Keen • 2017

The digital revolution feels unprecedented. It isn't. The fix is the same as last time.

3.36

273

🌐 Digital Society ⚖️ Tech Policy 🔮 Technological Determinism ✋ Digital Humanism 🏙️ Smart Cities

How to Fix the Future 92%

The digital revolution feels unprecedented. It isn't. The fix is the same as last time.

by Andrew Keen 2017

3.36

273 ratings

🌐 Digital Society ⚖️ Tech Policy 🔮 Technological Determinism ✋ Digital Humanism 🏙️ Smart Cities

Rebel Cities

by David Harvey • 2012

Capitalism doesn't just happen in cities. It happens through them, and the rent is coming due.

3.92

2k+

🌆 Urban Capitalism 🗺️ Marxist Geography 🏛️ Political Economy ✊ Anti-Capitalism 📉 Financial Crises

Rebel Cities 92%

Capitalism doesn't just happen in cities. It happens through them, and the rent is coming due.

by David Harvey 2012

3.92

2k+ ratings

🌆 Urban Capitalism 🗺️ Marxist Geography 🏛️ Political Economy ✊ Anti-Capitalism 📉 Financial Crises

Glimpses of Utopia

by Jess Scully • 2020

A fair society is not theoretical. Its pieces are already running in cities across the world.

3.97

110

🗳️ Participatory Democracy 💡 Alternative Economics 🌳 Commons Stewardship 🤲 Care Economy 🏦 Financial Reform

Glimpses of Utopia 92%

A fair society is not theoretical. Its pieces are already running in cities across the world.

by Jess Scully 2020

3.97

110 ratings

🗳️ Participatory Democracy 💡 Alternative Economics 🌳 Commons Stewardship 🤲 Care Economy 🏦 Financial Reform

The Clock Of The Long Now

by Stewart Brand • 1999

In an age of acceleration, the most subversive object is a clock that barely moves.

4.10

809

🕰️ Long-Term Thinking ⏳ Deep Time ⚡ Tech Acceleration 🔍 Tech Critique 🔗 Systems Thinking

The Clock Of The Long Now 92%

In an age of acceleration, the most subversive object is a clock that barely moves.

by Stewart Brand 1999

4.10

809 ratings

🕰️ Long-Term Thinking ⏳ Deep Time ⚡ Tech Acceleration 🔍 Tech Critique 🔗 Systems Thinking

Population 10 Billion

by Danny Dorling • 2013

We may never reach 10 billion people. The real threat is inequality, not numbers.

3.40

186

🌍 Human Geography 📊 Demography 🏙️ Urban Planning 👶 Fertility Decline 💰 Consumption Inequality

Population 10 Billion 92%

We may never reach 10 billion people. The real threat is inequality, not numbers.

by Danny Dorling 2013

3.40

186 ratings

🌍 Human Geography 📊 Demography 🏙️ Urban Planning 👶 Fertility Decline 💰 Consumption Inequality

Why Liberalism Failed

by Patrick J. Deneen • 2018

Liberalism didn't fail despite its successes. Its successes broke it.

3.84

4k+

🏛️ Political Philosophy 🤝 Communitarianism 🧩 Individualism Critique 📉 Meritocracy Critique 🏚️ Civic Decline

Why Liberalism Failed 92%

Liberalism didn't fail despite its successes. Its successes broke it.

by Patrick J. Deneen 2018

3.84

4k+ ratings

🏛️ Political Philosophy 🤝 Communitarianism 🧩 Individualism Critique 📉 Meritocracy Critique 🏚️ Civic Decline

The Listening Society

by Hanzi Freinacht • 2017

Political systems ignore how minds grow. A blueprint for a state that develops its citizens.

4.49

402

🏛️ Political Philosophy 📖 Social Theory 🪜 Adult Development 🏥 Welfare State Reform 🧬 Cultural Evolution

The Listening Society 92%

Political systems ignore how minds grow. A blueprint for a state that develops its citizens.

by Hanzi Freinacht 2017

4.49

402 ratings

🏛️ Political Philosophy 📖 Social Theory 🪜 Adult Development 🏥 Welfare State Reform 🧬 Cultural Evolution

Life After Cars

by Sarah Goodyear • 2025

The cost of car dependency is hidden in plain sight. What happens when we build for people instead?

4.26

1k+

🚗 Auto Culture 🏙️ Livable Cities 🚲 Tactical Urbanism 🅿️ Parking Reform 🚸 Traffic Safety

Life After Cars 92%

The cost of car dependency is hidden in plain sight. What happens when we build for people instead?

by Sarah Goodyear 2025

4.26

1k+ ratings

🚗 Auto Culture 🏙️ Livable Cities 🚲 Tactical Urbanism 🅿️ Parking Reform 🚸 Traffic Safety

Against the Machine

by Paul Kingsnorth • 2025

The West lost its soul; a machine grew in the gap, now coming to replace us.

3.95

3k+

🏛️ Critique Of Modernity ⚙️ Technology Criticism 🌳 Spiritual Ecology 🪄 Disenchantment 📵 Digital Resistance

Against the Machine 92%

The West lost its soul; a machine grew in the gap, now coming to replace us.

by Paul Kingsnorth 2025

3.95

3k+ ratings

🏛️ Critique Of Modernity ⚙️ Technology Criticism 🌳 Spiritual Ecology 🪄 Disenchantment 📵 Digital Resistance

Four Lost Cities

by Annalee Newitz • 2021

Lost cities didn't vanish; their people walked away when rulers chose monuments over working sewers.

3.78

7k+

🏙️ Urban History 🏛️ Archaeology Of Cities 🌍 Environmental History ⏳ Ancient Cities 🔄 Comparative Urbanism

Four Lost Cities 92%

Lost cities didn't vanish; their people walked away when rulers chose monuments over working sewers.

by Annalee Newitz 2021

3.78

7k+ ratings

🏙️ Urban History 🏛️ Archaeology Of Cities 🌍 Environmental History ⏳ Ancient Cities 🔄 Comparative Urbanism

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