Thursday, September 18, 2014

Writing about cities

The City by Deborah Stevenson is reviewed here by three not-so-sympathetic reviewers. Perhaps that's for the best and I hope Stevenson agrees.

I am beginning to think that most of us write for (and are only heard by) others in our own bubble. The odds are slim that I would have read the book had there not been the request for a review. Her's to "reaching across the aisle."

What is our biggest economic problem? In my view, it is growth. I am interested in cities insofar as they are an essential part of the growth riddle. In Deborah Stevenson's view, the big problem is class warfare. Her task was to show the role of cities in pitting the haves against the have-nots. Future work will have to get all this under one cover.