1st Edition
The Case for Cities
The fateful year 2020 brought dramatic challenges to American cities. The COVID-19 pandemic and the civil unrest caused by the killing of George Floyd led to a cascade of negative media stories about cities, often politically motivated. It seemed possible that the economic and demographic gains cities had achieved over the last few decades could be lost. In fact, there has been measurable population loss in larger cities caused by changing work/life patterns and changing public perceptions about the costs and benefits of urban living. Faced with these challenges, advocates for cities must make a vigorous case for cities and show how they aren’t the cause of America’s social, environmental, economic, and public health problems but, in fact, are the places where the solutions to those problems will be found. The 38 chapters in The Case for Cities draw on the expertise of contributors from the academic, professional, and civic sectors to explore the creative tension between the two great values on which the vigor of cities depends––that they should be "Cities of Choice" (places where people who have choice want to live) and "Cities of Justice" (places that welcome and support people with limited choices). The book’s underlying perspective is that these two values are symbiotic and that promoting both is what leads to viable, sustainable urban resurgence. This book will be of keen interest to students and practitioners in urban planning, urban design, real estate, architecture, and landscape architecture and to urban advocates and civic leaders.
Foreword: The Case for Cities is the Case for Optimism
Lee Fisher
Introduction: The Case for Cities
Vikas Mehta, Danilo Palazzo, Conrad Kickert, Christopher Auffrey, and Terry Grundy
Part 1: Why Cities?
1.0 Rekindling our Love for Cities
Conrad Kickert
1.1 Why Do Cities Matter?
Bruce Katz
1.2 Head for the Hills: the anti-urban response to national crises
Steven Conn
1.3 The Urban Fix for Climate Change
Doug Kelbaugh
Part 2: The Living City
2.0 Making Cities More Liveable for All
Christopher Auffrey
2.1 Housing: a shortage of cities
Joseph Cortright
2.2 Housing and the Future of Cities
Elizabeth Blume
2.3 Neighborhoods and the Future of Urbanism
Emily Talen
Part 3: The Mobile City
3.0 Equitable and Sustainable Mobility
Vikas Mehta
3.1 Equitable Mobility as the Right to Walk in One’s Neighborhood
Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris
3.2 Investment in Transportation Lifts Underserved Neighborhoods
Drusilla van Hengel
Part 4: The Green City
4.0 Balancing Nature and Justice
Danilo Palazzo
4.1 A City’s Green Journey Focused on Equity
Carla Walker
4.2 Design and the Green New Deal
Billy Fleming
4.3 Health Equity, Green Gentrification, and the Post-Covid City
James Connolly
Part 5: The Healthy City
5.0 Creating the Healthy City
Chris Auffrey
5.1 Cities where People Flourish: how to promote health, equity, and sustainability
Nisha Botchwey, Meaghan McSorley, and Mikaila Dowd
5.2 Prioritizing Health and Wellness in Low-Income Communities
Emmanuel Boamah
5.3 Empowering Planners: tools and strategies for creating healthy and equitable communities
Sagar Shah
Part 6: The Entrepreneurial City
6.0 Growing the City from Within
Conrad Kickert
6.1 Kickstarting Urban Minority Entrepreneurship
Allen Woods
6.2 Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Social Equity
Tyler Mathews
6.3 Building Just Cities through Entrepreneurship: a conversation with James Johnson-Piett
Hayden Shelby
6.4 How a Public Market Energized Food Entrepreneurship
Joe Hansbauer
6.5 Entrepreneurs Made Cincinnati a Well-Fed City
Amy Hunter
Part 7: The Public City
7.0 Public Spaces: social and political places
Vikas Mehta
7.1 COVID-19 and Mutual Aid: adopting new public realms to strengthen civic resilience
Jeffrey Hou
7.2 Can the Suburbs Transform? A Case Study in the Toronto Region
Ken Greenberg
Part 8: The Cultured City
8.0 The City of Culture: arts, sports, and events
Danilo Palazzo
8.1 The Benefits of a Robust Cultural Ecosystem for Cities
Leonardo Vazquez
8.2 Building a Future City
Andrew Salzbrun
8.3 A World-Class Orchestra Works to Reflect its City
Tiffany Cooper
8.4 Why Arts, Culture, and Sports Matter
Edwin Rigaud
Part 9: The Philanthropic City
9.0 Donors, Development, and Democracy
Terry Grundy and Eric Avner
9.1 Loyal to their Hometown: a conversation with Craig Howard and Stephanie Platz from the MacArthur Foundation
Terry Grundy and Vikas Mehta
9.2 Supporting Equitable and Vibrant Cities of All Sizes
Lilly Weinberg
9.3 Philanthropy Can Help Build Community from the Ground Up
David Nicholson
Biography
Vikas Mehta, PhD, is the Fruth/Gemini Chair, Ohio Eminent Scholar of Urban/Environmental Design, and Professor at the School of Planning, University of Cincinnati. His work focuses on the exploration of place as a social and ecological setting and as a sensorial art in creating a more responsive, equitable, stimulating, and communicative environment. Dr. Mehta is the author/co-author and editor/co-editor of six books including most recently Public Space: Notes on why it matters, what we should know, and how to realize its potential.
Danilo Palazzo, PhD, is Director of the School of Planning at the University of Cincinnati, USA. Before moving to Cincinnati, he was on the faculty of the Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy. Dr. Palazzo has authored, with Frederick Steiner, Urban Ecological Design (2011). He co-edited Companion to Public Space (2020) with Vikas Mehta, and Routledge Companion to Professional Awareness and Diversity in Planning Education (2023) with Stephen Diko and Leah Hollstein.
Conrad Kickert, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo’s School of Architecture and Planning. Dr. Kickert’s research studies the evolving relationship between urban form, urban life, and the urban economy. He has a background in urbanism and architecture from The Netherlands and the United States, and has worked as an urban researcher and designer for various design offices, property developers and non-profit organizations in Europe and North America.
Christopher Auffrey, PhD, is a Professor in the School of Planning at the University of Cincinnati where he teaches courses in healthy urban planning, and planning theory. His research focuses on promoting the social determinants of health to reduce disparities and create healthier, livable neighborhoods. He co-authored the fourth and fifth editions of the Social Areas of Cincinnati with Michael Maloney and is currently completing the sixth edition.
Terry Grundy, a passionate urbanist, is Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Planning, where he teaches courses on ethics and social justice. For many years, he served at United Way of Greater Cincinnati, directing its social research efforts and forming funders’ partnerships for neighborhood-focused community development.
