Cities in the Sky: The Quest to Build the World's Tallest Skyscrapers
Written by Jason M. Barr
Narrated by Kirby Heyborne
4/5
()
About this audiobook
The world’s skyscrapers have brought us awe and wonder, and yet they remain controversial—for their high costs, shadows, and overt grandiosity. But, decade by decade, they keep getting higher and higher. What is driving this global building spree of epic proportions? In Cities in the Sky, author Jason Barr explains all: why they appeal to cities and nations, how they get financed, why they succeed economically, and how they change a city’s skyline and enable the world’s greatest metropolises to thrive in the 21st century.
From the Empire State Building (1,250 feet) to the Shanghai Tower (2,073 feet) and everywhere in between, Barr explains the unique architectural and engineering efforts that led to the creation of each. Along the way, Barr visits and unpacks some surprising myths about the earliest skyscrapers and the growth of American skylines after World War II, which incorporated a new suite of technologies that spread to the rest of the world in the 1990s. Barr also explores why London banned skyscrapers at the end of the 19th century but then embraced them in the 21st and explains how Hong Kong created the densest cluster of skyscrapers on the planet. Also covered is the dramatic result of China’s “skyscraper fever” and then on to the Arabian Peninsula to see what drove Dubai to build the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, which at 2,717 feet, is higher than the new One World Trade Center in New York by three football fields.
Filled with fascinating details for urbanists, architecture buffs, and urban design enthusiasts alike, Cities in the Sky addresses the good, bad, and ugly for cities that have embraced vertical skylines and offers us a glimpse to the future to see whether cities around the world will continue their journey ever upwards.
Jason M. Barr
Jason M. Barr is a professor of economics at Rutgers University-Newark. One of the world’s foremost experts on the economics of skyscrapers, he is the author of Building the Skyline: The Birth and Growth of Manhattan Skyscrapers and has had his research featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economist, Curbed, and Architectural Record. A Long Island native, Barr received his BA from Cornell University, his MFA in creative writing from Emerson College in Boston, and his PhD from Columbia University. He has also taught at Dartmouth College and Columbia University. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, StarTrek.com, Dezeen.com, Scientific American, and Irish Independent. He currently writes a blog about skyscrapers, cities, and economics. His favorite skyscraper is the Empire State Building.
Related to Cities in the Sky
Related audiobooks
Small Town, Big Oil: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the Richest Man in the World-And Won Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Millionaires' Unit: The Aristocratic Flyboys Who Fought the Great War and Invented American Air Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Interview with Sandra Day O'Connor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Great Railroad Revolution: The History of Trains in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAndrew Jackson: The Making of America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQuarantine!: How I Survived the Diamond Princess Coronavirus Crisis Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Off the Deep End: Jerry and Becki Falwell and the Collapse of an Evangelical Dynasty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe King and the Cowboy: Theodore Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh: The Secret Partners Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Rivers in the Desert: William Mulholland and the Inventing of Los Angeles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFidelis: A Memoir Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Lies of the Land: Seeing Rural America for What It Is?and Isn't Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5From the River to the Sea: The Untold Story of the Railroad War That Made the West Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWicked River: The Mississippi When It Last Ran Wild Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Iron Empires: Robber Barons, Railroads, and the Making of Modern America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sheridan’s Secret Mission: How the South Won the War After the Civil War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Marc Morris's The Anglo-Saxons Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNortheaster: A Story of Courage and Survival in the Blizzard of 1952 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGlad to the Brink of Fear: A Portrait of Ralph Waldo Emerson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pirates: The Truth Behind the Robbers of the High Seas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dean: The Best Seat in the House Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Escape Artists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Exile and Other Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Huxleys: An Intimate History of Evolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rise and Decline of the Redneck Riviera: An Insider's History of the Florida-Alabama Coast Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles: The Lincoln Highway Book Complete Analysis & Study Guide Chapter by Chapter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMarooned Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Architecture For You
The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-made Landscape Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Colosseum Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disney's Land Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Hidden History of The Tower Of London: England's Most Notorious Prisoners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Welcome Home: A Cozy Minimalist Guide to Decorating and Hosting All Year Round Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Have Personality Disorder, Will Rule Russia: A Pocket Guide to Russian History Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Meditations Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nesting Place: It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hadrian's Wall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scottish History: A Concise Overview of the History of Scotland From Start to End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health, and Happiness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Egypt's Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti Were Gods on Earth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Letters of a Post-Impressionist Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5How Design Makes The World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5HOW TO GET SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The E-Myth Landscape Contractor: Why Most Landscape Companies Don't Work and What to Do About It Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Republic of Plato Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBallpark: Baseball in the American City Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5HACKING: Social Engineering Attacks, Techniques & Prevention Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Parthenon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5HACKING: How to Hack Web Apps Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Building and Dwelling: Ethics for the City Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMinimalism: The Less Is More Lifestyle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Cities in the Sky
1 rating0 reviews