Summary of Edward Glaeser & David Cutler's Survival of the City

By IRB Media

Get the Summary of Edward Glaeser & David Cutler's Survival of the City in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: Cities can make us sick. They always have—diseases spread more easily when more people are close to one another. And disease is hardly the only ill that accompanies urban density. Cities have been demonized as breeding grounds for vice and crime from Sodom and Gomorrah on. But cities have flourished nonetheless because they are humanity’s greatest invention, indispensable engines for creativity, innovation, wealth, and connection, the loom on which the fabric of civilization is woven.

But cities now stand at a crossroads. During the global COVID crisis, cities grew silent as people worked from home—if they could work at all. The normal forms of socializing ground to a halt. How permanent are these changes? Advances in digital technology mean that many people can opt out of city life as never before. Will they? Are we on the brink of a post-urban world?

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Dec 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781669341642

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

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Insights on Edward Glaeser and David Cutler's Survival of the City

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The rapid deurbanization of the world is occurring due to the spread of the pandemic, which threatens to destroy the social fabric of cities.

#2

The rise in COVID-19 cases around the world is a clear demonstration of how our cities have failed to keep up with the modern world.

#3

Remaking a system designed for the rich into a system that benefits the many will take a lot of time, and in some cases, may never happen.

#4

The fight against the downsides of density also requires a truce in the war against urban ills such as crime, traffic congestion, and high housing costs. These problems are the result of existing social inequalities, and can only be solved by addressing those inequalities head on.

#5

The solution to the problem of cities suffering from high crime rates is not to build even more cities, but to re-shape existing cities so that they become safer, more equitable places for everyone.

#6

The most important lesson from the lockdowns and protests is that human contact is sacred. People will not walk away from that, not even if it means risking their health.

#7

We need to work on strengthening the world’s cities in order to preserve human civilization. These need to be done in three stages: first, a city must have a shared strength that serves it, which means stronger and more accountable governments; second, cities must enable freedom to flourish; and third, all of us must have the humility to learn from each other.

#8

Urban dwellers need public services more than rural Americans do, since they’re stuck with each other in a confined space.

#9

National governments tend to be more ideological than local governments, and this has been the case since the beginning of the American republic.

#10

The fight against COVID-19 requires not only more national competence, but also a multinational entity that monitors the globe for new outbreaks and swiftly closes travel routes that spread death.

#11

The third pillar is public accountability. This means that