The Evolution of Great World Cities: Urban Wealth and Economic Growth

by Christopher Kennedy

Overview

Some cities seem destined to become major financial capitals, yet never do—Seville, for instance, was the centre of Spain's opulent New World Empire, but failed to become a financial metropolis. Others, like former colonial backwater Hong Kong, defy the odds by growing into major trading centres. What are the key factors distinguishing those cities that become wealthy from those that don't? Christopher Kennedy illuminates how geography, technology, and especially the infrastructure of urban economies allow cities to develop and thrive.

The Evolution of Great World Cities unfolds through the tales of several urban centres—including Venice, Amsterdam, London, and New York City—at key junctures in their histories. Kennedy weaves together significant insights from urbanists such as Jane Jacobs and economists such as John Maynard Keynes, drawing striking parallels between the functioning of ecosystems and of wealthy capitals. The Evolution of Great World Cities offers an accessible introduction to urban economies that 'will change the way you think about cities.'

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442694774
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	08/09/2011
Series:	Rotman-UTP Publishing
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Christopher Kennedy is a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto.

What People are Saying About This

From the foreword by Richard Florida

'Trust me, I read a lot of books on cities. This one is different. The Evolution of Great World Cities is one of the most truly original takes on cities and their economic development that I've read in quite a while.'

Richard Florida

Trust me, I read a lot of books on cities. This one is different. The Evolution of Great World Cities is one of the most truly original takes on cities and their economic development that I've read in quite a while.

From the Publisher

'Trust me, I read a lot of books on cities. This one is different. The Evolution of Great World Cities is one of the most truly original takes on cities and their economic development that I've read in quite a while.'

Editorial Reviews

’Drawing on an extensive body of literature and examples from prosperous and not-so-prosperous cities around the world this book attampts to explain the evolution of great world cities....Vast mass of literature is coupled with illustrative cases in a way that makes the book informative and an enjoyable reading experience.’—Kristina Vaarst Anderson, Regional Studies, vol46:07:2012
‘Kennedy has written a lively and thoughtful book… he carefully builds a novel argument about wealth creation and urban form and does so in an accessible way that teaches urban history and economic concepts as it goes.’—Clinton J. Andrews, Journal of Industrial Ecology, 26 October 2012

'Trust me, I read a lot of books on cities. This one is different. The Evolution of Great World Cities is one of the most truly original takes on cities and their economic development that I've read in quite a while.'—From the foreword by Richard Florida

From the Publisher

’Drawing on an extensive body of literature and examples from prosperous and not-so-prosperous cities around the world this book attampts to explain the evolution of great world cities....Vast mass of literature is coupled with illustrative cases in a way that makes the book informative and an enjoyable reading experience.’

Regional Studies, vol46:07:2012 - Kristina Vaarst Anderson

‘Kennedy has written a lively and thoughtful book… he carefully builds a novel argument about wealth creation and urban form and does so in an accessible way that teaches urban history and economic concepts as it goes.’

Journal of Industrial Ecology, 26 October 2012 - Clinton J. Andrews