The Importance of Cities to the World

"That doesn't mean there aren't great scourges of city life - disease, crime, congestion, social tensions. 'For every Fifth Avenue,' Glaeser notes, 'there's a Mumbai slum; for every Sorbonne, there's a D.C. high school guarded by metal detectors.' He's candid about the need for farsighted city leadership to mobilize support for major infrastructure. A prime example: the safe water and sewage systems cities that New York and other cities began in the late 1800s, all but erasing waterborne disease and extending life expectancies - essential services still missing in many slums of the developing world."

Peirce's review shines kindly on Glaeser's work, but notes that the impact of cities on the global population is not given enough attention.