Review: Order without Design: How Markets Shape Cities

Order without Design: How Markets Shape Cities by Alain Bertaud
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think I figured out what I want to do when I grow up.

Urban planning seems to be a fascinating endeavor, and during the course of this book I kept thinking about how to apply other economics lessons I learned back in my grad school days, from hydraulics (information economics) to game theory. I'm sure most of it would lead to nothing, but it would be fascinating nonetheless, especially considering the models that can be created for traffic flow, population increases/decreases, etc.

Regardless, I don't know enough to confirm or debunk anything the author says, although my impression was that he wanted to get people thinking about urban planning in a new way (using economics) than anything.


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Review: The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York

The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To be clear, this is much more than a biography of Robert Moses. I read that Obama read this book when he was 22 and was "mesmerized", and I can certainly see why. This book discusses the evolution of a city over the decades, as well as how politics and power all played a role. 

RM is obviously a singular character, and Robert Caro seems to have written the definitive biography of the man, in detail that at times is staggering. 

His influence over the papers sometimes seems incredible and heartbreaking. Such as how he completely destroyed the Sunset Park neighborhood, the spuyten duyvil neighborhood, so many minority neighborhoods, East Tremont Road, Manhattantown, but no paper published the residents' point of view. In fact, I'm inclined to think that many run down parts of New York were that way thanks to his actions. 

It is sad to see how he loses his power later on, but remembering what he did to so many people, it is, in many ways, karma (even though the specific scandals and reversals weren't necessarily due to the most deserving issues). 

This should be read by anyone interested in New York, or in Urban planning, or in Power, and pretty much everyone else. 

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