Reviews

The Metropolitan Revolution: How Cities and Metros Are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy by Bruce Katz, Jennifer Bradley

mabersold's review against another edition

4.0

This book basically makes the case that the real agents of change or innovation are not in the federal or state governments, but rather, in the cities. That's a view I mostly agree with, and found this book to make the case pretty well. That being said, it was a little dry at times, and while there were some interesting chapters (I particularly liked the chapter on Denver), I generally like books more about urban form rather than urban economy.

All that said, this book does make its case well, and and just a little over 200 pages (and a lot of appendix and citation at the end) it's a quick read.

ldtree's review against another edition

4.0

This book takes a look at a new approach to US governance, one that's led in large part by metro areas rather than our often ineffective and distant federal and state governments. Who better than local leaders to articulate and implement projects that serve a community's specific needs? The book is bolstered by interesting narratives about metros like Denver, Houston, and Detroit who are hacking the existing top-down hierarchy of procuring investments, or breaking down the silos that encourage local corps, schools, and philanthropies to operate without collaborating. An added bonus to this book is that the insight and solutions it provides aren't limited to government leaders- businesses and nonprofits could benefit from operating in the collaborative and innovative ways our metros are pursuing.