Cities of the sky: From Dubai to Chongqing to Honduras, the Silk Road of the future is taking shape in urban developments based on airport hubs — welcome to the world of the "aerotropolis" (and more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more). A new way to look at cities: We can delight in the aesthetics of other necessities. Do mayors matter? Edward Glaeser reviews three books about New York City. David Leonhardt interviews Edward Glaeser, author of Triumph of the City (and more and more and more and more and more and more and more). Quick-Fix Urbanism: Are airports really the key to 21st-century economic development? Susan S. Fainstein on her book The Just City. Metro Connection: With Washington paralyzed by gridlock, states — and the metropolitan areas that power them — need to take the lead in rebuilding the economy. Jonathan Shainin reviews Arrival City: How the Largest Migration in History Is Reshaping Our World by Doug Saunders (and more). Boomtown: By 2025, 136 new cities — all from the developing world — will take their place among the world's leading urban centers, but these new engines of global economic growth hold some surprises. A green lesson from the world's most romantic cities: Freeways are convenient, but they also destroy neighborhoods and parks — a case for learning from Paris and Rome. Joel Kotkin on the problem with megacities. Americans like their cities spacious — will concerns about costs and the environment push them to rein in sprawl? Liveable v lovable: The world’s best cities are beautiful, clean and efficient, free from all the friction and buzz that make metropolises what they are — but why does no one want to live in them? A review of Makeshift Metropolis: Ideas About Cities by Witold Rybczynski. Are the world’s megacities becoming a sprawling, overfed, and uncontrollable mass that needs to be restrained for the good of society and the environment?
