Planning and problems of the city are synonymous, merging into the economics, sociology, and politics of cities which are reflective of their time. In Cities of Tomorrow, author Peter Hall says, “historical actors do perform in response to the world they find themselves in and in particular to the problems that they confront in that world.” This book is focused on the late 19th and 20th centuries, starting with the poor conditions of housing in the Victorian era which gave rise to the field of planning. He also thoroughly covers the Garden City movement, suburban sprawl and regional planning, transportation and highway building, and several design movements, some with ties to Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. In just over 500 pages of text, the author provides a detailed account of the successes and failures in city planning history so that we may learn and understand that most ideas are not wholly original but are versions of an earlier approach. Check out this episode with guest and fellow Cities of Tomorrow fan Gracen Johnson as we discuss the books key points and observations when reading the text in the context of society today.

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