Age of the City

by Ian Goldin and Tom Lee-Devlin

June 2023

Visionary Oxford professor Ian Goldin and The Economist’s Tom Lee-Devlin show why the city is where the battles of inequality, social division, pandemics and climate change must be faced.

From centres of antiquity like Athens or Rome to modern metropolises like New York or Shanghai, cities throughout history have been the engines of human progress and the epicentres of our greatest achievements. Now, for the first time, more than half of humanity lives in cities, a share that continues to rise. In the developing world, cities are growing at a rate never seen before

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Age of the City is available in the following translations:

Reviews and endorsements:

‘A fascinating and lucid analysis’ and ‘This very readable and important book’  The Guardian

‘A fresh, clear-eyed and timely analysis of the challenges and opportunities that comes from one of the most important themes of the 21st century – the rise of urbanisation and the fact that more people live in cities than at any time in human history.’
Peter Frankopan, Oxford Professor of History, author of The Silk Roads and The Earth Transformed

Age of the City takes us on an absorbing journey through the relationships connecting civilization, progress, and the city.”
Tim Marshall, author of The Future of Geography

“A compelling, holistic and well-balanced narrative on the critical role of cities in an age of global warming – full of insights based on hard data.  From cover to cover, a great read”.

“Full of positive ideas for the future, and grounded in vital lessons from the past”.

“The authors link together many disparate subjects into one integrated whole – bringing alive history, planning, infrastructure, pandemics, urbanism, deprivation, industrialisation, fertility, wars, governance and more – all in support of the city”.
Lord Norman Foster of Thames Bank

The Age of the City is the book we need now. Ian Goldin and Tom Lee-Devlin take aim at those who believe the age of our great cities is over. They marshal powerful and much needed evidence to show that cities are becoming even more important to our economy and society. Their book illuminates the ongoing ability of cities to preserve and thrive in the face of all manner of adversity, as platforms to harness and unleash the human creativity which stands as the engine of human progress. Their book is essential reading for political and business leaders and each and every one of us who cares about and wishes to help create a better collective future.”
Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class.

“A sweeping survey of the history and modern challenges facing cities that will persuade you that they are the key to a happier and more sustainable future together.”
Minouche Shafik, Chief Economic Advisor to British Prime Minister and Former President of LSE and Columbia University

Age of the City provides a startlingly fresh and compellingly readable account of the forces that have defined our past and will shape our future. An essential and enjoyable guide for all our lives.’’
Sasskia Sassen, Professor, Columbia University, author of The Global City

“In demonstrating how cities prove instrumental to the social, civilisational and economic growth of both nations and our international order, Goldin and Lee-Devlin have produced a superb study for academics, organisers and policymakers to reflect upon – and act upon – in reclaiming and/or further transforming urban areas into thriving centres of culture, tolerance and environmentally-sound living.’’
Jeff Roquen, London School of Economics Review of Books

Media and Articles

The Future of Sustainable Cities, TAEJAE Future Consensus Institute
September 2024

How Big Cities Will Make or Break Our Future, The Great Tech Game, with Anirudh Suri
September 2024

Save the cities, fix the planet – Ian Goldin on the power and plight of our cities, The Solutionists, with Mark Scott
September 2024

Ian Goldin on the History and Future of Cities, Charter Cities Institute
July 2024

Guardian best paperback of the month, The Guardian
June 2024

Op rekord met… Ian Goldin, Middelblad
1 March 2024

Greener cities: a necessity or a luxury? Nature
22 February 2024

How cities made us — and shape our future, Financial Times
28 December 2023

FT Best Books of 2023 – Economics, Financial Times
15 November 2023

The age of the city has not ended–but its inequality is fueling the backlash against metropolitan elites, Fortune
20 September 2023

Age of the City – Why are Future Will Be Won or Lost Together, Irish Times
29 August 2023

To Tackle Inequality, Start with Cities, Financial Times
26 July 2023

“Why the Wealth of the Nation lies in our Biggest Cities”, The Scotsman
3 July 2023

City Talks: The Cauldrons of the Future, Centre for Cities
29 June 2023

“How to Reduce the Damage Done by Gentrification”, The Guardian
29 June 2023

BBC News, World Business Report
28 June 2023

Book review: ‘Age of the City’ by Ian Goldin and Tom Lee-Devlin, Engineering and Technology
28 June 2023

“Cities are central to our future – they have the power to make, or break, society’s advances”, The Conversation
22 June 2023

Book talk: ‘Age of the City: why our future will be won or lost together’ with Prof Ian Goldin, Oxford Martin School
16 June 2023

Age of the City Cover