Laura P. (hemmputnam) reviewed on 4/1/2022 + 1116 more book reviews

I picked this up thinking it was going to be about individual isolation in cities (ie the young worker who does not speak to anyone from Friday after work until Monday morning or the elderly adult alone in an apartment) but instead it was all about the history of plagues and contagion and the role of cities throughout history. I thought it was fascinating, and I very much appreciated the authors' willingness to both provide possible solutions and emphasize that they don't know everything. Measurement of specific goals will be necessary to address multifaceted problems like the role of policing and improving public schools. A major theme is how society privilages insiders over outsiders. Specific policy recommendations include relaxing zoming codes (especially in very expensive places like CA or NYC), better vocational training, tax subsidies for the working poor, and non police public employees. We also need a NATO-like organization to help prevent and manage pandemics. I'm glad to know there are people out there working on solving tough problems instead of just describing them.

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