The Case for Cities

Foreword: The Case for Cities is the Case for Optimism 

Lee Fisher

Introduction: The Case for Cities 

Vikas Mehta, Danilo Palazzo, Conrad Kickert, Christopher Auffrey, and Terry Grundy 

Part 1: Why Cities?

1.0 Rekindling our Love for Cities

Conrad Kickert

1.1 Why Do Cities Matter?

Bruce Katz

1.2 Head for the Hills: the anti-urban response to national crises

Steven Conn

1.3 The Urban Fix for Climate Change

Doug Kelbaugh

Part 2: The Living City

2.0 Making Cities More Liveable for All

Christopher Auffrey

2.1 Housing: a shortage of cities

Joseph Cortright

2.2 Housing and the Future of Cities

Elizabeth Blume

2.3 Neighborhoods and the Future of Urbanism

Emily Talen

Part 3: The Mobile City

3.0 Equitable and Sustainable Mobility

Vikas Mehta

3.1 Equitable Mobility as the Right to Walk in One’s Neighborhood

Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris

3.2 Investment in Transportation Lifts Underserved Neighborhoods

Drusilla van Hengel

Part 4: The Green City

4.0 Balancing Nature and Justice

Danilo Palazzo

4.1 A City’s Green Journey Focused on Equity

Carla Walker

4.2 Design and the Green New Deal

Billy Fleming

4.3 Health Equity, Green Gentrification, and the Post-Covid City

James Connolly

Part 5: The Healthy City

5.0 Creating the Healthy City

Chris Auffrey

5.1 Cities where People Flourish: how to promote health, equity, and sustainability

Nisha Botchwey, Meaghan McSorley, and Mikaila Dowd

5.2 Prioritizing Health and Wellness in Low-Income Communities

Emmanuel Boamah

5.3 Empowering Planners: tools and strategies for creating healthy and equitable communities

Sagar Shah

Part 6: The Entrepreneurial City

6.0 Growing the City from Within

Conrad Kickert

6.1 Kickstarting Urban Minority Entrepreneurship

Allen Woods

6.2 Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Social Equity

Tyler Mathews

6.3 Building Just Cities through Entrepreneurship: a conversation with James Johnson-Piett

Hayden Shelby

6.4 How a Public Market Energized Food Entrepreneurship

Joe Hansbauer

6.5 Entrepreneurs Made Cincinnati a Well-Fed City

Amy Hunter

Part 7: The Public City

7.0 Public Spaces: social and political places

Vikas Mehta

7.1 COVID-19 and Mutual Aid: adopting new public realms to strengthen civic resilience

Jeffrey Hou

7.2 Can the Suburbs Transform? A Case Study in the Toronto Region

Ken Greenberg

Part 8: The Cultured City

8.0 The City of Culture: arts, sports, and events

Danilo Palazzo

8.1 The Benefits of a Robust Cultural Ecosystem for Cities

Leonardo Vazquez

8.2 Building a Future City

Andrew Salzbrun

8.3 A World-Class Orchestra Works to Reflect its City

Tiffany Cooper

8.4 Why Arts, Culture, and Sports Matter

Edwin Rigaud

Part 9: The Philanthropic City

9.0 Donors, Development, and Democracy

Terry Grundy and Eric Avner

9.1 Loyal to their Hometown: a conversation with Craig Howard and Stephanie Platz from the MacArthur Foundation

Terry Grundy and Vikas Mehta

9.2 Supporting Equitable and Vibrant Cities of All Sizes

Lilly Weinberg

9.3 Philanthropy Can Help Build Community from the Ground Up

David Nicholson

Biography

Vikas Mehta, PhD, is the Fruth/Gemini Chair, Ohio Eminent Scholar of Urban/Environmental Design, and Professor at the School of Planning, University of Cincinnati. His work focuses on the exploration of place as a social and ecological setting and as a sensorial art in creating a more responsive, equitable, stimulating, and communicative environment. Dr. Mehta is the author/co-author and editor/co-editor of six books including most recently Public Space: Notes on why it matters, what we should know, and how to realize its potential.

Danilo Palazzo, PhD, is Director of the School of Planning at the University of Cincinnati, USA. Before moving to Cincinnati, he was on the faculty of the Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy. Dr. Palazzo has authored, with Frederick Steiner, Urban Ecological Design (2011). He co-edited Companion to Public Space (2020) with Vikas Mehta, and Routledge Companion to Professional Awareness and Diversity in Planning Education (2023) with Stephen Diko and Leah Hollstein.

Conrad Kickert, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo’s School of Architecture and Planning. Dr. Kickert’s research studies the evolving relationship between urban form, urban life, and the urban economy. He has a background in urbanism and architecture from The Netherlands and the United States, and has worked as an urban researcher and designer for various design offices, property developers and non-profit organizations in Europe and North America.

Christopher Auffrey, PhD, is a Professor in the School of Planning at the University of Cincinnati where he teaches courses in healthy urban planning, and planning theory. His research focuses on promoting the social determinants of health to reduce disparities and create healthier, livable neighborhoods. He co-authored the fourth and fifth editions of the Social Areas of Cincinnati with Michael Maloney and is currently completing the sixth edition.

Terry Grundy, a passionate urbanist, is Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Planning, where he teaches courses on ethics and social justice. For many years, he served at United Way of Greater Cincinnati, directing its social research efforts and forming funders’ partnerships for neighborhood-focused community development.