Triumph of the City Book Summary - Triumph of the City Book explained in key points

Triumph of the City summary

Edward Glaeser

How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier and Happier

4.4 (17 ratings)
15 mins
Table of Contents

    Triumph of the City
    Summary of 8 key ideas

    Audio & text in the Blinkist app
    Key idea 1 of 8

    Cities are the engines of human progress. We think and create better when surrounded by our peers.

    Whether Athenian thinkers creating the foundation for classical philosophy or Florentine artists ushering in the Renaissance, throughout history, cities have been hotbeds of creativity and progress.

    What makes cities so conducive to visionary thinking? Cities bring people together, enabling collaboration and thus the spread of knowledge. This lively process often produces unexpected and paradigm-shifting creations.

    Cities are such rich sources of inspiration that today, even though technology helps us exchange ideas and information regardless of our location, many of us still choose to cluster in dense cities. That’s because people prefer learning via face-to-face communication.

    Consider Silicon Valley: Even though the tech industry is highly connected through the internet, programmers and inventors still want to be in the same physical location as their peers.

    And as a result, since the world’s most talented software engineers are all concentrated in a tiny geographic area, there’s a natural sense of competition – which means everyone works that much harder to come up with the “next big thing.”

    This gets at an important point. Ultimately, human progress in cities relies on three things: small firms, smart people and global connectedness. Silicon Valley embodies this kind of environment, as did industrial Detroit.

    In the mid-twentieth century, it seemed there was a genius and a start-up on every street corner – think of Henry Ford, the Dodge brothers, Detroit Electric, General Motors – each obsessed with creating the next automobile innovation.

    In addition to all this human capital, Detroit was also connected to the outside world via a major railroad and a waterway. These connections not only enabled the constant flow of goods to the city, but also brought a stream of eager entrepreneurs.

    Although cities offer plenty of opportunity for work and innovation, that’s not all. As we’ll see in the next blinks, city dwellers also have a lot of fun.

    Want to see all full key ideas from Triumph of the City?

    Key ideas in Triumph of the City

    More knowledge in less time
    Read or listen
    Read or listen
    Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
    Find your next read
    Find your next read
    Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
    Shortcasts
    Shortcasts New
    We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

    What is Triumph of the City about?

    Triumph of the City extolls the virtues of the city as one of civilization’s greatest inventions. Cities not only connect people but also help them accomplish great things. And although many of today’s urban metropolises face real challenges in a new economic order, there are many ways for cities to succeed.

    Best quote from Triumph of the City

    Wandering cities…is to study nothing less than human progress.

    —Edward Glaeser
    example alt text

    Who should read Triumph of the City?

    • Anyone who has ever lived or will ever live in an urban environment
    • Anyone who’s interested in urban studies or urban economics
    • Anyone curious how today’s cities need to change to survive

    About the Author

    Edward Glaeser is a professor at Harvard University, specializing in the economics of cities, housing, segregation and innovation.

    Categories with Triumph of the City

    Books like Triumph of the City

    People ❤️ Blinkist
    Sven O.

    It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

    Thi Viet Quynh N.

    Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

    Jonathan A.

    Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

    Renee D.

    Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.

    People also liked

    Start growing with Blinkist now
    28 Million
    Downloads on all platforms
    4.7 Stars
    Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
    91%
    Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
    *Based on survey data from Blinkist customers
    Powerful ideas from top nonfiction

    Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.

    Start your free trial