Happy City by Charles Montgomery Book Review

Happy City

Happy City by Charles Montgomery is another great addition to that genre of non-fiction books written by journalists who weave stories, statistics, and interviews in a way to explain a very complicated topic.

In this case, the topic is how the design (or non-design) of a city predetermines much about how we live. Those predetermined choices can create a sad, stressful, disconnected life or an active, sustainable, connected life.

But the story of how we create cities (and, by corollary, the areas outside of cities) is incredibly complicated. Most design choices are fraught with tradeoffs, unintended consequences, and unknown costs.

In fact, most choices about how our cities came to be were full of good intentions. Taking right of way from people not using cars and giving it to people using cars in the 1920s was meant to reduce injuries, increase efficiency, and clean up the city (e.g., less horse poop). In fact, cars ended up killing a lot more people and destroying many established neighborhoods.

And it’s tradeoffs like this that Charles Montgomery tells a compelling story about. It’s a solid book that’s worth reading not just for interest in urban design – but also for ideas on how to improve the actual street that you live on.

There has been a ton of research into how people interact with each other on the sidewalk, how to slow traffic, how to organize and fund neighborhood improvements, and how to pull the levers of power at your city hall. All that information is in the book and combined with engaging anecdotes from cities ranging from rural small towns to New York City to Dallas suburbs…and of course, my own city of Atlanta.

Here are a few pages that I took pictures of to give a flavor of the book.

Happy City Text

Thankfully Departments of Transportation across the country are making safety a higher priority.

And yet – it’s still maddening how few resources we spend on improving road safety when we obsess over getting to ZERO deaths from air travel, terrorism, food safety, and so many other causes.

We tend to still attribute road deaths to driver error when road safety improvements have dramatically decreased the death rate already.

Happy City by Charles Montgomery Book Review 1
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But our obsession with fast car travel has led to more issues, where Atlanta is THE example.

Happy City Text

Side note – I wrote a long review of Kevin Kruse’s book on White Flight here.

Happy City Text

Bikes FTW – even in “not bike friendly” cities like Atlanta.

Happy City Text

There is a fabulous blog post about the True Cost of Commuting here. Cars feel free, but they are probably the most expensive thing you have to own & maintain.

Happy City is a fun, fast, interesting read. It’s a most every library and on Amazon. I also recommend Mr Money Moustache’s Happy City review here.

Happy City by Charles Montgomery
$11.17
In Happy City, Charles Montgomery explores how urban design shapes our lives, influencing whether we feel connected or isolated in our communities. I found his insights engaging, particularly how well he illustrates the unintended consequences of past design choices, like prioritizing cars over people, which often resulted in more harm than good. The book is packed with research and anecdotes from various cities, making it relatable and informative. Overall, it’s a fun read that not only sheds light on urban planning but also offers practical ideas for improving our neighborhoods. Definitely worth picking up!
Pros:
  • Engaging storytelling that combines statistics and anecdotes
  • Offers valuable insights on urban design and its effects on life
  • Highlights the importance of road safety and community interactions
Cons:
  • None
I earn a commission at no cost to you when bought via this link. Also check your local library. Thank you!
02/11/2025 08:56 pm GMT
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