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An ideal city doesn’t exist

From McKinsey & Company's What Matters, a special section on cities. From The Atlantic Monthly, Edward Glaeser on How Skyscrapers Can Save the City: Some urban planners and preservationists seem to have a misplaced fear of heights that yields damaging restrictions on how tall a building can be — from New York to Paris to Mumbai, there’s a powerful case for building up, not out (and more and more); and Louis Sullivan, the author of the modernist skyline, is finally getting the recognition he deserves. A review of Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, ­Greener, Healthier, and Happier by Edward Glaeser. Were ancient cities sustainable? A new generation of planners and architects is beginning to look at sustainable, human-centered solutions to the creeping suburbs. The Future of the City: Ajit Mohan on balancing competition and accountability and no more instant utopias. The inner city is an idea derived from the study of a small handful of cities as they were several decades ago, but if not “inner city,” then what? Talk directly about rich and poor, racial isolation, and the municipal tax base. Future cities need to hand over the keys: Rather than push for reform within a political system, Paul Romer suggests starting afresh from the outside in order to defeat global poverty. Wide Urban World: Do all cities have neighborhoods? “An ideal city doesn’t exist”: An interview with David Gouverneur. Are cities the best place to live, are suburbs OK? A fight grows in urban planning, with Harvard at the center. A look at the 6 most insane cities ever planned.