Solly Angel Reviews Imagine a City in

But visits to the great cities, especially in the company of one who loves them as Mr. Vanhoenacker does, can have a way of inspiring us and urging us to follow him and go there too. The author sees these places in their entirety—from great heights and from close by—as he strolls down their streets taking in their views, sounds and smells. He writes as someone who, from a very early age—looking at a metal globe—wanted to explore the world, to get to know it all, to touch it, so to speak, everywhere. I share that urge. Many of us still do. And for those of us who do, “Imagine a City” will hold us in a warm, welcome embrace.

Our cities, for their part, need our love too. Much as they are self-organized and self-correcting, they remain vulnerable, now more than before. They require our thoughtful and loving attention. There is too much at stake to just let them be and go about our business. Like Mr. Vanhoenacker, we may need to learn to look at them with new eyes, and to look at our planet as a planet of cities.