Alum's new book "A Country of Cities"
March 2013

Vishaan Chakrabarti (M. Arch '96) is the author of the new book A Country of Cities. In the book he argues that well-designed cities are the key to solving America's great national challenges: environmental degradation, unsustainable consumption, economic stagnation, rising public health costs and decreasing social mobility. If we develop them wisely in the future, our cities can be the force leading us into a new era of progressive and prosperous stewardship of our nation. Chakrabarti brings a wealth of information about cities, suburbs and exurbs, looking at how they developed across the 50 states and their roles in prosperity and globalization, sustainability and resilience, and heath and joy. To preview the first chapter of the book coming out in May 2013 click here. He is currently the director of Columbia University's Center for Urban Real Estate (CURE) and partner at SHoP Architects.