Still Hungry?
Awesome. We’ve got some great materials to take your conversations further.
Top 10 Books for Young Urbanists
Check out your local or school libraries for these books.
For Young Urbanists under 8
Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty
Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale by Steven Guarnaccia
For Young Urbanists from 8-12
13 Bridges Children Should Know by Brad Finger (there’s also 13 Buildings … and 13 Skyscrapers … in the series too)
How Cities Work by Lonely Planet Kids
For Young Urbanists from 12-16
The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William H. Whyte
Transit Maps of the World by Mark Ovenden
For Young Urbanists 16 and up
101 Things I Learned in Urban Design School by Matthew Frederick
How to Live in the City by Hugo Macdonald
Walkable City by Jeff Speck
The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs (she is awesome of course, the modern urbanists ultimate hero, but, you know what, start with this film and this podcast first)
Triumph of the City by Edward L. Glaeser
Top 5 Documentaries for Young Urbanists
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City
Planet Earth II, Episode 6: Cities
The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces (not available at this time, but see if you can get hold if it, it is a great watch)
And one more …
Angkor Wat’s Hidden Megacity (although this final documentary is not about modern cities, it is a fascinating insight into the workings of Cambodia’s ancient capital, how it functioned and how it responded to climate change)
Top 5 TED Talks for Young Urbanists
Peter Calthorpe’s 7 principles for building better cities
Amanda Burden’s How public spaces make cities work
Robert Muggah’s The biggest risks facing cities – and some solutions (and his How to protect fast growing cities from failing is good too)
Jeff Speck’s The Walkable City (and his related talk 4 ways to make a city more walkable)
Enrique Peñalosa’s Why buses represent democracy in action
Top 5 Museums for Young Urbanists
New York’s Skyscraper Museum
Tokyo’s Archi-Depot
Washington DC’s National Building Museum
And More?
Sounds like it is time for you to think about a career in urbanism. As I think you have learned by now, urbanism cuts across many industries and professions – architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, urban planning, geography, cartography, economics, politics, property development, building, engineering, data analytics, journalism, and even archaeology. There are lots of ways to be an Urbanist, so follow your skills and passions and do it your way.
Young Urbanists 