“[A] timely and necessary guide to this age of the Franken-city.”
—Daniel Brook, The New York Times Book Review
From Beijing to Boston, cities are deploying smart technology—sensors embedded in streets and subways, Wi-Fi broadcast airports and green spaces—to address the basic challenges faced by massive, interconnected metropolitan centers. In Smart Cities, Anthony M. Townsend documents this emerging futuristic landscape while considering the motivations, aspirations, and shortcomings of the key actors—entrepreneurs, mayors, philanthropists, and software developers—at work in shaping the new urban frontier.
SMART CITIES is available everywhere books are sold. Patronize independent booksellers worldwide on Bookshop.org. Check WORD Bookstores for local delivery or pickup in Brooklyn and Jersey City. Amazon has the book in stock and is delivering.
For bulk book orders, I recommend Porchlight (up to 250 copies) or W.W. Norton (over 250 copies)
What the critics say…
“An entertaining history of urban planning’s visionaries and villains, the technological breakthroughs and the spectacular failures that brought us to this crossroads.”
The Nation
“[Townsend] has written a generous book in clean prose, one that will engage both advanced geeks and cyber-dolts.”
New Scientist
Compelling…Townsend begins a conversation.
Nature
About the Author
Dr. Anthony Townsend works at the intersection of urbanization and digital technology. His first book, Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers and the Quest for A New Utopia was published by W.W. Norton & Co. in 2013. Anthony is the founder of Star City Group, a strategy consultancy and planning studio that works with industry, government and philanthropy on smart city planning, innovation districts, and automated vehicle policy. He holds a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Anthony is available for speaking engagements—conference keynotes, author events, and more. Please contact us.
Translations + Rights
Contact your local publisher for more information. Rights inquires, please contact the Zoë Pagnamenta Agency.
| العربية الفصحى | Arab Scientific Publishers | buy |
| 臺語 | CITIC Press | buy |
| eesti keeles | ARIPAEV | buy |
| 한국어 | MID | buy |
| 普通话 | Faces Publishing | buy |
| Русский | Gaidar Institute | buy |