Abstract

The planet is urbanizing at an accelerating pace. More than half of the world’s population now lives in metropolises. By 2030, that proportion is expected to increase to 60%. Even though many cities are unhealthy, the urban habitat seems destined to become the dominant way of life across the globe. What are the reasons for this rapid urbanization? What does it mean for architecture, society and culture?

Originally published in French as La ville qui vient, The City in the Making is a groundbreaking interdisciplinary attempt to understand the nature of the urban phenomenon. Starting with the origins of the first known city, it explores the logic of its millennia-long formation in order to understand its contemporary upheavals, ongoing reconfiguration and future. The book engages with archeology, architecture, economics, philosophy and politics to explore the development of the contemporary cityscape and imagine its future development.

Marcel Hénaff is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego. He is best known for his work Le Prix de la Vérité: Le don, l’argent, la philosophie (2002) which won the Grand Prize for Philosophy from the French Academy and the Philosophy Prize from the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, Paris and has been translated into five languages. Anne-Marie Feenberg-Dibon is Associate Professor and Director of the Institute for Humanities at Simon Fraser University. She is an experienced translator, most notably of several works by Michel Serres.

Marcel Henaff’s work on the future of cities is excellent, ground breaking in its ability to bridge between anthropology, philosophy, and urbanism, and highly accessible to a broad readership. Highly recommended as a publication.
Hashim Sarkis, Dean School of Architecture and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
[The book] explores the making of the future city. In doing so it bridges the fields of anthropology, philosophy and urbanism, whilst providing a poetic read.