Glaeser and Cutler do a very good job in telling us how cities can survive with all that is taking place in our world today: racial strife, climate change, political and civil unrest, insurrections, etc. The historical components of the work are quite helpful and the prose is lucid and easy to follow. The issue I had with the work is that the writers oftentimes pat themselves on the back, speaking about students that they have had that are now teaching at ivy league institutions...and speaking about their own work in the field and how influential they have been in creating discourse on the subject matter. I can see they know their stuff...I just don't need to be told by them that they know their stuff.