The well tempered city: the future of urban life

This book talk is part of the FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival 2017, the Oxford Martin School is the Festival Ideas Partner

Leading American thinker on urban planning and the creation of well-integrated communities Jonathan Rose argues that cities are well-placed to address the environmental, economic and social challenges of this century.

Cities will be home to 80 per cent of the world’s population by 2050 and will fell the full force of climate change, dwindling resources, population growth, mass migration and inequalities. Rose draws on the musical concept of ‘temperament’ to argue that cities can be infused with systems that bend them towards equality, resilience, wellbeing and a harmony between civilisation and nature.