A Physicist Turns the City Into an Equation

This long article in the New York Times explains why theoretical physicist Geoffrey West – as well as Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Michael Bloomberg – has turned his attention to cities. The article mentions the two writers on the city who most interest me: Jane Jacobs and Lewis Mumford. I’m intrigued by the idea of “urban science” because I see more and more evidence that the sciences and social sciences need to be integrated. We also need to bring in creative economists (I know, that sounds weird, but I’m fairly sure that such people exist) because urban economies are very complicated indeed.

Furthermore, the pace of urbanization is accelerating as people all over the world flee the countryside and flock to the crowded street.This relentless urban growth has led to a renewed interest in cities in academia and in government. In February 2009, President Obama established the first White House Office of Urban Affairs, which has been told to develop a

About the Author: Karen Christensen

Karen Christensen is an entrepreneur, environmentalist, and scholar who writes about the many ways women have gained and wielded power. She is the owner and CEO of Berkshire Publishing Group, a former trustee of the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Press, a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations, and the founder of the Train Campaign. Subscribe to Karen’s Letter @Substack https://karenchristensen.substack.com or try her Home Ecology newsletter. She can also be found on Twitter @karenchristenze.