Listen to a sample
How to Build a City
- Author
- Gabriella Bennett
- Narrator
- Gabriella Bennett
- Publisher
- Headline
- Publish Date
- 13 August 2026
- Run Time
- 10 hours 42 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Architecture: residential and domestic buildings, Architecture: public, commercial and industrial buildings, Urban and municipal planning and policy, City and town planning: architectural aspects, Settlement, urban and rural geography, Development and environmental geography, Social and political philosophy
Not available in your country
We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.
What to expect
'Lyrically readable yet highly informative ... a story of resilience, strength and humanity's innate resourcefulness' DAILY MAIL
'A thoughtful, open-hearted, deeply reported book about what we need to live' CAL FLYN
A moveable city in the Arctic Circle. Tower blocks tackling loneliness in Tokyo. Helsinki's sprawling underground metropolis. And Ukraine's bomb-resistant bedrooms. These places, and many more, are among the strange and dazzling solutions responding to our uncertain world.
Gabriella Bennett takes readers on a globe-trotting journey to learn how we are reimagining home and embracing the challenges of contemporary living. From political instability to wildfires, flooding and an increased pressure on materials and space, the built environment is under threat like never before. It must change - and it is. We'll travel to the frontier cities of this urban revolution and discover how people are transforming their communities in surprising ways.
Celebrating human ingenuity and resilience, How to Build a City is a remarkable investigation into where we'll live and why it matters.
Critics Review
-
An ambitious and engaging investigation ... a serious and spirited attempt to find answers to problems that elude many architects and planners; to show us what is possible; and, perhaps, to demand from them the best that cities can be - whatever uncontrollable events may be heading our way
The Spectator
-
Fascinating ... blending reportage with global case studies, it's a book which offers a compelling exploration of how architecture, ingenuity and resilience are shaping the cities of tomorrow
Architecture Magazine
-
Fantastic [...] in her lyrically readable yet highly informative way, Bennett takes us on a two-year journey around the world, stopping at places of great beauty, loneliness and convenience [...]a story of resilience, strength and humanity's innate resourcefulness
Daily Mail
-
A thoughtful, open-hearted, deeply reported book about what we need to live. In How To Build A City, Bennett roams the world in search of answers to some of the most profound questions of our present and our future. She offers us thrilling, kaleidoscopic glimpses of lives lived in brave new ways-and the community and forethought it takes to get there
Cal Flyn, bestselling author of Islands of Abandonment
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
A fascinating and compassionate book about the lives we build and rebuild - and the places we come to call home
Peter Ross, bestselling author of Upon a White Horse
-
An ambitious and globe-trotting exploration of the changing shape of our cities, and how we'll live in the world of tomorrow
Jonn Elledge, bestselling author of A History of the World in 47 Borders
-
Spectacularly hopeful, How to Build a City is magnificent
Lucy Easthope, bestselling author of When the Dust Settles
-
In this illuminating, heartfelt and perceptive book, Gabriella Bennett explores how urban communities are responding to the dangers that threaten their settled lives. From those who are experiencing the terrors of war and displacement, to others facing ecological disaster or increasing social isolation, she gathers stories of resilience, aspiration and perseverance [...] underlying all her encounters, is the essential and universal truth that our social and emotional well being is dependent on our sense of home
Clare Hunter, author of Threads of Life
-
A dizzying dive into vivid worlds of human perseverance and creativity, finding the startling examples of success in urban planning. Gabriella takes us all around the world in her quest to understand home and belonging in the fabric of our built environment, and tells the stories of people and places with such empathy, curiosity and skill that they stay with you for a long time. If you want to feel genuinely hopeful about our shared future, How to Build a City is the place to start
Jen Stout, author of Night Train to Odesa
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Gabriella Bennett
- Narrator
- Gabriella Bennett
- Duration
- 10 hours 42 minutes
- Release Date
- 13 August 2026
- ISBN
- 9781035421985
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Headline
- Genre
- Architecture: residential and domestic buildings, Architecture: public, commercial and industrial buildings, Urban and municipal planning and policy, City and town planning: architectural aspects, Settlement, urban and rural geography, Development and environmental geography, Social and political philosophy
Synopsis
'Ambitious and engaging' THE SPECTATOR'Lyrically readable yet highly informative ... a story of resilience, strength and humanity's innate resourcefulness' DAILY MAIL'A thoughtful, open-hearted, deeply reported book about what we need to live' CAL FLYNA moveable city in the Arctic Circle. Tower blocks tackling loneliness in Tokyo. Helsinki's sprawling underground metropolis. And Ukraine's bomb-resistant bedrooms. These places, and many more, are among the strange and dazzling solutions responding to our uncertain world.Gabriella Bennett takes readers on a globe-trotting journey to learn how we are reimagining home and embracing the challenges of contemporary living. From political instability to wildfires, flooding and an increased pressure on materials and space, the built environment is under threat like never before. It must change - and it is. We'll travel to the frontier cities of this urban revolution and discover how people are transforming their communities in surprising ways.Celebrating human ingenuity and resilience, How to Build a City is a remarkable investigation into where we'll live and why it matters.
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.