America is an urban nation, yet cities get a bad rap: they're dirty, poor, unhealthy, and environmentally unfriendly—or are they? Surveying Napoleon III's re-creation of Paris; the rise of Botswana's prosperous capital, Gaborone; and the 1967 Detroit Riot, economist Edward Glaeser argues that cities can be the healthiest, greenest, and richest (in both cultural and economic terms) places to live. Citing contemporary examples of progress, Glaeser debunks the anti-urbanization arguments of Thoreau, Rousseau, and Dr. Seuss, and makes a scientific case for the value of good governance and smart infrastructure.