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The Invention of the Future: A History of Cities in the Modern World
A kaleidoscopic and original new history of urbanization—from Lisbon to New York, Paris to Rio de Janeiro, and Buenos Aires to Lagos
For the past three centuries, urban dwellers and planners have imagined future cities that would be radically different from those of the past. Planners pursued progress, whether focused on flying vehicles above, sewage systems below, or daily life in between. Yet, as Bruno Carvalho shows in this original and wide-ranging history, which features some sixty illustrations, modern cities have continuously defied predictions. Visionary designs and technological innovations created dramatic, unforeseen outcomes, and the ongoing urban boom is a story of continuity as well as rupture. A compelling history of imagined future cities and the real cities they created and transformed, The Invention of the Future also suggests what we might learn from their stories as we try to shape our own future.
Moving between large-scale changes and detailed examples, this captivating narrative tells the story of key moments and turning the rebuilding of Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake; the 1811 Commissioners’ Plan for Manhattan; Parisian reforms from 1853 to 1870; Le Corbusier’s plans for South American cities in the 1920s and 1930s; the postwar victory of the car; the utopian capital of Brasília; and urban growth in Africa.
In recent decades, Carvalho argues, the capacity to invent urban futures has become increasingly constrained. Social and environmental challenges loom large. But the story is not over. While cities helped create current problems, compact and transit-rich urbanization might be our best hope to combine high living standards with sustainability. Sometimes, moving forward can involve reaching back to the future.
For the past three centuries, urban dwellers and planners have imagined future cities that would be radically different from those of the past. Planners pursued progress, whether focused on flying vehicles above, sewage systems below, or daily life in between. Yet, as Bruno Carvalho shows in this original and wide-ranging history, which features some sixty illustrations, modern cities have continuously defied predictions. Visionary designs and technological innovations created dramatic, unforeseen outcomes, and the ongoing urban boom is a story of continuity as well as rupture. A compelling history of imagined future cities and the real cities they created and transformed, The Invention of the Future also suggests what we might learn from their stories as we try to shape our own future.
Moving between large-scale changes and detailed examples, this captivating narrative tells the story of key moments and turning the rebuilding of Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake; the 1811 Commissioners’ Plan for Manhattan; Parisian reforms from 1853 to 1870; Le Corbusier’s plans for South American cities in the 1920s and 1930s; the postwar victory of the car; the utopian capital of Brasília; and urban growth in Africa.
In recent decades, Carvalho argues, the capacity to invent urban futures has become increasingly constrained. Social and environmental challenges loom large. But the story is not over. While cities helped create current problems, compact and transit-rich urbanization might be our best hope to combine high living standards with sustainability. Sometimes, moving forward can involve reaching back to the future.
440 pages, Hardcover
Published January 13, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 28, 2026
The ideas were interesting, but the concepts were not well connected. I think I could have liked this book more if the cities were described in more detail of how they were developed. The writing style was opaque and often very verbose. For a book that was trying to educate, some of the text was so stuffy it seemed inaccessible. I frequently had to re-read pages to try to try to understand what Carvalho was trying to explain.
May 30, 2026
Ugggh, what to say? This book covers every single topic I am interested in: cities, geography, history, urban planning. I LOVE these topics which is why I bought the book. But the writing style was just excruciating. Excruciating. He circled around points without ever making them, he skipped from topic to topic in ways that made even my likely-ADHD brain spin, he spoke in academic language that was boring and meaningless. HOW MANY TIMES do we need to learn that people in the past thought we would have flying cars? How many boring recitations of short stories or magazine articles from 1892 about visions of the future must we read? I stuck with it til the end because the topics that the book.was nominally about are truly my most favorite topics to read about, but his writing style was a total and absolute slog and I almost gave up several times. I wanted this book to be so much better. (in the epilogue, he seemed to switch tone somewhat and sound more like a normal person that I would like to have a beer with. Wish that tone could have been used throughout).
June 28, 2026
This was really all over the place. I had been hoping for a focus on cities and city design, or at least something relating to history of the development and planning of cities, but this kept jumping around from politics, general history, human rights, and who knows what else. The author seemed to care more about flowery and poetic writing than context. I was between a 2 or 3 star for this, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt as I was distracted when reading parts of it.
June 2, 2026
If you like a more essayistic style this is a gripping read; it is not a book of easy to digest takeaways but an adventure through the history of the future and cities
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews