Nostalgia Train No More: In Conversation With Benjamin Schneider

Join us for a conversation with author Benjamin Schneider about his latest book—The Unfinished Metropolis: Igniting the City-Building Revolution—led by Executive Director Rick Harnish.

In his chapter Nostalgia Train No More, Schneider takes us on a journey through America’s railway past and present. Along the way, he offers insight into improvements that could bring our outdated rail system into the future, where communities are strengthened and everyday lives are enriched. By re-evaluating the railways in the context of our built environment, Schneider makes the case for their lasting relevancy—perhaps now more than ever.

The Unfinished Metropolis: Igniting the City-Building Revolution is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

American cities used to constantly evolve, experimenting with new urban designs and ambitious infrastructure projects, from railroads and subways to public housing and shopping malls. But now we keep pursuing the same 20th century urban development plans—freeways, downtown office towers, suburban housing developments.

In The Unfinished Metropolis, Benjamin Schneider argues that city-building is a lost art. We need to embrace new transportation technologies, new types of housing, new ways to use streets other than for cars and parking. In this insightful and entertaining tour of the built environment, Schneider explores common urban designs that shape our lives and color our cultural imagination: office parks, apartments, single family homes, and transit systems. He explains how these forms came to be, why they no longer function as promised, and introduces readers to the advocates and professionals around the country who are working on transformative new solutions.

Benjamin Schneider is a freelance journalist covering all things urbanism. His work has appeared in Bloomberg CityLab, MIT Technology Review, The Nation, and many other publications. He lives in Brooklyn.