Cities are good for you
Speaker: Leo Hollis

Leo Hollis

• Tuesday 25 June 2013, 3.00PM
• Free admission
  Booking required, see below for tickets
• Ron Cooke Hub, University of York (See locations page)

Event details

The 21st century will be the age of the city. Already over 50% of the world population live in urban centres and over the coming decades this percentage will increase - with consequences for us all. But this does not mean that things will only get worse. In fact our urban future might just be something to look forward to.

Blending anecdote, fact and first hand encounters - from exploring the slums of Mumbai, to visiting roof-top farms in Brooklyn and attending secret dinner parties in Paris, to riding the bus in Latin America - Leo Hollis reveals that we have misunderstood how cities work for too long. He also will tell the stories of dreamers, planners, revolutionaries, writers, scientists, architects, slum-dwellers and emperors. It is shaped by the idea that cities are the greatest social experiment in human history, built for people, and by the people.

Speaker biography

Leo Hollis was born in London in 1972. He went to school at Stonyhurst College and read History at UEA. He works in publishing and is the author of two books on the history of London: The Phoenix: The Men Who Made Modern London and The Stones of London: A History Through Twelve Buildings. He writes regularly for the New Statesman, the TLS and the Daily Telegraph.

Website: www.citiesaregoodforyou.com

Tickets