During the past decade, the world reached the point of becoming more urban than not, as the majority of people on the planet now live not in small towns or villages but in provincial, national, and global cities. Scholars have long been fascinated by so-called global cities, world cities, and the urban engines of the global economy. James H. Spencer argues, however, that such an emphasis misses the central fact that urbanization goes well beyond the usual suspects of New York, Tokyo, London, and Shanghai. The author charts urbanization across the Global South and North, resulting in what he describes as a planetary global urban ecosystem. This concept that challenges us to realize that in daily life, their similar physical and social ecosystems that make cities more understandable to each other than to their own rural hinterlands. Spencer’s vivid case studies of Addis Ababa, Ho Chi Minh City, Honolulu, and New York draw out the commonalities of our intertwined built and social environments and how they express a shared humanity across continents and cultures.

"Whether from the perspective of supporters/critics or specialists/nonspecialists, the related processes of globalization and urbanization are two of the defining trends of the 21st century.  Spencer utilizes secondary scholarly literature, life stories, popular media, and personal experiences to make sense out of the diversity of the ‘global urban ecosystem.’  While each city has its own history, culture, and physical environment, the attractive ones benefit from three characteristics: economic and productivity efficiencies, differences and diversities, and a global connectivity.  In order to provide a picture of what this ecosystem looks like, Spencer devotes four of his seven chapters to a tour of cities that illustrate each of his three types.  Two of these cities are from the Global South and represent ‘Do-Your-Timers’ (Saigon and Addis Ababa), and two are from the Global North and represent ‘Old-Timers’ (Honolulu) and ‘For-All-Timers’ (New York).  However, ‘every city has elements of each, but it is the particular combination and concentrations that give individuality to any case.’  This well-written, insightful, and informative book should appeal to all professionals and nonprofessionals interested in acquiring a new lens through which to make sense of the interrelated processes of globalization and urbanization. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries." - CHOICE