Attention all Imagine Boston 2030 bookworms!
We thought it would be fun to develop a reading list of books that help us think about cities, and explore, celebrate, and imagine Boston.
With input from all those who call our City home, Imagine Boston 2030 will define a vision for Boston leading up to its 400th birthday and beyond, and a roadmap to realize that vision. As Boston’s first citywide plan in 50 years, Imagine Boston 2030 will create a framework to preserve and enhance Boston, while embracing growth as a means to address our challenges and make the City stronger and more inclusive.
The challenge for us today is to find ways to preserve wisely, enhance equitably, and grow inclusively. If we keep these values in mind as we chart the course for Boston’s future, we can ensure that our neighborhoods and the City as a whole remain thriving, healthy, and innovative.
Since we launched Imagine Boston 2030 last fall, we’ve relied on Bostonians to set the direction for our growth. To guide Imagine Boston 2030, we turned to those who know the City best — the residents and businesses that call Boston home. Over the last few months, the City engaged Bostonians through open houses, visioning sessions, street teams, community workshops, text messages, social media and web surveys to understand Bostonians’ vision for the future. We listened. We’re still listening. And, we’re reading!
City staff has been talking about some of the history and concepts that have informed our thinking. We’ve had great conversations about the work of some of the thinkers and philosophers who influence our work every day. And one day, we started a conversation about books we have read that explore concepts related to the work. We thought it would be fun to develop a reading list of books that help us think about cities, and explore, celebrate, and imagine Boston. We had some lively discussions and picked a dozen books to include on the list, but we are acutely aware that our list is not even remotely comprehensive, so we are asking you to help by voting on three more books you think should be included.
Now for the best part: the Mayor’s Office has partnered with the Boston Public Library to make the entire Imagine Boston reading list available to all Boston residents! Stop by your local branch of the Boston Public Library to pick up one—or all—of the books on the Imagine Boston 2030 Reading List, and join us as we all Imagine Boston in 2030.
Click here to vote for your favorite books, and share with your friends! Everyone who votes has a chance to win an Imagine Boston Reading List prize!
#ImagineBoston #IB2030bookworm @ImagineBoston @BPLBoston
Adult Reading List
“Evicted” by Matthew Desmond
“The Death and Life of Great American Cities” by Jane Jacobs
“Chain of Change: Struggles for Black Community Development”by Mel King
“The Given Day” by Dennis Lehane
“Common Ground” by J. Anthony Lukas
“All Souls” by Michael Patrick MacDonald
“The Power Broker” by Robert Caro
“Karma and Other Stories” by Rishi Reddi
“The Resilience Dividend: Being Strong in a World Where Things Go Wrong” by Judith Rodin
“Villa Victoria: The Transformation of Social Capital in a Boston Barrio” by Mario Luis Small
“Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time” by Jeff Speck
“The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers Our Future” by Joseph E. Stiglitz
Youth(Ages 3+) Reading List
“The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing” by M. T. Anderson
“The City of Ember” by Jeanne DuPrau
“Pennies for Elephants” by Lita Judge
“What’s the Big Idea? Four Centuries of Innovation in Boston” by Stephen Krensky
“Make Way for Ducklings” by Robert McCloskey
“Fantastic Cities: A Coloring Book of Amazing Places Real and Imagine” by Steve McDonald
“Beneath the Streets of Boston” by Joe McKendry
“On the Loose in Boston (Find the Animals)” by Sage Stossel
