Rate this book

The Neighborhood Project: Using Evolution To Improve My City, One Block At A Time (2011)

by David Sloan Wilson(Favorite Author)

3.3 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0316037672 (ISBN13: 9780316037679)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Little, Brown and Company

review 1: I don't know how many of you will enjoy this. The writing is not perfect, and he's a bit of a wanderer when it comes to making is point. I was frequently feeling annoyed that he hadn't gotten down to the point. I guess I like my science books to be anecdote- and example-heavy rather than philosophical. This book tended towards metaphors and parables and only mentioned a few studies. I also came to the book with a lot of desire for there to be some "Before and After" style stories. These were virtually absent.That being said, if you have ever listened to an argument related to Cultural Evolution and have wondered, "Why did we abandon this, again?" you will probably enjoy this book.His main argument is also very similar to Hofstadter's (regarding emergent properties, e... moretc.), so if you like Godel, Escher, Bach, this is a perfect companion.The basic premises are:1) Scientists apply certain methods to the study of biological entities and their communities.2) Humans are biological entities.3) Scientists do not currently study humans in the same ways that they study other biological creatures, due largely to the fact that the original cultural evolutionists were also racist.His conclusion is perhaps obvious: We should begin treating humans (and human culture) like a product of evolution, and we should study humans (and human cultures) accordingly. Some of our biggest problems make a lot more sense when viewed from an evolutionary perspective.The majority of the book is actually a discussion of the ways in which the various academic disciplines are finally beginning to work together for the first time in history. I was hoping that it would be more about how to improve urban spaces and poorer neighborhoods, but he does not draw very many conclusions about this process and indicates that his organization is just getting started.Because of where I am at in life, and because of the other books I am reading concurrently, I am happy I found this book. Unless you are particularly interested in the emergent properties of recursive systems or in the general idea of cultural evolution, though, I wouldn't recommend this book. I'm giving it a 3 because there were about 3 or 4 sentences in every chapter which deserved a 5, but the book overall felt more like an pamphlet directed at raising funds for interdisciplinary departments. Since I am a member of the choir to which he was preaching, I found myself a little bored. I didn't need him to waste time on persuasion. I wanted raw data.
review 2: Have you ever looked at a group, or a city as an organisms? You may after reading this.This eminently readable book is at once the story of a single initiative - The Binghamton Neighborhood Project - which is using evolutionary science to improve that city's quality of life. More profoundly, it's a survey of the state of that science as it is being applied to social and economic problems throughout the country. As such, it's also an excellent primer in applied evolutionary science. This is an excellent resource for community organizers and anyone interested in making the place where they live into more of a community. less

Download links for: The Neighborhood Project: Using Evolution to Improve My City, One Block at a Time

Advertising