“The instant city mixed the good with the bad, battering people with the impartiality of a typhoon.”

The quote above is one of my favorites from the book Instant City. It sums up the intensity of the narrative found in this superb book by National Public Radio’s Steve Inskeep. His first book adroitly illustrates the chaos and charm found in the megacity metropolis of Karachi, Pakistan. To me, Instant City is easily the best urban planning book of the past year, though I will grant I have not read all of them.

Mr. Inskeep does a terrific job of describing Karachi’s historical attempts at urban planning, development policies and programs since the nation’s 1947 Independence, its untethered and explosive growth from its former confines into the surrounding hinterlands, the daily lives of its citizens amid the din and chaos, the nearly continuous political wrangling, the land-grabbing that takes place, as well as the city’s too-often descent into sectarian, ethnic, and political street violence. The descriptions of Karachi and its residents are so compelling, that it hard to put the book down. Instead of simply filling each page with lurid details of Karachi’s problems, Mr. Inskeep masterfully weaves in the hopes, dreams, and vitality found in Karachi, too.

Instant City is chock full of so many eye-opening and striking details about Karachi, that it nearly overwhelms the reader. But Mr. Inskeep finds a way to sort them out and present them in a very readable and thought-provoking manner. Comparisons and contrasts to other past and present instant cities like Chicago, Dubai, Mumbai, Lagos, Rio de Janeiro, and Hong Kong are very informative and helpful to the reader.

Below are just a few of the tantalizing tidbits from this excellent book. Though not a finalist, to me, Instant City was worthy of Pulitzer Prize consideration in non-fiction. Whether you are an urban planner, geographer, historian, architect, sociologist, politician, or just an average person, you will enjoy this fabulous book!