The list below is not exhaustive and is in no particular order. Books are broken down into two categories, books that I have read and recommend, and books that have been recommended to me that have not read. If you have a recommendation, please email me at [email protected]! Books on this list span a range of categories, all with the goal of helping us build a better Raleigh. You will find books on development, utilities, government, finance, decision making, racism, leadership, transportation, and “getting things done”.
The List
Andrew Kleine — City on the Line: How Baltimore Transformed Its Budget to Beat the Great Recession and Deliver Outcomes
Find It — Quail Ridge Books, Indie Bound
Mark Friedman — Trying Hard is Not Good Enough: How to Produce Measurable Results for Customers and Communities*
Find It — Quail Ridge Books
Scott Lazenby — The Human Side of Budgeting: Budget Games and How to End Them*
Matthew Desmond — Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
Find It — Wake County Public Library, Quail Ridge Books, Indie Bound
Daniel G. Parolek — Missing Middle Housing: Thinking Big and Building Small to Respond to Today’s Housing Crisis
Find It — Quail Ridge Books, Indie Bound
Roman Mars — The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design
Find It — Wake County Public Library, Quail Ridge Books, Indie Bound
Angie Schmitt — Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America
Find It — Quail Ridge Books, Indie Bound
Ray Oldenburg — The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community
Find It — Quail Ridge Books, Indie Bound
Bill Bishop — The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart
Find It — Quail Ridge Books, Indie Bound
Janette Sadik-Khan — Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution
Find It — Quail Ridge Books, Indie Bound
John P. Kretzmann — Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets
Find It — Quail Ridge Books, Indie Bound
Charles L. Marohn — Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity
Find It — Quail Ridge Books, Indie Bound
Adam Grant — Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know
Find It — Wake County Public Library, Quail Ridge Books, Indie Bound
Christopher Duerksen — The Citizen’s Guide to Planning
Find It — Quail Ridge Books, Indie Bound
(*)These books came from the Good Government Book Club list featured in City on the Line.
