Would our cities be more lively, more liveable, if we broke the rules more often?

Crowded streets, sidewalk vendors, jumbled architecture, constant clamor, graffitied walls, parks gone wild: are these signs of a poorly managed city or indicators of urban vitality?

With pieces on guerrilla gardening, facadism, queer ecology, and decolonizing public engagement written by experts from all walks of life, Messy Cities makes the case for embracing disorder while not shying away from confronting its challenges.

Messy Cities: Why We Can’t Plan Everything argues that messiness is not a liability but an essential element in all thriving cities. Forty essays by a range of writers from around the world illuminate the role of messy urbanism in enabling creativity, enterprise, and grassroots initiatives to flourish within dense modern cities.