The preface of What Makes a Great City by Alexander Garvin
https://islandpress.org/books/what-makes-great-city
"Imagine you're a renowned author, an adjunct member of the faculty at Yale University, and the president of AGA Public Realm Strategists. Would you be surprised if you found yourself unable to answer a question about the fundamental nature of cities? That was the dilemma facing Alexander Garvin as he pondered a question from a friend: "What makes a great city?" Given the resources afforded to someone with the aforementioned accomplishments, Garvin set out to answer the question by traveling the world and identifying the common traits of great cities. His conclusion: people make cities great, and only in cities with great public realms do people have the opportunity to make a great city."
-Planetizen
"Garvin here explores the importance of public spaces to public life —and how a 'great' city, unlike a great painting or sculpture, is not an exquisite, completed artifact."
-San Francisco Chronicle