A new book from Harvard University scholar Bruno Carvalho marks the milestones and missteps that have shaped urbanization patterns around the world.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-03-27/inventing-the-cities-of-future-with-lessons-from-the-past
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*Linda Poon for Bloomberg News*
In the opening of *The Jetsons*, the family zips around in a flying car, which ejects members at their respective destinations in individual capsules. At its final stop, the car folds neatly into a briefcase that George Jetson then carries to work.
The animated TV series of the early 1960s wasn’t just a kids’ cartoon; it reflected how many people imagined tomorrow’s cities would solve today’s dilemmas. In his new book *The Invention of the Future: The History of Cities in the Modern World*, Harvard scholar Bruno Carvalho notes that the show’s fanciful setting, Orbit City, enjoyed the conveniences of cars but not the unintended consequences of their dominance. In real-life American cities of the Jetsons era, parking lots were gobbling up valuable real estate, and urban highways were slicing through entire communities.
“For every problem there’s a solution, and for every solution, there’s a problem,” says Carvalho, who co-directs the Harvard Mellon Urban Initiative. It’s one takeaway from his book, which explores how planners of the past — from George-Eugene Haussmann in 19th century Paris to Ebenezer Howard in the early 20th century — tried to reinvent urban living. But often, the places they created ultimately defied expectations.
“It’s very hard to control outcomes,” he says. “And when planners become too possessive about the future, they’re bound to be disappointed.”
In his book, Carvalho guides readers through the history of urban development by focusing on milestones like the rebuilding of Lisbon following the 1755 earthquake, the establishment of New York City’s street grid plan in 1811, and the rise of car-centric planning in the 20th century. [In a conversation with Bloomberg CityLab, the author explains what lessons these events hold as urban planners, policymakers and technocrats imagine what cities will look like tomorrow.](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-03-27/inventing-the-cities-of-future-with-lessons-from-the-past?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc3NDYyOTMyNCwiZXhwIjoxNzc1MjM0MTI0LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUQ0s0MDRLR0NUS1EwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJEMzU0MUJFQjhBQUY0QkUwQkFBOUQzNkI3QjlCRjI4OCJ9.BhqkN898b-6ll83US-y-wgCOMI6BVSepsLqABMFlIB4)