The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-04 08:53:43
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Roman Mars
- ISBN：1529355273
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A guidebook to the unnoticed yet essential elements of our cities， from the creators of the 99% Invisible podcast 。
Have you ever wondered what those bright， squiggly graffiti marks on the sidewalk mean？ Or stopped to consider why you don't see metal fire escapes on new buildings？ Or pondered the story behind those dancing inflatable figures in car dealerships？ 99% Invisible is a big-ideas podcast about small-seeming things， revealing stories baked into the buildings we inhabit， the streets we drive， and the sidewalks we traverse。 Roman Mars and coauthor Kurt Kohlstedt zoom in on the various elements that make our cities work， exploring the origins and other fascinating stories behind everything from power grids and fire escapes to drinking fountains and street signs。
Have you ever wondered what those bright， squiggly graffiti marks on the sidewalk mean？ Or stopped to consider why you don't see metal fire escapes on new buildings？ Or pondered the story behind those dancing inflatable figures in car dealerships？ 99% Invisible is a big-ideas podcast about small-seeming things， revealing stories baked into the buildings we inhabit， the streets we drive， and the sidewalks we traverse。 Roman Mars and coauthor Kurt Kohlstedt zoom in on the various elements that make our cities work， exploring the origins and other fascinating stories behind everything from power grids and fire escapes to drinking fountains and street signs。
Reviews
Cyrus Molavi
，
You'd think I would have loved this， but it felt like a bait and switch。 The formatting and design of the book makes an implicit promise that it will be coffee table- or textbook-like。 But instead， it is text-heavy and unintuitive。 It reads like a podcast script， which I assume it just is: speech-to-text capture of their past episodes。 It doesn't work and makes for dreary reading。 The illustrations are way too infrequent and not actually illustrative of the topics。 I dreaded picking this up so I You'd think I would have loved this， but it felt like a bait and switch。 The formatting and design of the book makes an implicit promise that it will be coffee table- or textbook-like。 But instead， it is text-heavy and unintuitive。 It reads like a podcast script， which I assume it just is: speech-to-text capture of their past episodes。 It doesn't work and makes for dreary reading。 The illustrations are way too infrequent and not actually illustrative of the topics。 I dreaded picking this up so I'm dropping it。 。。。more
Matt Cannon
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A great book broken into bite-size sections， giving insight into why your town or city looks like it does， how unintended consequences （and intended ones） affect how you interact with the world around you， and what you as an individual can do to enact successful change of the built environment。Great starting point into the world of urban planning。
Sascha
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Much like the podcast， it opens your eyes to everyday invisible objects that surround and make up our lives and that were explicitly made to help or hinder our lives。
Jakub
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This is not a bad book， it's certainly well-written and full of interesting facts。 However， I felt an almost constant sense of disappointment while reading it because of how much potential they squandered。First of all， there is no real overarching narrative or story being told in this book。 It's basically a loosely-arranged series of anecdotes， much like the 99% Percent Invisible podcast series。 Now I love the podcast series， but surely one of the things they could have accomplished with a book This is not a bad book， it's certainly well-written and full of interesting facts。 However， I felt an almost constant sense of disappointment while reading it because of how much potential they squandered。First of all， there is no real overarching narrative or story being told in this book。 It's basically a loosely-arranged series of anecdotes， much like the 99% Percent Invisible podcast series。 Now I love the podcast series， but surely one of the things they could have accomplished with a book was to try to create some larger narratives， make some bigger points。 Unfortunately， it really does just feel like a collection of unproduced scripts for the show。 This waste of the book format continues into my second point， which is that。。。This book is mostly text， and the illustrations that do exist are actually pretty bad。 First of all， there are no photos， only （highly stylized） illustrations。 Was this to save money？ I have no idea。 But many concepts go unillustrated， which is insane， since "explain everything with words" is a limitation of a podcast， not a book！ The concepts that are illustrated are often illustrated badly， with style getting in the way of legibility。 There are multiple topics covered in this book that I simply did not understand because the words were not enough， and the images that would have helped were either unclear or totally missing。All of this is a shame， because there are many genuinely novel and interesting facts and stories in here。 However， the frustration I felt about them not actually embracing the fact that they were creating， you know， *a book* overrode my enjoyment of its contents。 。。。more
Xylia
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4。5！ This is a perfect book for anyone who loves facts and/or the social construction of everyday life。
Sue King
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3。5 stars。 Have you ever wondered what those spray-painted scribbles on the street mean？ This book clears that up， and then some。 Discover facts about the everyday things you see around you， and haven’t thought to question。
W
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If you appreciate the opportunity and ability to toss out random facts during conversations， you should probably read this book。
Nathan
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Great， easy read！ Almost like a museum in written form。 I really enjoyed that each topic was short and distinct， yet tied to the other topics in each section。 I would have appreciated more pictures and graphics though。
Noelle Bakken
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I enjoyed reading a little bit before bed at night， since each essay is only a page or two long。 Lots of fun little facts sprinkled throughout， and while I like the illustrations， I felt that many of the pieces would have benefitted from actual photos - I found myself looking up a lot of the landmarks the authors referenced so I could really see how they looked for myself。 Great book for anyone with an interest in urban design and planning。
Emily Gorey
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No surprise that I loved this。 It made me giggle。 I learned a lot。 It was digestible but relevant。 All the reasons I love the podcast but in book form。
Brook
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Definitely have to get a print copy as first choice， ereader as a second （kind of small） and skip the audiobook。Plenty of stuff I did know， plenty of stuff I didnt。 My one gripe （and it is actually a gripe， as I dont understand why it was done other than to be "artsy" or for IP/licensing purposes） is that the authors created pen and ink line drawings of the scapes they were describing。 I had a hardcopy， and found myself first grabbing my phone， and then actually getting my laptop to look up what Definitely have to get a print copy as first choice， ereader as a second （kind of small） and skip the audiobook。Plenty of stuff I did know， plenty of stuff I didnt。 My one gripe （and it is actually a gripe， as I dont understand why it was done other than to be "artsy" or for IP/licensing purposes） is that the authors created pen and ink line drawings of the scapes they were describing。 I had a hardcopy， and found myself first grabbing my phone， and then actually getting my laptop to look up what they were referencing。 Yes， a semi-abstract sketch of something looks cool， but a photo - even black and white - would have been better。 And these arent draftsmen sketches （there are actually zero true diagrams in the book， just sketches）， but back-of-your-notepad drawings。 They convey the picture， but not the detail。 This is more of a "have fun" book than an actual look at the structures。 I prefer the latter。 That aside， and it was hard to put aside， there is so， so so much to be learned from this book。 As it comes from bloggers/podcasters， this is a pick up and put down sort of thing， something you could leave on a coffee table to peruse when you felt like it。 That is this book's greatest strength， it is a "trivia" book for those who like it， along the lines of The Great American Bathroom Reader， which lived on our toilet tank growing up。 It actually *would* make a good bathroom reader， for those households who cherish and enjoy this sort of stuff。So， if this had had diagrams and photos， it would be 4。5 stars。 Speaking as an engineer， looking at line drawings dropped it to a 3。 You read and decide。 。。。more
TheLastMango
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the only 3 star book i’d reccomend。 lots of interesting facts but WHY ARE THERE NO PICTURES？？ and okay if they didn’t want to pay royalties， but then WHY ARENT THERE MORE ILLUSTRATIONS？？this is a book you have to read while you have google images pulled up。 took off a whole star bc of this subpar reading experience
Ben Seiss
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Starting at the end， I LOVED the Q&A at the end of the （audio）book。 I want to say that I've heard most of it in another podcast （presumably an isolated 99PI episode）， but I found it unique and refreshing。 More authors should do it。 It answered a lot of the macro-level questions that were swimming around in my mind throughout the book， and it obviated the need to express some of those thoughts here。 This book embodies curiosity。 If you see something in the world， question why it is the way that i Starting at the end， I LOVED the Q&A at the end of the （audio）book。 I want to say that I've heard most of it in another podcast （presumably an isolated 99PI episode）， but I found it unique and refreshing。 More authors should do it。 It answered a lot of the macro-level questions that were swimming around in my mind throughout the book， and it obviated the need to express some of those thoughts here。 This book embodies curiosity。 If you see something in the world， question why it is the way that it is。 I wish the book was （more explicitly） framed in that way from the beginning: that the book is more about teaching a worldview of curiosity rather than compiling a collection of shortened 99PI episodes。 I'm sure that I would've enjoyed it more if that were the case。 But I didn't， so the book felt like a way-too-long episode of the podcast， which I stopped listening to years ago because it was too hit-or-miss。 This book has solidified for me that these books that closely line up with their associated podcast， usually narrated by the host， don't work in the audiobook format。 Mars and his partner said that they were constantly questioning the book's utility as a standalone work from the podcast， and I think they failed in that regard， at least for the audiobook version。 I felt that I had heard a good few of the stories from the episodes of 99PI that I've listened to; I mean I love vexillology， but anyone who is reading this book has heard of the 5 Rules of Flag Design。 Perhaps the hardcopy is more worthwhile。 I think this book is a great way to get people hooked on the podcast， but I don't think it has much utility for someone who has listened to 10+ episodes of 99PI and already gets Mars's worldviewI feel conflicted writing this review。 It's still a three-star book， but it's probably the best three-star book that I've read （if that makes sense） for reasons beyond the four corners of the book （or however that analogy translates for an audiobook）。 It validates my own curiosity。 My parents talk about how many questions that I asked as a kid， and that makes me hesitate just a bit when I， at 24 years-old， still ask my dad why seemingly mundane things are the way they are。 Mars normalizes that yearning for answers。 。。。more
Brigid
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This is an interesting book but a bit superficial。 It has a lot of topics， but each one gets only a short article。 That said， it definitely made me notice more about the outside world， and it was a really good read。 Bonus: Because the articles are short， it's easy to read in small bites。 This is an interesting book but a bit superficial。 It has a lot of topics， but each one gets only a short article。 That said， it definitely made me notice more about the outside world， and it was a really good read。 Bonus: Because the articles are short， it's easy to read in small bites。 。。。more
Andrea
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I'm a fan of the podcast and enjoyed this but it could be best for someone new to the podcast or for someone who isn't yet familiar with it。 I'm a fan of the podcast and enjoyed this but it could be best for someone new to the podcast or for someone who isn't yet familiar with it。 。。。more
Josh
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The podcast and blog feel like you get a deeper dive into these stories。
Laurie
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This book is a look at how urban structures that we don't typically notice are designed。 Think revolving doors， building heights and rooftop shapes， subway ventilation， repurposing space as times change， etc。 It's fascinating！ This book is a look at how urban structures that we don't typically notice are designed。 Think revolving doors， building heights and rooftop shapes， subway ventilation， repurposing space as times change， etc。 It's fascinating！ 。。。more
Alar Mäerand
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I'm a fan of 99 percent invisible podcast。Travelling through invisible bits and pieces of everyday world。 Discovering new facts on things you don't even notice。 A good listening。 I'm a fan of 99 percent invisible podcast。Travelling through invisible bits and pieces of everyday world。 Discovering new facts on things you don't even notice。 A good listening。 。。。more
June
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Lots of interesting facts about how certain features of cities came to be。 The authors also have a podcast， but you don't have to be a listener to enjoy the stories。 There are quite a few illustrations to supplement and explain the subject matter。 Occasionally there were times where I thought there were socio-economic and cultural explanations that could have been explored more， but perhaps the book is best used as a starting place to delve deeper into the landscape of urban history and design。T Lots of interesting facts about how certain features of cities came to be。 The authors also have a podcast， but you don't have to be a listener to enjoy the stories。 There are quite a few illustrations to supplement and explain the subject matter。 Occasionally there were times where I thought there were socio-economic and cultural explanations that could have been explored more， but perhaps the book is best used as a starting place to delve deeper into the landscape of urban history and design。Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review。 。。。more
Kyle
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As a frequent listener of NPR， I had heard a lot about the 99% invisible podcast， but had never listened to it。 In this book， the producers/writers of the podcast lay out all the items in a city that folks overlook on a daily basis。 The book is made up of 6 chapters with roughly 12-20 anecdote per chapter。Each anecdote was usually about a specific city， but left the reader wanting more。 I frequently found myself looking up various items on the internet after only getting a taste of it in the boo As a frequent listener of NPR， I had heard a lot about the 99% invisible podcast， but had never listened to it。 In this book， the producers/writers of the podcast lay out all the items in a city that folks overlook on a daily basis。 The book is made up of 6 chapters with roughly 12-20 anecdote per chapter。Each anecdote was usually about a specific city， but left the reader wanting more。 I frequently found myself looking up various items on the internet after only getting a taste of it in the book。 The authors would have been better off going deeper on fewer items rather than going broad and only devoting a page or two to each topic。 。。。more
Adam Travis
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If you are a fan of the podcast， there’s a lot of familiar content in here。 That’s not to say it’s not interesting or worth having， but I did feel a little let down。 I’d also agree with other reviewers that this book had the potential to have a LOT of great visuals but ultimately felt like it was lacking there too。
Tracy
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I actually wanted to give this book 3。5 stars， but rounded up rather than down because 99% Invisible is one of my favorite podcasts。 And that is part of the problem I had with this book。 As an avid listener I felt like I had heard half of these stories already。 Since I read a library copy of this book， at least I wasn't spending money， just time， on rehashing info。 While interesting the first time， it didn't need to be consumed again。 This feeling was confirmed in reading the 'Outro' of the book I actually wanted to give this book 3。5 stars， but rounded up rather than down because 99% Invisible is one of my favorite podcasts。 And that is part of the problem I had with this book。 As an avid listener I felt like I had heard half of these stories already。 Since I read a library copy of this book， at least I wasn't spending money， just time， on rehashing info。 While interesting the first time， it didn't need to be consumed again。 This feeling was confirmed in reading the 'Outro' of the book， where Roman Mars does state that half of the content was from already broadcast episodes， although he also says that they reviewed， refreshed and updated the info （my words as a summary of his）。 There was definitely a lot of new interesting information that I'm glad to have found， but the rehash， and some new information that felt like filler， made this book less interesting overall than I anticipated。The other thing I was disappointed in was the lack of clear graphics。 As other have mentioned， if you are moving from an audio format to a visual one， why not take better advantage of that？ Again， in the 'Outro' it was explained that an artist was brought in to help visualize the content。 I suppose it can get quite expensive to create all these drawings。 And reading on a Kindle like I do， I suppose drawings can end up being easier to see than photos， but I found that I often needed to Google images of design items mentioned in the book to get a better understanding of the discussion。Overall it was a great book in spots， and a fine book in others。 I think it would be of most value to those not familiar with the podcast 99% Invisible， and hopefully will turn them into listeners of this eye opening information。 。。。more
Laird Bennion
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Probably better as a book than an audiobook。 Some really good content in here and I missed outon the illustrations。
Matthew Gilmore
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This is an interesting compilation of snippets of information about urban infrastructure， none much longer than a page。 The author recommends Wikipedia [！！！] if you want to know more about anything specific。 There is a pretty pervasive car-hate， sjw， eco-urbanist taint to it what diminishes its value--keep grasping for those big grains of salt。
Kirsten Pearson
，
On my way to my desk， I made the mistake of glancing at a book display （as if I don't have piles of books waiting to be read at home）。 What I found was a gem that feels like it was written just for me。It's a field guide for the less impressive but pivotally important aspects of civic design and urban planning。 From warning symbols and utility graffiti to retroreflective studs on the road and hostile architecture （think armrests in the middle of park benches）-this book is right up my useless-triv On my way to my desk， I made the mistake of glancing at a book display （as if I don't have piles of books waiting to be read at home）。 What I found was a gem that feels like it was written just for me。It's a field guide for the less impressive but pivotally important aspects of civic design and urban planning。 From warning symbols and utility graffiti to retroreflective studs on the road and hostile architecture （think armrests in the middle of park benches）-this book is right up my useless-trivia-loving alley。The book is dedicated to "。。。all you plaque readers and curious urbanists"， so I knew I was in the right place。 But it's the first page after the introduction that earns this book my highest praise:"You are about to see stories everywhere， YOU BEAUTIFUL NERD。"As they say， every reader their book， every book its reader。 I can safely say I've found one of mine。 。。。more
Jen
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Interesting content， but the writing style was a bit irritating。
Carlo Corti
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This is a very tricky book to rate because the things I liked， I really liked， I just didn't like that much。 Ultimately， I guess I am just not a huge fan of urban design and the decisions that go into planning cities。 However， it was really fun to see what all those spray paint markings on streets are and to know the difference between a drive， road， avenue， etc。 Those parts were a little too scarce for me in this book， however。 This is a very tricky book to rate because the things I liked， I really liked， I just didn't like that much。 Ultimately， I guess I am just not a huge fan of urban design and the decisions that go into planning cities。 However， it was really fun to see what all those spray paint markings on streets are and to know the difference between a drive， road， avenue， etc。 Those parts were a little too scarce for me in this book， however。 。。。more
Hanh
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The idea is great but it was poorly done。 The items were all over the place， poorly organized。 The book is in black and white and doesn’t have a lot of pictures so it’s kind of pointless to read but can’t directly transfer it to things you see if you don’t know what they look like。 Some explanations were vague and not helpful
Annie
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One of my favorite things about art history was that after I learned the principals and elements of architecture， sculpture and paintings， it changed the way I saw the world。 I had a similar experience reading The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to The Hidden World or Everyday Design 。 After I reading this book （which springboards from a podcast of the same name）， I notice different details in the city around me and have a lot more cool stories about various cities and elements around the wor One of my favorite things about art history was that after I learned the principals and elements of architecture， sculpture and paintings， it changed the way I saw the world。 I had a similar experience reading The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to The Hidden World or Everyday Design 。 After I reading this book （which springboards from a podcast of the same name）， I notice different details in the city around me and have a lot more cool stories about various cities and elements around the world。 The book also emphasizes how great it is to read every plaque that you find around you to partake in great historical knowledge that is right around you。 The book contains six 6 chapters: Inconspicuous， Conspicuous， Infrastructure， Architecture， Geography and finally Urbanism。 Then in each chapter is split into another topic with smaller stories following。 Here’s an example: Infrastructure has a section called Water and then 5 smaller entries about that topic which included manhole covers， drinking fountains， waste management， subsurface cisterns and flood mitigation。 I have to say it was my sister， Kim Winterton， who made me aware of this book and sealed the deal for me to read it by telling me that those colorful scribbles on roads during construction is actually a code that tells what is underneath and the book says what that code is！ I guess there’s a wistful urban planner in me that did nerd out on this book and found it entertaining。 It was also the type of book you could pick up， read up a few entries， and then read something else in-between。 7。5/10Content: Nothing to be concerned about。Favorite Quotes:“Buildings are a surprising hodgepodge of constructions， regulations， mistakes， fashion， history， compromises， and inelegant workarounds。 Yet that makes them all the more beautiful and intriguing。”“Some street canyons also have more surprising secondary impacts。 Arrays of tall buildings can produce entrancing effects like the so-called Manhattan Solstice。 This seasonal convergence aligns sunrises and sunsets with the narrow spaces framed by tall buildings on either side of city streets。 While this phenomenon is not unique to New York， the picturesque impact can be particularly potent in flatter places like the Big Apple， which has largely obstructed views out to the horizon （give or take a bit of New Jersey）。 Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has dubbed the phenomenon Manhattanhenge。 Tyson has wondered whether future archeologists might think Manhattan’s gridded streets and avenues were built to honor seasonal solar alignments。 Since this ‘rare and beautiful sight…happens to correspond with Memorial Day and Baseball’s All Star break，’ he mused， ‘future anthropologists might conclude that…the people who called themselves Americans worshipped War and Baseball，’ which wouldn’t be wildly inaccurate except the dates of these events move around from year to year。”Another one of my favorite things？ An explanation of the paved surfaces we travel on and a definition:Road （Rd）: any route connecting two pointsStreets （St）: has buildings on both sides， perpendicular to avenuesAvenue （Ave）: perpendicular to streets， may have trees on one sideBoulevard （Blvd）: wide city street with median and side vegetation Way （Way）: small side routeLane （La）: narrow and often ruralDrive （Dr）: long， winding， and shaped by natural environmentsTerrace （Ter）: wraps up and around a slopePlace （Pl）: no through traffic or a dead endCourt （Ct）: ends in a circle or loop （like a plaza or square）Highway （Hwy）: major public route connecting larger citiesFreeway （Fwy）: has two or more lanes in each directionExpressway （Expy）: divided highway for faster trafficInterstate （I）: often goes between states but not alwaysTurnpike （Tpike）: usually an expressway with a tollboothBeltway （Bltwy）: wraps around a city like a beltParkway （Pkwy）: usually has parkland on the sideCauseway （Cswy）: runs on an embankment across water or a wetland 。。。more
Paul Wieland
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