Under ground

“Beneath the Metropolis,” by Alex Marshall, is an excellent book for anyone who has wondered what lies below the city streets they are walking on. Each chapter features a different city, including New York, Chicago, Mexico City, Paris, Rome, Cairo and about a dozen others. I learned an awful lot about public transportation, sewer and water supply issues, but I will spare you a rundown of everything :)

Some of the highlights:

* Paris did not become such a beautiful and well-organized city by accident. A city planner named Baron Georges Haussmann was responsible for designing most of the city’s wide boulevards and building its first sewer system (in the 1850s), which is still in use and apparently is a great tourist attraction. At the time, some Parisians thought Haussmann wielded too much power, but the success of his vision (and envy of other cities) is proof that centralized city planning IS a good thing.

* Everyone knows that Venice is sinking, but that city’s problems are nothing compared to Mexico City’s. In the fourteenth century, the Aztecs chose the city’s location based on an auspicious sign from the gods. Unfortunately the site is swampy and 7,250 feet above sea level, which makes it difficult to pump water into the city. And, so much water has been drained from underneath the city that it is sinking at an alarming rate (30 feet in the last century). Some sections are sinking faster than others, so the famous National Cathedral is listing to one side and some houses are now below street level.

* In Rome, several subway construction projects have been delayed or halted altogether because so many ancient ruins are buried under the city. Seems they can’t drill anywhere without encountering something of historical import.

The book has a lot of interesting tidbits and is wonderfully illustrated, but one problem with it is the large number of typos/factual errors. The most egregious was the statement that Fenway Park opened in 1932… unforgivable! :)

This is my sixth and final book for the “Armchair Travel Reading Challenge.” I finished just in time!