The Neighborhood Project Using Evolution to Improve My City, One Block at a Time

After decades of studying animals in their habitats, evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson had a radical idea-apply evolutionary science to the study of a city. Cities are like organisms, so why not study them as such? Inspired to become an agent of change in his post-industrial hometown, Wilson descended on its neighborhoods with a scientist's eye. What does bullying feed on? How can we give kids the best start in life? Is spirituality expanding into new areas, or shrinking? How does neighborhood quality affect test scores? After learning how these traits "live" throughout a city, how can we improve the lives of its citizens? Populated with original research and the latest science, and written in an appealing, personal narrative, THE NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT is a significant book that strives to define how places define us.

David Sloan Wilson is a SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University. He is widely known for his fundamental contributions to evolutionary science and for explaining evolution to the general public. His books include Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives, Darwin's Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society, and Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior (with Elliott Sober).

In addition to his own research, Wilson manages programs that expand the scope of evolutionary science in higher education, public policy, community-based research, and the study of religion.