By Catie Marron

From Catie Marron, editor of City Parks, comes City Squares, a collection of essays from best-selling and renowned authors and public figures who capture the spirit and significance of squares around the world. From Times Square to Tahrir square, City Squares offers fascinating history, breathtaking photography, and the intimate thoughts of celebrated writers.

More people live in cities these days than at any other time in our history. And the city square has become a focus for commercial, political, cultural, communal life: it brings people together in an open space where they can celebrate, protest, or just relax. Catie Marron has approached sixteen writers and public figures and asked them to reflect on sixteen individual squares. The extraordinary list of contributers includes David Remnick, Zadie Smith, Ari Shavit, Rebecca Skloot, Richard Stengel and several others.