Here are various publications, websites and organisation which Charles Landry recommends.

Book recommendations

There are a series of books that describe the changing world we live in, below is a list of some of the those I have found particularly interesting:

Fooled by Randomness – the hidden role of chance in life and in the markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Penguin (3 May 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0141031484
ISBN-13: 978-0141031484
- sold by Amazon.co.uk (pb new £6.49)

The Wisom of Crowds – why the many are smarter than the few James Surowiecki
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Abacus; New edition edition (3 Mar 2005)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0349116059
ISBN-13: 978-0349116051
- Sold by Amazon (pb: £5.99)

In Spite of the Gods – the strange rise of modern India by Edward Luce
(not sold directly by Amazon – via resellers)

The Paradox of Choice – why more is less by Barry Schwartz
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins; New edition edition (1 Feb 2005)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0060005696
ISBN-13: 978-0060005696
- sold by Amazon – pb: £7.99

Who’s your city how the creative economy is making where to live the most important decision of your life by Richard Florida
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Basic Books Inc.,U.S. (19 Feb 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0465003524
ISBN-13: 978-0465003525
- sold by Amazon – hb: £15.99

The Rise of the Creative Class and how it’s transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life by Richard Florida
Paperback: 434 pages
Publisher: Basic Books; New edition edition (4 Dec 2003)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0465024777
ISBN-13: 978-0465024773
- sold by Amazon – pb: £9.99

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Abacus; New edition edition (14 Feb 2002)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0349113467
ISBN-13: 978-0349113463
- sold by Amazon – pb: £5.99

Freakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Steven J Dubner
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Penguin (18 Jun 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0141019018
ISBN-13: 978-0141019017
- sold by Amazon pb £4.99

The Long Tail: How Endless Choice is Creating Unlimited Demand by Chris Anderson
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Random House Business Books (3 May 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1844138518
ISBN-13: 978-1844138517
- sold by Amazon pb: £6.69

The Long Tail: How Endless Choice is Creating Unlimited Demand [Audiobook] (Audio CD)
Audio CD (£11.24)
Publisher: Random House Audiobooks (3 May 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1846570875
ISBN-13: 978-1846570872

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Penguin (28 Feb 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0141034599
ISBN-13: 978-0141034591
- sold by Amazon pb: £5.29

Wikinomics by Dan Tapschott and Antony D Williams
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Atlantic Books (1 Jun 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 184354637X
ISBN-13: 978-1843546375
- sold by Amazon pb: £6.19

The following books take a much broader sweep of things and here are some I have found interesting: -

From Dawn to Decadence Jacques Barzun
Paperback: 912 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial; 1 edition (May 2001)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0060928832
ISBN-13: 978-0060928834
- sold by Amazon resellers

The Flickering Mind Saving Education from the false promise of technology by Todd Oppenheimer
Paperback: 528 pages
Publisher: Random House USA Inc; New title edition (Dec 2004)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0812968433
ISBN-13: 978-0812968439
- sold by Amazon pb £8.64

Biomimicry – Innovation Inspired by Nature by Janine M. Benyus
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (31 Jan 2003)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0060533226
ISBN-13: 978-0060533229
- not sold directly by Amazon

Natural Capitalism – the next industrial revolution by Paul Hawken, Amory B. Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Earthscan Ltd; New edition edition (1 Nov 2000)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1853837636
ISBN-13: 978-1853837630
- not sold directly by Amazon

Collapse – how societies choose to fail or succeed by Jared Diamond
Paperback: 592 pages
Publisher: Penguin (26 Jan 2006)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0140279512
ISBN-13: 978-0140279511
- sold by Amazon £7.69

The Wake of Imagination by Richard Kearney
Paperback: 467 pages
Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (28 April 1988)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0415119502
ISBN-13: 978-0415119504
- sold by Amazon £22.79

Arts & Physics – parallel visions in space, time and light by Leonard Shlain
Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial (Mar 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0061227978
ISBN-13: 978-0061227974
- sold by Amazon resellers

The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Have shaped Our World View by Richard Tarnas
Paperback: 544 pages
Publisher: Pimlico (4 Jul 1996)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0712673326
ISBN-13: 978-0712673327
- sold by Amazon £11.99

Looking at the urban arena there are a number of classic books which are well worth reading: -

The City in History: its origins, its transformations, and its prospects by Lewis Mumford
Paperback: 657 pages
Publisher: Harcourt Brace International (31 Dec 1968)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0156180359
ISBN-13: 978-0156180351
- sold by Amazon resellers

Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
Hardcover: 624 pages
Publisher: Random House Inc; New edition edition (30 Jun 1997)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0679600477
ISBN-13: 978-0679600473
- sold by Amazon hb: £14.99

The Image of the City by Kevin Lynch
Paperback: 202 pages
Publisher: The MIT Press (1 Jan 1960)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0262620014
ISBN-13: 978-0262620017
- sold by Amazon pb: £12.55

Cities of Tomorrow: an intellectual history of urban planning and design in the twentieth century by Peter Hall
Paperback: 502 pages
Publisher: WileyBlackwell; 2nd Revised edition edition (28 Dec 1996)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0631199438
ISBN-13: 978-0631199434
- sold by Amazon Resellers

Furthermore here are some artists whose work I find extremely interesting

Anish Kapoor: Past, Present, Future by Baume and Nicholas
Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: The MIT Press (31 Aug 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0262026597
ISBN-13: 978-0262026598
- sold by Amazon £15.15

Anish Kapoor: To Darkness: Svayambh
Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Prestel; 1 edition (10 Mar 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 3791339680
ISBN-13: 978-3791339689
- sold by Amazon £22.99

Andy Goldsworthy by Andy Goldsworthy
Hardcover: 120 pages
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (1 Jan 1998)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0810933519
ISBN-13: 978-0810933514
- sold by Amazon £26.49

Passage by Andy Goldsworthy
Hardcover: 168 pages
Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd (Oct 2004)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0500511918
ISBN-13: 978-0500511916
- sold by Amazon hb: £26.49

Wood by Andy Goldsworthy
Hardcover: 120 pages
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (1 Jan 1998)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0810939924
ISBN-13: 978-0810939929
- sold by Amazon hb: £32.00

James Turrell: A Life in Light by Michael Hue-Williams and Andrew Graham-Dixon James Turrell
Hardcover: 75 pages
Publisher: Somogy Editions d'Art,France (11 Dec 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 2757201026
ISBN-13: 978-2757201022
- sold by Amazon hb: £23.75

Antony Gormley: Blind Light by W.J.T. Mitchell, Susan Stewart, and Anthony Vidler (Hardcover - 1 May 2007)
Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Hayward Gallery Publishing (1 May 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 185332258X
ISBN-13: 978-1853322587
- sold by Amazon hb £26.59