Metropolis has announced Colin McFarlane as the winner of the prestigious 2025 Pattis Family Foundation Global Cities Book Award for his groundbreaking work, Waste and the City: The Crisis of Sanitation and the Right to Citylife, published by Verso Books.
The award was presented during the Metropolis 40th Anniversary Congress in Seoul, recognising a book that challenges urban leaders to rethink on the most critical yet overlooked challenges facing cities today.
McFarlane's work reframes urban sanitation not merely as an infrastructure concern, but as a fundamental issue of democracy, equity, and public health. Drawing on research from cities across the globe, the book exposes how inadequate sanitation systems disproportionately affect marginalized communities and examines the profound connections between waste management, social justice, and the right to dignified urban life.
The Pattis Family Foundation Global Cities Book Award is a global award hosted by Metropolis and organised by the Pattis Family Foundation that celebrates nonfiction books exploring how cities can address global challenges. The award recognises books that provide new insights into urban issues like technology, sustainability, and policy, aiming to improve understanding of the dynamics and governance of cities worldwide.
Interested in learning more? Read an interview with Colin McFarlane on the Metropolis website.