First City on Mars: An Urban Planner’s Guide to Settling the Red Planet

Justin B. Hollander, PhD, is a Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University.  He is an internationally renowned expert on the planning and design of human settlements, having written eight books and over 50 journal articles, book chapters, and essays on these topics.  At Tufts, Prof. Hollander leads the Urban Mars Project and teaches graduate courses on the history of urbanization and early colonization, as well as the theories of community design.  Prof. Hollander is a frequent speaker, having appeared on both TV and radio – C-SPAN’s Washington Journal and the Diane Ream Show on NPR.  He is also regularly called upon as an expert for a variety of media sources on urban planning and design issues, including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, TIME Magazine, USA Today, Crain’s New York Business, and the Las Vegas Sun.He was recently inducted as a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners and hosts the Apple podcast “Cognitive Urbanism”.

• Chapter 1.  Welcome to Mars.- Chapter 2. Learning from Earth’s Colonization.- Chapter 3. Lessons from Six Decades of Space Exploration.- Chapter 4. Designing Mars for Humans: The First Principle .- Chapter 5. Transportation Dimensions.- Chapter 6. Residential, Commercial, and Industrial Dimensions.- Chapter 7. Non-Transportation Infrastructure Dimensions.- Chapter 8. Mars Planning Precedents.- Chapter 9. Other Off-World Planning Precedents.- Chapter 10. Template for a Mars Colony.- Chapter 11. Conclusion.

“Hollander’s writing style is clear and easy to follow as he makes his key points. He provides ties between chapters and frequently summarizes main ideas. … I found Hollander’s book helpful in understanding what planning principles can contribute to design of extraterrestrial habitation. This book would be useful for a course introducing extraterrestrial settings as a blank canvas for practicing the application of planning principles.” (Kenneth S. Coles, Journal of Urban Affairs, June 4, 2024)“Throughout the book, Hollander applies his knowledge in an accessible way, illustrating points with figures from historical sources, as well as images of possible settlements pulled (with permission) from the latest studies on the subject. Overall, the book provides a highly researched and perfectly timed foundation into how humans can anticipate the needs of the future, and plan off-world colonies that are humane, sustainable, and beautiful places to live.” (nature astronomy, Vol. 7, May, 2023)“The book is rich and detailed, yet easy-to-read – and certain to engage any space enthusiast” (Ian Randall, physicsworld.com, March 15, 2023)