Supertall: How the World’s Tallest Buildings are Reshaping our Cities and Our Lives

“A thoughtful inquiry into the new generations of skyscrapers…There is a lot of rich history here, well and concisely told (and illustrated with superb line drawings, a refreshing change).”
― Paul Goldberger, New York Times Book Review

“Fascinating and extraordinarily worthwhile.”
— John Tammy, Forbes

“Lucid… [T]he story of what’s come about in the age of the supertall is gripping.”
― Anthony Paletta, Wall Street Journal

"An informative introduction to supertalls and the global cities where they rise above the skyline."
― Kirkus Reviews (recommended)

"In Supertall, Stefan Al turns the jumbled skylines of our biggest cities into a powerful story of human possibility.”
― Andrew Blum, best-selling author of Tubes

Beyond Mobility: Planning Cities for People and Places

"Including color illustrations and a few graphics to illustrate critical points, this fantastic book should be required reading."
—CHOICE Reviews (Outstanding Academic Title)

“A remarkable contribution... a new urban planning and design framework to meet the needs of the new century”
— Journal of Planning Education and Research

"Updates the argument that planning should focus less on motorized movement and more on the 'needs and aspirations of people and the places they want to go.'"
—Planning

”Convincingly reinforces the links between sustainable cities and economic performance, a higher quality of life and an improved economy.”
—National Urban Design Awards 2019

"May become the most influential book of this generation on land use and transportation, providing an elegant conceptual framework, excellent case studies, and cutting-edge thinking.”
— Reid Ewing, Chair and Professor of City Planning at the University of Utah 

Adapting Cities to Sea Level Rise: Green and Gray Strategies

"An inspiring and extensive toolbox of strategies that cities can embrace to adapt to sea level rise. Al looks across the world optimistically: yes we can do it! …This book shows us how to maximize opportunities..."
— Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, Kingdom of The Netherlands, Sherpa to the UN and World Bank High Level Panel on Water, and Principal for Rebuild by Design

”A strong entry point to the complex and important topic of flood protection. Its accessible tone and typological approach is sure to appeal to designers, architects, urban planners and others interested in shoreline design responses. One can only hope that Stefan Al’s plea to (re)designing shorelines with people and natural systems in mind is heard far and wide.”
— Spacing

”Clear, consistent diagrams mean that politicians and other decision makers -- not just designers -- can understand how the strategies work and what would be the best fit(s) for their situation.”
— A Daily Dose of Architecture

”Adapting Cities to Sea Level Rise addresses what to do to protect the waning 28 percent of the Earth’s surface that is not yet flooded… This is a book that should be on the shelves of anyone involved in coastal defense.”
— Urban Design

“A refreshingly grounded design approach… a key reference book.”
— Journal of Planning Education and Research

The Strip: Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream

—Independent Publisher Book Awards 2023 (Silver Medal Winner, Architecture)

"A bracing portrait of Las Vegas’s architectural arms race"
—The Wall Street Journal (best books to read spring 2017) 

"A well-researched, well-organized, and important text... valuable to anyone who wants to understand or manage urban areas in the twenty-first century."
—Journal of Planning Education and Research

"A tour of the Las Vegas Strip that is erudite, entertaining, and impossible to conduct in person."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The story of its growth from a tiny fort, feebly fed by a few artesian wells, into today’s gilded palace of sin, is gripping – and it’s told ably... in Stefan Al’s book.”
—The Times Literary Supplement

"Truly understanding the state of the United States could begin by dissecting Vegas."
—Co Design (10 Must-Read Books To Get You Ready For 2018)

Villages in the City: A Guide to South China’s Informal Settlements

"Recent years have seen a growing interest in creative and informal urbanisms of a wide variety.... One of the best is Villages in the City edited by Stefan Al...  a fabulous piece of architecture and design graphica... The book succeeds by investigating and advocating for the informal without fetishizing it." 
—Architectural Record

"A relevant and valuable contribution to understanding the special problems posed by urban villages in the Pearl River Delta"  
—Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review

“As a study that fills a critical void on urban space and settlement evolution in contemporary China and a feat of graphic dexterity, it continues to be a crucial addition to urban geography scholarship and city visuals.”
—Spacing

Mall City: Hong Kong’s Dreamworlds of Consumption

"Hong Kong has already proven a model for urban development in China and might prove a model for elsewhere... Mall City is a book of considerably more general interest than its apparently academic origins and purpose would indicate."
—Asian Review of Books

“Chock-full of information and imagery... a great book for those who want to get lost in the shopping meccas of a fascinating world city, without actually getting lost." .
—Sky High City: The Skyscrapercity Magazine

Factory Towns of South China: An Illustrated Guidebook

“An in-depth guide to the changed and changing landscape of the PRD, adding all-important detail to what many experience only through media sound bites.”
—Architectural Record

"A welcome addition for the contributors’ brave approach to a visual, interdisciplinary and multifarious narrative genre."
—The China Journal

"This imaginative guide examines the nuts and bolts behind an astonishing economic story"
—Time Out Hong Kong

Macau and the Casino Complex

“A great contribution to documenting Macau’s casino architecture and a narrative of living people, the contract-based unstable hotel employees, and Chinese locals.”
— Journal of Historical Geography 

“Special Award of the Jury Winner,”
— Macau International Book Festival Award 2019 

"Macau has transformed in twenty years from a charming Portuguese enclave to the largest gambling enclave in the world. This anthology is an interdisciplinary introduction to this transformation and a beautifully illustrated guidebook to its recent architecture.”
—Brian McGrath, professor of urban design, Parsons School of Design, The New School