The Trust Experiments - by Charles Montgomery (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Against the social trust crisis of our era, an acclaimed urbanist shows how we can design healthy relationships back into our communities, online spaces, and nations.

Imagine you dropped your wallet and a stranger found it. Would you get it back? Your answer to this question says a lot about you: It predicts your happiness, the health of your community, and even the stability of your country. Trust in other people is integral to the good life.

The bad news is that, as rates of alienation and polarization skyrocket, social trust has plummeted in the United States and other parts of the world, widening cracks in society and making us all more susceptible to loneliness, division, violence, and extremism.

In The Trust Experiments, Charles Montgomery reveals that this crisis isn't being driven by a sudden drop in trustworthiness. It's the result of a collision between human psychology and countless bad design decisions over the course of modern history: Contemporary homes discourage neighborly contact. Cities force us into solitary commutes. Social media algorithms widen schisms across society. And government policies deepen inequity, breaking trust between people and the institutions that serve us.

But the good news is that these broken systems can be transformed. Montgomery uses the science of trust to show us how. From the baugruppen of Germany to the urban villages of Vancouver to the Utopias of Mexico, Montgomery takes us into communities that have been designed to promote mutual aid. He meets Taiwanese activists who are using AI to foster empathy among strangers. He shows how governments from Denmark to Costa Rica have been redesigned to boost trust across entire societies. And he shows how we can all use design in our own lives to help rebuild the trusting relationships that keep us happy, healthy, and strong.

Review Quotes

"In a time of unprecedented loneliness and disconnection, we are seeing a catastrophic rise of suspicion and paranoia. This beautiful, tender, intelligent book is an essential guide to how we find our way back to each other--and to trust." --Johann Hari, author of Stolen Focus

"Why are we so divided? Too many of our neighborhoods, cities, and digital spaces are antisocial by design. Charles Montgomery exposes this collective failure with precision, and then shows us exactly how to fix it." --Jeff Speck, author of Walkable City

"The Trust Experiments is absolutely essential for the times we live in today. Charles Montgomery draws our attention to what is vital and is now seriously threatened: trust among those who share living spaces, whether it be a street, a neighborhood, a city, a region, or a country." --Carlos Moreno, author of The 15-Minute City

"An ambitious and hopeful guide to one of the defining problems of our age. Humans are wired to form tribes, but we are also remarkably capable of trusting strangers. Charles Montgomery shows how the right environments can tip that balance toward cooperation." --Jay Van Bavel, PhD, coauthor of The Power of Us

"With fascinating personal stories, remarkably engaging discussions of science and policy, and, most important, hope and optimism, Charles Montgomery charts a path to a better, more unified, more trusting world." --Colin Ellard, author of Places of the Heart

"This book is for anyone who feels socially disconnected. Through small actions, Charles Montgomery argues, we can begin to rebuild social trust." --Emily Talen, author of Neighborhood

About the Author

Charles Montgomery is an award-winning author and urbanist. His acclaimed book Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design examines the intersection between urban design and the emerging science of happiness. Montgomery works with cities, organizations, and citizens around the world to improve human wellbeing. His collaborators include the World Health Organization, the Guggenheim Museum, and local governments in Canada, the United States, Mexico, New Zealand, the UAE, and Poland. Among his numerous awards is a Citation of Merit from the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society for outstanding contribution toward the understanding of climate change science. He lives in Vancouver, Canada.