 Abbott noted that the book uses a different definition of "city planning", referring to the political process, from what is customarily used, regarding specifically land use.The initial section, "City Building by Amateurs", discusses the establishment of infrastructure up until the 1880s, while the latter one, "Urban Planning by Experts", happened afterward and with actual experts as cities could no longer work with amateur implementation.Abbott concluded that it was a "commendable study" that met standards for proper research.