190,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿 

Come visit us in-store this weekend! 📚 Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

This Must Be the Place

How Music Can Make Your City Better
By Shain Shapiro
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.33 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 61 ratings, 15 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
This Must Be the Place explores the transformative power of music on cities across the globe. Rather than focusing on how cities influence music, Shain Shapiro highlights how music shapes urban development, governance, and community life. Drawing on personal stories from cities like London, Melbourne, Nashville, Austin, and Zurich, the book offers a global perspective on music’s vital yet often overlooked role in public policy and everyday life. It advocates for the role of artists and musicians in post-pandemic urban renewal and provides a practical guide for music lovers, activists, and city leaders to reinvent their communities through music.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3600
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for music lovers, urban planners, artists, activists, and anyone interested in the intersection of culture and city life. Its accessible style also makes it suitable for general readers curious about how music can enhance community wellbeing and urban environments worldwide.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

This Must Be the Place explores how music can make cities better.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

This Must Be the Place explores how music can make cities better.

This Must Be the Place introduces and examines music's relationship to cities. Not the influence cities have on music, but the powerful impact music can have on how cities are developed, built, managed and governed.

Told in an accessible way through personal stories from cities around the world — including London, Melbourne, Nashville, Austin and Zurich — This Must Be the Place takes a truly global perspective on the ways music is integral to everyday life but neglected in public policy.

Arguing for the transformative role of artists and musicians in a post-pandemic world, This Must Be the Place not only examines the powerful impact music can have on our cities, but also serves as a how-to guide and toolkit for music-lovers, artists and activists everywhere to begin the process of reinventing the communities they live in.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Shapiro is praised as an informed and capable voice on the synergy between music and thriving communities. Reviewers note the book’s balance of research and practical insight, calling it a much-anticipated resource that offers a playbook for using music to build stronger, more vibrant, and inclusive neighbourhoods. It is described as essential reading for musicians, city leaders, and citizens who wish to harness music’s positive social impact and deepen their appreciation for its role in transforming physical spaces.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781915672056

Publisher: Watkins Media Limited

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 12 September 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Repeater Books

Edition: New edition

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 214

Collections

Arts & Culture Education & Reference Music & Musicians Non-Fiction Penguin Books Shain Shapiro

About the Author

Shain Shapiro is the global leader in understanding how music and cities intersect. He founded Sound Diplomacy, the global leading economic consultancy working with cities on music, cultural and entertainment policy. He also leads the nonprofit Center for Music Ecosystems, which commissions research to help solve local, national and international challenges using music as a tool. This is his first book.

More from Arts & Culture

View all
  • Dylan's Pick
    Bold Types
    A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...
    By Jane Ussher
    Hardback
    $5999
    Elsewhere:
    $7000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    I’ll Believe in Anything
    From Jacob Tierney, the creator of Heated Rivalry, in partnership with Brendan Brady and Accent Aigu, comes I’ll Believe in Anything, an official and complete collection of annotated scripts for the biggest cultural sensation of the year, with all new exclusive behind-the-scenes content.Based on Rachel Reid’s blockbuster Game Changers book series, Heated Rivalry premiered on Crave and HBO in late 2025 and immediately took the world by storm. I’ll...
    By Jacob Tierney
    Hardback
    $5499
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Odyssey
    Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3599
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Shirl's Pick Shirl's Pick
    Home Again
    Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again.This is more than a rock story. Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it. From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...
    By Jon Toogood
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...
    By Monique Fiso
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $5299
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Iliad
    When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017—revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was "fresh, unpretentious and lean" (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)—critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an...
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    A Life in Lyrics
    Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest showmen of the twentieth century. With his unparalleled voice and searing on-stage energy, he was a great pretender, a killer queen and a champion of the world. But behind the glamour lived a musician and lyricist talented beyond measure, and the creative force behind one of the most culturally significant and musically diverse...
    By Freddie Mercury
    Hardback
    $5000
    Elsewhere:
    $6500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Artist's Way
    The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is a transformative guidebook that has captivated millions, including luminaries such as Elizabeth Gilbert and Tim Ferriss. With its profound ability to inspire and elevate, this book invites readers to embark on an enriching creative journey, fostering a deeper connection to one's artistic process and sense of purpose. The heart of Cameron's groundbreaking programme...
    By Julia Cameron
    Paperback
    $3700
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    By Layne Staley
    Hardback
    $7299
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Birdlands Birdlands
    New Release
    Birdlands
    A rare, intimate journey into the wild islands where Aotearoa's birds live beyond the reach of most human lives. In the most remote outposts of Aotearoa, our islands are populated not with people, but with birds. From the storm-lashed Subantarctic Islands in the deep south to the scattered volcanic islands of Tikapa Moana/Hauraki Gulf in the north, Birdlands offers a...
    By Edin Whitehead
    Hardback
    $4199
    Elsewhere:
    $5000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Beautiful Chaos
    The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller Selected poems from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'These words awaken the magic of life by celebrating the ordinary.' - Giovanna Fletcher Motherhood is messy and beautiful, and hard and humbling. We adore our children and sometimes we miss ourselves. Beautiful Chaos is a collection of raw, honest poems about motherhood, capturing everything...
    By Jessica Urlichs
    Paperback
    $2900
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Beautiful Chaos
    New Release
    Beautiful Chaos
    Featuring five exclusive new poems, this stunning foil-embossed hardback edition is a collector's item and a gorgeous gift. The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller. Selected poems on motherhood from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'Reading Jess's poems makes me feel like she's somehow reached into my own personal reflections and articulated them in a way I never could.' –...
    By Jessica Urlichs
    Hardback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 190,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

Arts & Culture lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all