Stefan Al, "Dwelling on Earth: The Past and Future of the Places We Call Home" (Norton, 2026)

A sweeping history of humanity’s most fundamental creation―the home―and its effects on the land, cities, and people themselves.

Americans

spend, on average, 90 percent of their lives indoors, with two-thirds

of that time spent in their homes. Globally, the construction and

maintenance of residential buildings account for a staggering portion of carbon emissions. In this timely

and fascinating work, architect and urban-planning scholar Stefan Al

deftly weaves together archaeology, engineering, social history, and

environmental science to explain how our homes have developed through

the ages and in turn shaped civilization and the planet itself.

From

tiny pit-houses in the Levant and Mesoamerica thousands of years ago to

soaring skyscrapers in Dubai, New York, and Shanghai today, Dwelling on Earth: The Past and Future of the Places We Call Home (W. W. Norton & Company, 2026) takes