By Francois Lapointe Invenire Books, 2011, softcover, 266 pages  “…’place’ is the dominant feature of civilization.”                  -John Ralston Saul “Across Canada, people are awakening to urbanism…..Let us commit to rebuild the ‘city by design’.”  -Larry Beasley This new book by urban planner Francois Lapointe is many things: it is a kind of journal of his professional experiences in urbanism; it is a kind of text book on getting cities and their governing structures right; it is a type of call-to-arms; it is most importantly a cogent, comprehensive volume outlining the fundamentals of a Canadian ‘urban agenda’ and why it must be a collaborative national imperative. Lapointe, currently Vice-President, Capital Planning, for the National Capital Commission, has a broad urbanism background in public and private sectors. His style is not “preach for on high”; it is personal yet professional.