William Powers embraced the minimalist lifestyle in North Carolina, spending a season in a 12-foot-by-12-foot cabin off the grid. After moving to a Queens townhouse, he got the itch to shrink his surroundings once more. Powers and his wife jettisoned 80 percent of their stuff and moved into a 350-square-foot "micro-apartment" in Greenwich Village. He began working a two-day workweek, and exploring the Slow Food and Slow Money Movements. He writes about his experiences in New Slow City: Living Simply in the World's Fastest City.

New Slow City

(Courtesy of the publisher)