Approximate Translation is a poetic and practical rumination on how to incorporate what makes a city a city--stories about place, an unexpected encounter, the immediacy of experience--into practices of urban design. Using a speculative transformation of the Boston neighborhood of Allston as a demonstration, this book proposes that we think seriously about topics as disparate as science fiction, pop art, theme parks, and DJing if we want to better design the cities in which we live.