City: A Global History is an ambitious and wide-ranging book that traces the long and complex journey of cities from their earliest beginnings to their possible futures. Rather than treating the city as a static or uniform phenomenon, the book presents urbanism as a dynamic process shaped by geography, economy, power, culture, and technology. It adopts a global perspective, emphasizing that cities have emerged, evolved, and interacted in diverse ways across different regions and historical periods. By moving across time and space, the book helps readers understand how cities have been central to human civilization and why they remain crucial to addressing contemporary global challenges. The book begins by conceptualizing the city across time, laying the theoretical foundation for understanding what a city is and how it has been defined differently in various historical and cultural contexts. It explores cities not merely as dense settlements but as social institutions where political authority, economic exchange, cultural life, and collective identity converge. This conceptual framework highlights that cities are shaped as much by ideas and power relations as by physical structures. By emphasizing continuity and change, the opening section prepares the reader to appreciate the diversity of urban forms and experiences that follow. In examining the origins of urban settlements, the book traces the transition from nomadic lifeways to sedentary communities supported by agriculture. Early cities emerged where surplus production, trade, and administration became possible, particularly in fertile river valleys. These first urban centers introduced new forms of social stratification, governance, and specialization. The book shows how early cities were closely tied to religious authority and political control, serving as nodes that organized surrounding rural areas. This section underscores the city's role as a transformative force in reshaping human society. The discussion of classical cities of antiquity highlights the development of urban life in ancient civilizations, where cities became symbols of order, citizenship, and empire.
Bradley Cox is widely recognized as a leading scholar in urban history and urban studies, known for his ability to synthesize vast historical periods into coherent and insightful narratives about the city. As the author of City: A Global History, Cox brings together deep historical knowledge, comparative analysis, and an interdisciplinary perspective that bridges history, geography, sociology, and urban planning. His work reects a long-standing academic engagement with the ways cities have shaped human civilization and how, in turn, social, economic, and political forces have continuously reshaped urban life across the world. Cox's expertise lies in his global approach to urban history. Rather than focusing on a single region or period, he situates cities within broad historical processes such as agricultural transformation, empire-building, industrialization, colonialism, globalization, and technological change. This wide lens allows him to identify patterns and connections that are often missed in more narrowly focused studies. His scholarship emphasizes that cities cannot be understood in isolation, but must be examined as part of interconnected networks that extend across regions and continents. This perspective is central to City: A Global History, where Cox consistently highlights the global circulation of ideas, people, and urban forms.
Preface
Chapter 1. Conceptualizing the City across Time
Chapter 2. The Origins of Urban Settlements
Chapter 3. Classical Cities of Antiquity
Chapter 4. Medieval Cities and Urban Revival
Chapter 5. Renaissance and Early Modern Cities
Chapter 6. The Industrial City
Chapter 7. The Modern Metropolis
Chapter 8. Global Cities and Contemporary Urbanism
Bibliography
Index
$280.00