Cities are sites of great wealth and poverty, of hope and despair, of social and economic dynamism, as well as tradition and established power. Social scientists and humanities scholars have over the past three decades generated an impressive range of perspectives for making sense of the vast complexities of cities. These perspectives tell both of the economic, social and political dynamism cities generate, and point to possible lines of future development. This 8-volume benchmark collection brings together a hugely diverse collection of the most influential and important papers on this topic. The first four volumes, The City: Modernity, focus on the emergence of the modern city and its connection with the project of modernity. The final four volumes, The City: Post-Modernity, will focus more exclusively on the contemporary city, looking at the subject through the lenses of globalization and post-colonialism, amongst others.