Providing a thorough and comprehensive survey of the contemporary urban world that is accessible to students, this new title will give balanced treatment to both the process by which cities are built (urbanization) and the ways of life practiced by people that live and work in more urban places (urbanism).

Whereas most texts focus on the socio-economic causes of urbanization, this text analyses the cultural component: how the physical construction of places is, in part, a product of cultural beliefs, ideas, and practices and also how the culture of those who live, work, and play in various places is shaped, structured, and controlled by the built environment.

Inasmuch as the primary focus will be on the United States, global discussion is composed with an eye toward showing how U.S. cities, suburbs, and towns are both different and alike from their counterparts in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America.