ABSTRACT
Complex, modern cities must have both form and function. A city may have a beautiful system of tree-lined boulevards or an easily navigable street grid, but these elements of form are useless if the city does not also have a way to perform such basic functions as keeping these streets clean or passing laws to regulate their use. The last chapter explored how the city can be viewed as a collection of infrastructure networks—streets, but also power lines, water pipes, and other conduits—that together give cities their distinctive physical forms. Complementing this perspective, this chapter examines how cities can also be viewed as a collection of networks among organizations—for example, city hall is linked to the county courts, or the high school is linked to the YMCA—that together allow cities to coordinate and perform practical functions.
