ABSTRACT
We live in an urban world, or more accurately many different urban worlds. In July 2007, for the first time in human history, the majority of the world’s population resided in cities. This event, hailed as monumental in much media coverage, was, in itself, of little more than symbolic importance. The trends, most notably massive urban growth in the Global South, had been apparent for some time and show no sign of slowing down, let alone reversing. It is against this background, a growing, dynamic urban world characterized by increasing interconnection and inequality that faces challenges in the near future including peak oil and probable climate chaos, that this book invites you into the world of urban geography. Urban geography texts always argue
that their publication coincides with exciting and challenging times for the city. They are always correct. Whatever cities might be they are never boring.
