ABSTRACT
This chapter points out the reasons for considering luxury as a field of research for urban studies. At the same time, it focuses on the multi-disciplinary approach needed to comprehend this topic and its impacts, which involve social, cultural, economic and territorial aspects. Luxury is the common denominator of several recent dynamics and transformations in metropolitan regions and cities. Historically, luxury has been closely related to the city. Luxury – according to E. W. Soja, D. Harvey and H. Lefebvre – contributes to processes of social construction of space and its components. The operators switch from the exclusiveness of luxury as a consolidated idea to something different, what we may call 'prestige' and which acquires a cross-border dimension. Today, luxury operators need spaces in which to locate their headquarters and offices, their exhibition halls or places to show their archives, which means that prestigious places can also be workspaces or urban equipment. Finally, the chapter provides an overview of this book.
