ABSTRACT
Urbanization has been declared a planetary condition. It is felt strongly in countries around the globe, even in those not fully urbanized. Cities are the engines of the modern economy. The interconnections between them affect social norms. Cities and urban processes have moved to the core of research agendas across several academic disciplines and emerging interdisciplinary fields. The fundamental idea that cities can be a source of benefits or threats to their inhabitants, what the authors refer to as the urban paradox, has engaged almost all academic disciplines and professional practices with an interest in the urban. The urban is often said to amount to "varied assemblages of certain measurable characteristics", understood as "inherently spatial", and juxtaposed to its "counter-concept", the rural. A major difficulty in defining the urban may stem from the "disciplinary rivalries" surrounding its conceptualization. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.
