Cities

W e start this book with 15 great cities. All have been shortlisted for an Academy of Urbanism award in the only category that includes European places outside the UK and Ireland. These 15 cities join the six cities featured in the first two years of the awards and those that have been shortlisted since 2013 (which will be featured in the next book). While the

early shortlisted cities were mostly capitals, including London, Berlin, Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Dublin, the 15 in this book include just three, Helsinki, Lisbon and Budapest (at least the Buda part – Pest is a provincial city in spirit). The others are upstart second cities and provincial centres and have a particular energy and drive that comes with being slightly uncertain of their position in the world. Most of them have an industrial past, and 12 of the 15 are significant ports. They are cities of commerce and industry rather than government and administration, places with large working-class and immigrant populations that make them vibrant, riotous and at times, in the darker alleys and back streets, a little seedy. They are a good cohort from which we can survey the health of the European city.