Urban networks

the long version

Urban networks, network cities, networked cities and city networks are widely discussed, but there has hardly been debate on what constitutes an urbanism of networks. It is time to shift network urbanism from the realm of general debate to that of identifying the task-specific tools and techniques required for its implementation. Urban Networks – Network Urbanism provides theoretical groundwork, historical perspective, detailed arguments and explanatory case descriptions for network-oriented thinking in developing urban and regional spatial strategies. The key argument is that the development of technical networks and urban development go hand in hand and need to be dealt with as such by urban planners. This book gives special attention to the territorial effects caused by the automobile system and to the geography of ICT. It provides pointers to deal with the huge challenges facing urban planning with regard to changes of scale, technological progress, the "two-track city", and network liberalisation.