In 1915 Robert Park penned his seminal paper The City:Suggestions for the investigation of human behaviour in the cityenvironment. This essay provided an agenda for the ChicagoSchool of Urban Sociology, which formed the basis of urbanresearch for decades.

Given that China's urban centres now occupy the spotlight thatonce belonged to American cities, Park's essay is a platform andpoint of departure for this volume, which gathers together reflectionsfrom a broad range of urban China specialists to consider Park's (ir)relevance today - for cities in China, for questions about the sociallife of the city and for urban research more generally.

Essential for a broad range of urban studies scholars, this book is aninvaluable teaching resource and a useful tool for policy-makers andplanners.