This text explores the vitality and complexity of cities and architecture, presenting intriguingly unexpected perspectives on life in cities world-wide. The essays range from shopping in London to squatting in Amsterdam, spatial cleansing in New York to police surveillance in Glasgow, bohemian Berlin cafes to Naples street markets, downtown Sao Paulo to suburban Manchester, Berthold Lubetkin to Jules Dessein, skateboarding in Los Angeles to speeding on the Westway, the Venice "metro" to prostitution and hat shops, and the suffragettes to working women of colour. Inventive writing combined with a high degree of illustration and graphic design create a text which is both stimulating and accessible.