Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.This insightful Advanced Introduction explores the key attributes of cities, identifying their five basic characteristics; innate complexity, the agglomeration of activities, inter-city connectivities, the projection of power, and relations to states. Peter J. Taylor gives a broad and engaging overview of how these characteristics work and relate to each other, supplemented by ten short city insights which offer readers specific examples of cities and themes.Key features include: • analysis of cities as the creative nodes of societies• discussion of both contemporary and historical cities• exploration of the different spaces created by cities and states• identification of the demands of cities in relation to climate change.This Advanced Introduction will be a valuable guide for scholars and advanced students of urban studies, cities, urban sociology, social geography, and urban and regional planning.