In the twenty-five years since The North American City was first published, urban geography has become one of the most important and vital areas in geography. The fifth edition of this classic text has been thoroughly revised and expanded to include the wide range of urban interests and theoretical approaches being applied to urban questions today.

Its underlying theme, which relates urban growth and change to major eras of economic development, provides a framework which embraces different theoretical perspectives. It also permits a focus on some abiding postindustrial issues regarding the transitions to new types of economies and social/cultural relations.