Europe today is triumphantly urban. Rural areas and rural populations are shrinking day by day, while the number of megacities, conurbations, urban communities, technopoles, and technology hubs is multiplying.

The current situation is the result of the transformation of European cities that took place between the 1850s and the present day. On the map of Europe, we find the same names as in the Middle Ages, and we marvel at the current vitality of these ancient medieval, Hanseatic, or Flemish cities...[+]