This reading group invites scholars and students from different disciplines and practitioners from different sectors to investigate the above questions from multi- and cross-disciplinary perspectives. We will start by examining how urban historians and theorists analyse and assess the emergence, development, flourishing, resilience, and sustainability of cities and urban regions (with a particular focus on metropolises, megacities, and megaregions) in different world regions at the key stages of our urban trajectory. By delving into the frameworks and criteria the historians and theorists use for their critical analysis and assessment, we will investigate how they explore the nature and purposes of the city not only in our urban past and present but also for our urban future and the future of humanity and the planet earth. To facilitate multi- and cross-disciplinary discussions, we will also introduce relevant reading or viewing materials produced by scholars or professionals who focus on contemporary urban planning, architecture, governance, economics, society, and culture.

The current reading series during the 2023–2024 academic year will focus on the following books related to global urban history and Chinese urban history:

• Mumford, Lewis. 1961. The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformation, Its Prospects. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
  (the winner of the National Book Award in the US, a classic work on urban history and civilisation; available for free download or loan on the internet)
• Nightingale, Carl. 2022. Earthopolis: A Biography of Our Urban Planet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  (assessing our urban history within the realms of human action, habitat, impact, and consequence from the perspective of global and planetary history; accessible through academic institutional access)
• Skinner, William, ed. 1977. The City in Late Imperial China. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

(a pioneer work that investigates late imperial Chinese cities from the perspective of history and China’s regional and social systems; accessible through academic institutional access)

• Lincoln, Toby. 2021. An Urban History of China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

(a new study that investigates how China’s urban civilisation emerged, evolved through its lengthy imperial stage, and has become the largest modern urban society in the world, through the angles of the urban form, the urban system, urban governance, urban society and culture and daily life, and the global connections of Chinese cities; accessible online via the University Library System)

For contemporary and future urban development, we suggest watching relevant and engaging short films, e.g., the series of provocative short films on the future of cities which was produced by the Faculty of Architecture at HKU, which critically investigates the nature and purposes of the city and evaluates urban growth from the perspective of contemporary urban studies and urban planning.

To optimize each session, we encourage participants to complete the recommended reading and viewing materials prior to each session. Each session will be facilitated by designated or volunteering participants with an introduction or a summary of recommended readings and viewing materials to be followed by a discussion session.