This text is prompted by two phenomena whose paradoxical convergence is seen by some to be altering the experience of urban relations and city planning. On the one hand, forces of globalization push towards conditions of homogenization and deterritorialization, while on the other, a surging politics of identity barricades various groups behind particular claims and ignites violent persecutions. The covert relations between these two phenomena is the focus of this volume of essays. The contributors seek to address a number of broad questions, including: what is the role and limit of urban space in the expression of group and individual rights and desires?; do democratic social relations require spatial propinquity?; what, if any, are the characteristics of democratic urban space?; and what role does the individuality of cities play in the production of political culture?