The field of urban environmental history is a relatively new one, yet it is rapidly moving to the forefront of scholarly research and is the focus of much interdisciplinary work. Given the environmental problems facing the modern world it is perhaps unsurprising that historians, geographers, political, natural and social scientists should increasingly look at the environmental problems faced by previous generations, and how they were regarded and responded to. This volume reflects this growing concern, and reflects many of the key concerns and issues that are essential to our understanding of...

Catastrophes resulting from natural causes like earthquakes, fires, and floods have destroyed significant parts of many cities in Europe and North America. Contributions to this volume explore how cities experienced these disasters, how cities coped with the emergency, and how they tried to make sense of what had happened. To illuminate common themes, the book includes examples from Poland, France, Italy, Germany, Finland, Greece, Great Britain, and its Caribbean colonies. Some cities never recovered while others managed to turn their physical destruction into an opportunity for spatial,...