In the first section of the chapter, basic patterns of urban economic development are presented in general terms. Its conditions and dynamics are discussed from the perspective of the New Economic Geography, historical caesuras of the political/institutional environment, and determining technological trends. According to these dimensions, the overall development is divided into the three phases: the first industrialisation (until the 1880s), the second industrialisation (until 1960/1970s) and more recent post-industrial or post-Fordist developments (since the 1980s). Further sections illustrate the patterns of development, and the summary provides an overview of the most important findings.

This chapter surveys the evolution of urbanisation in Western Europe during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The discussion follows the urban geography of the region, how and why it changed, and the relationship to industrialisation, capitalist production, market and transport networks. It considers the ways in which cities and towns along the Channel coast and North Sea, the coast of the Atlantic, and along the Mediterranean both substantiate and exhaust the vision of ‘Western Europe’ and evidence the richness of European patterns of urban life. Emphasis is on the density of the urban network as well as the multiplicity and distinctiveness of urban society in Western Europe as it evolved over time. Attention is given to the bourgeois and working-class experience, the rise of urban reform and planning, and the dissemination of Western European urban patterns as a model of modernity. The chapter recounts the fate of cities in the first and second world wars. It gives full attention to the late twentieth century and how Western European urban life changed under the influence of modernisation schemes, post-industrial society and globalisation.

This chapter focuses on the cities produced by state socialism first in the Soviet Union and then in Central and Eastern Europe after the Second World War. Split from the onset between radical change and incremental reform, socialist urbanism created some cities from scratch, yet others were old-timers transformed under the new political impetus. It will be argued that it is the latter type, especially historic capitals, that best represents the evolution of the socialist city. The political economy of making a socialist city is first outlined, discussing the urban impact of ideological tenets such as the elimination of private property and the town–country divide, the industrialisation drive and central planning. This is followed by a review of the evolution of the urban model contextualising trends vis-à-vis political and social changes: from Stalinist monumentality, through de-Stalinisation and its concern for the material conditions of life, to the last two decades when urbanism was overwhelmed by social and environmental problems. The conclusion discusses the afterlife of socialist cities, focusing on the consequences of privatisation, de-industrialisation, deregulation and decommunisation after 1989.

Volume III uncovers the radical transformations of European cities from 1850 to the twenty-first century. The volume explores how modern developments in urban environments, socio-cultural dynamics, the relation between work and leisure, and governance have transformed urban life. It highlights these complex processes across different regions, showcasing the latest scholarship and current challenges in the field. The first half provides an overview on the urban development of European regions in the West, North, Centre, East-Southeast and South, and the interconnectedness of European urbanism with the Americas and Africa. The second half explores major themes in European urban history, from the conceptualisation of cities, their built fabric and environment, to the continuities, rhythms and changes in their social, political, economic and cultural histories. Using transborder, transregional and transdisciplinary approaches to discern traits that characterise modern and contemporary European urbanism, the volume invites readers to reconsider major paradigms of European urban history.

The topic of ‘consumption and entrepreneurship in the city’ needs an ‘intra-city’ approach, which concentrates on the changes in the urban environment and the mutual effects of city governance and business actors. The chapter thematises the past 150 years using three time periods and three cities: first presenting the main characteristics of the era and then connecting it with the history of the city and its entrepreneurship. The period before the First World War was the age of industrialisation and the spread of factory production; the relationship between city and business is presented via Budapest, a newly born national capital, and the steam-mill industry. The inter-war period was a short but economically diverse and turbulent era, which was permeated by the influence of politics. In the case of Łódź, which rapidly grew earlier thanks to its textile industry, this was the era when the effects of the industry in the city came under the control of the city government. Finally, after the Second World War came the age of consumer society, with de-industrialisation. Sheffield’s centuries-old industrial history was no longer enough security for the future, but thanks to the city administration and urban entrepreneurship, there was no question of decline.

In Victorian times, the family’s problems were viewed by one influential British economist, Alfred Marshall, through the lens of public consternation with urban family impoverishment. Marshall provided a critical extension of the population studies of late eighteenth-century clergyman, T. Robert Malthus, for whom poverty occurred when family reproduction exceeded the capacity of agricultural production. On the one hand, Marshall argued that Malthus had not recognised how larger populations could be sustained by the productivity gains of industrialisation. On the other hand, Marshall extended Malthus’s criticisms of the Old Poor Laws to the New laws too, which were rejected for encouraging poor families to have more children than they could adequately sustain. Marshall also followed Malthus by rejecting calls by Annie Besant, Charles Bradlaugh, and others for working-class access to contraceptive knowledge and birth-control techniques. Describing and evaluating class-based behaviour in factory families, artisanal families, and families of the higher class, Marshall identified the effects on labour productivity and living standards of patterns of family formation, fertility, mortality, household–market labour division, educational investment, and aged care provision. However, his policies supported gendered divides, overlooking how male breadwinning did not convert into an adequate family income, and rejecting activist demands for women’s rights.

Following military defeat by France in 1806 and domestic reforms in the Napoleonic era, after 1815 Berlin became capital of a larger and more important Prussian state, stretching from eastern outposts by the Baltic to western provinces in the Rhineland. As trade and industry grew, Berlin began a further striking transformation: from being primarily a princely residence and garrison town to a rapidly expanding industrial city. A new sense of German nationalism began to develop, alongside the development of bourgeois culture and associated institutions and buildings, while early industrialisation also meant the growth of an impoverished working class. Political eruptions in France in 1848 sparked unrest across central Europe, including Berlin. Following defeat of the revolutionary and nationalist movements in 1848–49, authoritarianism backed by military might prevailed over liberalism in a new period of reactionary conservatism under Chancellor Bismarck. In 1871, Bismarck brought about the unification of ‘small Germany’, excluding Austria, by policies of ‘blood and iron’.

Indian Economics’ short-term development plan aimed to harness progress in the two main sectors of the economy – industry and agriculture. The peasants, factory workers and merchants needed specific policies to aid them in growing their crops, manufacturing their products and selling their goods, respectively. India needed agricultural production of raw materials, industrial production using raw materials, and distribution of the finished manufactured products. Indian Economics prescribed a balanced growth strategy, seen later in India’s post-independence five-year plans, the first of which was implemented by Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) from 1951 to 1956.

Upon the discovery of oil in 1908, the oil industry in Iran underwent a swift and extensive expansion, precipitating rapid industrialisation and significant demographic transformations that fundamentally redefined social relations, societal structures, and governance both locally and nationally. Central to these transformative processes was the development of oil towns, which emerged as crucibles of change, profoundly reconfiguring traditional lifestyles, and labour practices. This chapter delves into the complexities of managing oil production in areas not wholly subsumed under the aegis of the Iranian central government. It highlights the significant challenges encountered in cultivating a stable workforce and inculcating a culture imbued with principles of labour discipline, orderliness, and punctuality. These shifts presented formidable obstacles, especially for tribesmen traditionally engaged in nomadic pursuits, who found themselves compelled to transition to regimented forms of employment. Further, this discussion extends to the strategic recruitment and deployment of Indian workers, initially engaged for security purposes, whose roles evolved to encompass skilled, semi-skilled, and clerical positions, ultimately cementing their place as a permanent fixture within the industry. This narrative underscores the profound and multifarious impacts of the oil industry on the social and economic terrains of Iran.

Exploring the pivotal role of oil in the social and economic development of Iran between two World Wars, the era was marked by the establishment of a modern state aimed at ensuring territorial integrity and creating a homogeneous society within defined geographical borders. Such transformative efforts led to the collapse of the Qajar dynasty and the ascent of Reza Shah Pahlavi’s centralised and authoritative government. During this period, extensive social and economic development policies radically transformed the fabric of Iranian society, notably through the state’s substantial role in industrial investment, which significantly increased the number of industrial workers. Despite these broad changes, operations in the oil industry continued as initially established, resulting in dissatisfaction among both Iranian and Indian workers. This discontent gave rise to a series of labour strikes in the 1920s, underscoring the workers’ capacity to influence the shaping of civil society. Concurrently, the imperative for oil revenue coupled with the Iranian government’s insistence on employing local labour precipitated the cancellation of the D’Arcy Agreement and the signing of a new contract in 1933. A crucial term of this contract was the ‘Iranianisation’ of the workforce, which gradually increased the presence of skilled Iranian workers within the industry. This strategic shift not only redefined employment and living conditions but also facilitated the expansion of oil towns, where policies of ethnic and employment segregation were widely implemented, reflecting the broader national goals of integration and societal standardisation.

Chapter 35 examines Goethe’s awareness of the impact of human activity on the physical environment and his often prescient depictions of damage to natural systems. These are shaped by a range of perspectives and experiences, from Goethe’s work as a civil servant, to his scientific study, to his lifelong passion for nature. The chapter traces two themes in particular that run through his literary work: first, flooding, and second, fire and the destruction of forests. It also examines Goethe’s historical position, between the pre-industrial world and capitalist modernity.

Chapter 32 considers the question of modernity as explored in Goethe’s Faust. In his hands, the cast of mind of the restless central character constitutes an analogy of modernity. The chapter argues that the duo of Faust and Mephistopheles epitomises the mood of Goethe’s own time, which paved the way for the modern industrial era. It demonstrates that Part I radicalises the revolt against tradition which is an essential part of the original Faust legend, while Part II thematises incipient capitalist economics and the manipulation of nature through technology.

Shanghai is often seen as the exemplar of Chinese cosmopolitan modernity, including gender and sexual progressiveness under Western influence. This chapter argues that Shanghai’s cosmopolitanism is also rooted in migration, activism, and state policies. The early reforms of patrilineage coincided with influxes of migrants and refugees, who constituted the majority of Shanghai’s urban population. As the hotspot for China’s industrialization, women’s economic empowerment and social activism occurred almost simultaneously. The semi-colonial status of Shanghai before 1949 that protected groups such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in extra-territorialities also made possible the survival of sexual minorities. These historical and social conditions created an urban environment that has made negotiations of the most intimate aspects of human life both possible and difficult. Shanghai as the pioneer of gender equality and sexual modernity in China must be viewed through those intimate negotiations, in which people transform the definitions of freedom, belonging, and modernity.

Technological development typically has outcomes that can be perceived as both positive and negative for humanity. In a capitalist society, the benefits of new technology are often evaluated in economic terms, whereas the negative impacts are often evaluated in social, health-related or environmental terms – the externalities of conventional economics. The benefits of a new technology are often immediately obvious, while the negative consequences appear rather later. In this chapter, we examine four areas of major development or change: industrial technology, agricultural technology, medical technology, and digital and communication technology. Each has had, and continues to have, a significant impact on individuals, families, communities and societies, as well as on the understanding and practice of social work. These are discussed using the questions identified above: Who owns? Who uses? Who or what benefits? Who or what loses? This allows us to consider their implications for social work and for the re-imagining of social work in the twenty-first century.