This collection grew out of the international conference entitled “Arts and the City” hosted by Károli Gáspár University and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2019. With speakers from across the world, this scholarly event reflected the diversity and deeply interdisciplinary character of contemporary urban studies and its relation to inclusive artistic practices. Thus, this book offers global academic perspectives on the function, relevance and social embeddedness of art in selected European and North-American cities and, as occasional detours, in other parts of the
world. The three main sections of the book are entitled “Public Art Considerations”, “War, Travel and Resistance”, and “London: Word, Action and Image”. The collection explores mainly 20th and 21st century urban phenomena, with three chapters exploring city culture in earlier eras. This
book will be valuable reading for students, academics, policy makers and anyone with an interest in urban culture, cultural geography, literature, art history and art theory.