This dynamic international collection provides a comprehensive overview of twin cities on administrative and international borders across the world. Drawing on contemporary and historical examples, it documents constant and changing features of twinned communities over time.

The chapters explore a variety of urban formations including independent cities located side-by-side; cities that have merged over decades or even centuries and those projected to merge; cities partitioned by treaties and cities duplicated in pursuit of better security, intensified trade or both between neighbouring countries. From Europe to Africa, North America to the Middle East, South America to Asia, this book focuses on relationships between cities, citizens and municipal/international borders. A cartographical contents and editorial commentary guide readers through diverse contributions. The authors ask how far cities are changing or remaining constant in the context of conurbanisation, Europeanisation and globalization. The book provides a glimpse into the variety of roles twin cities can play globally: from laboratories of integration and para-diplomatic actors to economic and cultural brokers.

This is a valuable, engaging resource for researchers in the fields of geography, urban studies, border studies, international relations and global development. It will be of great use to individuals involved in twin-city initiatives and general readers.

About the Author

John Garrard was Senior Lecturer in Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Salford until 2011. Although primarily a historian, his central teaching and research interests have lain along the borders with political science, with a particular interest in urban history/politics. He has written about the politics of immigration, power in nineteenth-century towns, democratisation, the nature and politics of scandal, and heads of local government.

Ekaterina Mikhailova is a research fellow at the Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University. In addition she currently is working in the project 'Transformation of Soviet Republic Borders to International Borders' at the University of Eastern Finland. Ekaterina is author of over thirty Russian and English articles on twin cities, cross-border communities and cross-border cooperation. Her research interests include sustainable development of border regions and border cities, cross-border integration and governance.

Reviews

"From Europe to Africa, North America to the Middle East, South America to Asia, this book focuses on relationships between cities, citizens and municipal/international borders. A cartographical contents and editorial commentary guide readers through diverse contributions. The authors ask how far cities are changing or remaining constant in the context of conurbanisation, Europeanisation and globalization. This book provides a glimspe into the variety of roles twin cities can play globally: from laboratories of integration and para-diplomatic actors to economic and cultural brokers."

-Halei Lamb, The Forest-Blade, Swainsboro, Georgia

"All in all, Twin Cities is a timely contribution that should appeal to those who study the intricate interdependencies of multiple twin cities from a comparative perspective. Moreover, it will engage readers interested in selected cases presented in the anthology. (...). It will be a vital source of inspiration for scholars and practitioners in the growing field of Border(lands) Studies more generally and Twin City research more particularly."

-Fabio Santos, Freie Universitat Berlin, Cross-Border Review

"A triumph in both its theoretical contributions as well as its global application, John Garrard and Ekaterina Mikhailova's dual volumes, Twin Cities: Urban Communities, Borders and Relationships over Time and Twin Cities across Five Continents: Interactions and Tensions on Urban Borders, represent a high watermark for urban studies. This innovative pair of books solidify twin cities studies as an important subfield in the field of border studies by 'bringing together scholars from across the world, drawn from urban geography, economics, sociology, history, and politics, including many leading fixtures in the twin-city field. Nonetheless, this pair of books is essential for practitioners of urban planning as well as scholars in the field. If the second volume is made available in a soft cover edition they are highly recommended for classroom use at the upper end of undergraduate courses and graduate studies alike."

- Michel S. Beaulieu, PhD, FRHistS, Associate Vice-Provost Academic (Special Projects), Professor of History

Book Information
ISBN 9780367586706
Author John Garrard
Format Paperback
Page Count 334
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g