This book approaches experiences of urban aesthetics not as an established framework, defined by imposed norms or legislations, but as the result of a continuous reflexive and proactive gaze, a complex and deep engagement of the mind, body and sensibilities. It uses empirical studies ranging from China, India to Western Europe.

Arundhati Virmani (EHESS, Marseilles, France) is a specialist in colonial and contemporary Indian history.

Introduction Part I Aesthetic perceptions of urban environments: A long-term perspective Chapter 1. Pulchritudo civitatis: Aesthetic gazes on cities in communal Italy (12th-14th century) Chapter 2. London, Paris, Rome...: Travellers' experiences of early modern European cities Chapter 3. Cities destroyed, cities rebuilt: sightseeing after a cataclysm (London, 1666; Lisbon, 1755) Chapter 4. The vertical city in science fiction. Urban utopia or social nightmare? Part II Urban everyday aesthetics as a common good Chapter 5. Whose river is it anyway?: River as commons, river as neighbour - The Yamuna in Delhi Chapter 6. Negotiating advertising aesthetics in early twentieth-century Shanghai Chapter 7. A plea for do(ing) the right thing. An ordinary dog day in Bed-Stuy Chapter 8. Experiencing the urban through the prism of fiction and cinema in postcolonial India Part III Aesthetic inequalities, a challenge for urban grammar Chapter 9. From aesthetic assets to sensitive public policies: for an ethic of the affective city Chapter 10. Battling aesthetic inequalities in contemporary cities: afterthoughts of an Indian architect Chapter 11. The aesthetics of slum? Exploring the lived and the imagined narratives of Dharavi (Mumbai) Chapter 12. Changing the metropolitan face in India. Interview with Giulia Ambrogi Afterword: Inhabiting a city is not a planned activity