Cities of Light explores the history of urban electrification in major world metropolises like New York, London, Paris, Tokyo and Mumbai, but also looks at lighting as a kind of urban design itself. Through case studies of some of the world's largest and most dramatically lit cities, the book examines the shock brought by early urban lighting, with new design forms like outdoor advertising, public cinema, and nightlife photography pushing the world into modernism. The book looks to the future of mediascapes, lighting masterplans, and "guerrilla lighting" in emerging cities in the UAE and Asia to see what the future of the all-night city will look like.

Chapter 1: Istanbul Chapter 2: Boston Chapter 3: London Chapter 4: Paris Chapter 5: Mumbai Chapter 6: Buffalo Chapter 7: Los Angeles Chapter 8: Blackpool Chapter 9: Berlin Chapter 10: Sao Paolo Chapter 11: Lagos Chapter 12: New York City Chapter 13: Mexico City Chapter 14: Buenos Aires Chapter 15: Johannesburg Chapter 16: Los Angeles Chapter 17: Tokyo Chapter 18: Shanghai Chapter 19: Moscow Chapter 20: Vienna Chapter 21: Paris Chapter 22: Washington, D.C. Chapter 23: Sydney Chapter 24: Yilan Chapter 25: London Chapter 26: Derby Chapter 27: Hong Kong Chapter 28: Huangzhou Chapter 29: Berlin Chapter 30: Oulu Chapter 31: New York City

Sandy Isenstadt teaches the history of modern architecture at the University of Delaware, USA. His writings range over topics as varied as postwar reformulations of modern architecture, visual perception in the built environment, landscape views, and American material culture. He is currently working on a book examining novel luminous spaces introduced by electric lighting in the twentieth century.

Margaret Maile Petty is a senior lecturer in design history at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Her research broadly investigates the discourse, production, and representation of artificial light in the built environment, with a particular focus on architectural lighting and interiors. She has published broadly on the historical significance and development of lighting design in many academic journals and edited books. In addition, she regularly writes for leading lighting industry publications on a variety of contemporary issues, practices, and projects relevant to the discipline today.

Dietrich Neumann is professor in the history of art and architecture at Brown University, USA. His research concentrates on late 19^th and early 20^th century European and American architecture. Neumann has published on the history of buildings materials, German skyscrapers of the 1920s, the history of film set design, and architectural illumination.