These essays by leading figures from academia, architecture and the arts consider how cultures of memory are constructed for and in contemporary cities. They take Berlin as a key case of a historically burdened metropolis, but also extend to other global cities: Jerusalem, Buenos Aires, Cape Town and New York.

The city is one of the greatest unsung heroes in cinema -- a modernist inspiration for silent classics such as Metropolis (1926) and a dense urban jungle in The Matrix (1999) -- yet there have been few attempts to grasp the cultural and aesthetic nature of its role in film. This volume is an ambitious collection of writings and photo-essays discussing this complex yet enduring relationship, and how early cinema, digital technology and changing urban geographies have all impacted upon notions and representations of the modern city. Amongst the films discussed are Peeping Tom (1960), Performance (1970), Sans Soleil (1983) and Amores perros (2000). Contributions come from the fields of film studies, cultural theory, architecture and design, as well as filmmakers Patrick Keiller and Chris Petit.

The city is one of the greatest unsung heroes in cinema -- a modernist inspiration for silent classics such as Metropolis (1926) and a dense urban jungle in The Matrix (1999) -- yet there have been few attempts to grasp the cultural and aesthetic nature of its role in film. This volume is an ambitious collection of writings and photo-essays discussing this complex yet enduring relationship, and how early cinema, digital technology and changing urban geographies have all impacted upon notions and representations of the modern city. Amongst the films discussed are Peeping Tom (1960), Performance (1970), Sans Soleil (1983) and Amores perros (2000). Contributions come from the fields of film studies, cultural theory, architecture and design, as well as filmmakers Patrick Keiller and Chris Petit.