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Historians are not noted for their collaborative approach to research and publication. This volume is thus unusual, the outcome of a long-term collaborative project in which participants were selected for their knowledge of cultural responses to the development of the world's great cities at the end of the nineteenth century. Though not a synthesis, each of the five authors involved produced their contribution to a template which focused on a number of inter-related key themes. Focusing on the last three decades of the nineteenth century, the contributors - drawn from art history and history of science - explore the idea of 'cultural innovation' in Paris, London, Chicago, Berlin and Tokyo. In practice, the articles are structured around a few key themes: the international exhibition; the growth of higher technical education; urban planning initiatives linked to the promotion of the city and the role of networks of urban elites connecting and driving these initiatives.
The applicability of this model varies from city to city. Levin's discussion of Paris does illustrate the importance of exhibitions in reshaping and promoting the city...