Within a relatively short time, urban anthropology has emerged as one of the most vital fields of anthropology. During its formative period, however, it has lacked intellectual coherence. Exploring the Cityis a bold first attempt to provide just such a coherent and unified theoretical understanding of urbanism. Hannerz draws upon the urban perspectives of other disciplines as well, such as history, sociology, and geography, to bring intellectual unity to the history and development of urban anthropology.