Abstract

This essay treats perceptions of urban society by scholars in Europe and America during the years just before and after 1900. It focuses on a series of lectures held in Dresden in connection with a major exhibition on cities and published in 1903 under the title Die Großstadt: Vorträge und Aufsätze zur Städteausstellung, but it also points out the ways in which the ideas expressed in Dresden reflected broader intellectual trends elsewhere. It also emphasizes German acceptance of the big city and willingness to seek forward‐looking solutions for urban problems.