Book excerpt: World Cities, City Worlds is about how we make sense of cities, those extraordinary places where half the world’s population now lives. It explores ways of seeing, experiencing and thinking about how cities work, how they change and what makes city life tick. Within the book, William Solesbury explores three particular ways of framing cities – through metaphors, icons and perspectives – and, taking six iconic cities (Venice, Mumbai, New York, Tokyo, Paris and Los Angeles), he explores the lure of cities within that context. To make sense of cities, to understand and use them, we need to delve below the surface of the familiar appearance of cities and the commonplace sensations of everyday city life. World Cities, City Worldsprovides fresh insights into cities and city life, from both the past and modern times. It takes us on an exploration of world cities, leading us to new ways of thinking about how cities work.