Cities Without Citizens:

The Modernity of the City as a Corporation

Engin F. Isin

Traces how cities evolved from autonomous entities with citizens to modern corporations without citizens.

"...a remarkable book...explains the origins of modern Canadian cities as corporations." --Imprint

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUTION: MODERNITY OF THE CITY AS A CORPORATIO

Corporations in Colonial America
Modern City in British North America

2. HISTORY OF CORPORATIONS IN ENGLAND

Autonomous Cities: The Long 12th Century
Invention of the City as a Corporation: 13th-14th Centuries
Incorporation of the City: 15th-18th Centuries
City as a Government Franchise: 19th Century
Modern City: An Apparatus of Governance?

3. HISTORY OF CORPORATIONS IN AMERICA

Colonial Question: Government at a Distance
Colonial American Cities as Corporations
Cities in the Early American Republic

4. CITIES IN BRITISH NORTH AMERICA: A COLONIAL LEGACY

Colonial Cities Without Citizens
Antagonism Toward Cities
Necessity of Governing Through Cities
Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada

5. BIRTH OF THE MODERN CANADIAN CITY AS A CORPORATION

First Modern Cities in British North America
New Liberal Colonial Politics
Modern City within a Municipal System. Birth of the Modern Canadian City as a Corporation

Appendices

1. Anglo-Saxon Origins of English Cities
2. American Colonies and Cities

Bibliography
Index

Engin Isin holds a Ph.D from the University of Toronto. He currently teaches history and urban studies at York University, and is involved with the Canadian Urban Institute.