A Continent of Suburbs

This book challenges the city-centered view of Europe by highlighting the importance of suburbs and peripheries, where millions live. It argues that Europe has long been shaped by suburbanization, which, since World War II, is closely linked to international immigration.

Through historical and geographical analysis, A Continent of Suburbs explores the diversity of suburban models across Europe and expands the ‘post-suburban’ concept to reflect blurred boundaries and evolving definitions. Social geographer Yannis Tzaninis and sociologist Lorenzo De Vidovich bring their expertise together to study the intersections of these disciplines. Case studies from the Amsterdam and Milan regions illustrate how demographic shifts, mobility, economic change, and land development have created new forms of suburban life. By connecting immigration and suburbanization to broader urban histories, the book offers fresh insights for urban studies, geography, planning, and European studies, and invites readers to see Europe’s peripheries as central to understanding the continent’s development and future.