This Open Access book explores the concept of the open city, examining its theoretical foundations, normative implications, and real-world practices in contemporary urban planning.

The chapters move from conceptual debates on openness and empirical cases, investigating how cities address key challenges such as democracy, freedom, inclusion, creativity, learning, governance, and urban change. Contributors examine tensions between order and disorder, openness and closure, and ask who benefits from urban transformation and under what conditions. By connecting urban theory with planning practice, the volume offers a critical yet accessible reflection on the future of cities.

Developed through the work of the Thematic Group “Ethics, Values and Planning” of the Association of European Schools of Planning, this book provides an essential resource for scholars, practitioners, and students interested in open cities, urban governance, democratic planning, and institutional design.

Anita De Franco is a postdoc research fellow at the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies at Polytechnic University of Milan (Milano, Italy), co-founder and executive member of NORMACTIVITY: international research network on human and non-human normativity.

Stefano Cozzolino is a senior researcher at ILS – Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development (Dortmund, Germany) and a Lecturer at RWTH University (Aachen, Germany) in the Chair of Urban Design.