In recent years it has become common-place to hear claims that public space in cities across the globe has become the exclusive preserve of the wealthy and privileged, at the expense of the needs of wider society. But are things really that bad? Has the market really become the sole factor that influences the treatment of public space? To answer these questions Matthew Carmona and Filipa Wunderlich have carried out a detailed investigation of the modern public spaces of London, that most global of cities. Global cities are made up of many overlapping public spaces, good and bad; this book shows how to analyze this complexity, and to understand it.