This book brings together a range of viewpoints on a range of the burning issues affecting urban sustainability in North America and Europe at the beginning of the 21st century. H.S. Geyer covers a wide range of the urban policy issues that determine the growth and development progress as well as the livability of cities in the Occident. The volume focuses on three broad themes: nuances in urban policy formulation in Britain and the United States; the evolvement of urban systems regionally and globally; and, the social and economic forces that determine urban livability and bring about change in the demographic landscape of cities in both Europe and the United States. In this Handbook some of the world's most experienced researchers express their views - often controversial - on topics as diverse as the role of the IT sector, population aging, migration, global warming and social economics within urban development. This important Handbook has a strong demographic and developmental focus and covers urban policy issues that should be of interest to a wide readership - from urban planning, geography, regional science and economics, to international business, population studies, history and political science.