Scholars generally portray the urban transformation of cities within the limits of particular regions. Emotional Cities queries this compartmentalization of urban history by analyzing similar transformation process experienced by two cities in different regions—Cairo and Berlin—in the mid-19th century. It thus calls into question conceptions of a Western-centered universal modernization that non-Western regions are obliged to follow. The book further distinguishes itself from other studies on urban history by analyzing urban transformation through the lens of the emotions of city dwellers. 

Scholars generally portray the urban transformation of cities within the limits of particular regions. Emotional Cities queries this compartmentalization of urban history by analyzing similar transformation process experienced by two cities in different regions—Cairo and Berlin—in the mid-19th century. It thus calls into question conceptions of a Western-centered universal modernization that non-Western regions are obliged to follow. The book further distinguishes itself from other studies on urban history by analyzing urban transformation through the lens of the emotions of city dwellers.