For some time now, forms of communication in the city, along with objects and practices, have come into the focus of historical research, expressing and simultaneously shaping social relations. Increasingly, complex situations surrounding the launch of order and value concepts are being examined, and processes of mediation are being systematically integrated into the engagement with historical conditions.

The contributions in this volume test this approach to urban society. They address communal self-representations from a long-term temporal and broad geographical perspective, focusing on moments when the city community is made visible to different public audiences. The volume presents constellations of showcasing the civic community, which utilize writing, imagery, and performativity in their own unique ways, while varying older patterns of mediation.