The sick city, the city as a network, the diffuse city: Although omnipresent in urban discourse, metaphors in this discipline have hardly been critically discussed so far. The increasing complexity of the city, particularly with the onset of industrialization and the boom after World War II, has led to a large number of metaphors that testify to the attempt to verbally address this complexity. This book addresses this oversight in relation to the general discussion of metaphors, especially in the theory of science. It illuminates the implications for urban planning in the form of a theory of urban planning metaphors: it examines the conditions, uses, and effects of metaphors in urban planning. The focus of the work is on the metaphor in design and project rather than on its role in discourse. At the center.