The riddle of the real city or the dark knowledge of urbanism : genealogy prophecy and epistemology Is the basis for our knowledge about city and urban planning solid How can we theorise about urban design and architecture in our current age Designed as a triptych of three books in one this publication intends to enrich our theoretical understanding of urban interventions. Urban design theorist and historian Wim Nijenhuis engages various philosophers and a spectrum of disciplines such as urbanism architecture history media science and art in each section: a treatise on urban history essays about the condition of the city in our media age and meditations about epistemological problems that in turn question the practice of critical writing and propose a shift in worldview