Here is a list of essential reading for those interested in cities-

History of Urban Form
Jane Jacobs. The Death and Life of Great American Cities.
Lewis Mumford. The City in History.
Spiro Kostof. The City Shaped.
Shaping the City: Studies in History, Theory and Urban Design / Edited by: Edward Robbins and Rodolphe El-Khoury.- London: Routledge, 2004.
A.E.J. Morris, History of Urban Form before the Industrial Revolution, Prentice Hall 1996
Easterling, Keller. 2005. Enduring Innocence
Hall, Peter. Cities of Tomorrow: An Intellectual History of Urban Planning and Design Since 1880

Urban Design
Alexander, Christopher et. al. A New Theory of Urban Design. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.
Bacon, Edmund N. Design of Cities. New York: Viking Press, 1974.
Chase, John, and Margaret Crawford and John Kaliski, eds. Everyday Urbanism. New York: Monacelli Press, 1999.
Holl, Steven. Alphabetical City. New York: Pamphlet Architecture, 1980.
Jacobs, Allan B. Great Streets. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1993.
Kelbaugh, Douglas. Common Place. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1997.
Repairing the American Metropolis. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2002.
Koolhaus, Rem. Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.
Lynch, Kevin. The Image of the City. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1980.
The Theory of Good City Form. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1981.
Mitchell, William J. City of Bits: Space, Place and the Infobahn. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1995.
Newman, Oscar. Defensible Space. New York: Collier Books, 1973.
Newman, Peter and Jeffrey Kenworthy. Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Rowe, Collin and Fred Koetter. Collage City. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1978.
Tschumi, Bernard. Event Cities: Praxis. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1994.
Venturi, Robert and Denis Scott Brown and Steven Izenour. Learning From Las Vegas: The Forgotten Symbolism of Architectural Form. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1977.
Jacobs, Jane. 1993. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: The Modern Library.
Larice, Michael, and Elizabeth Macdonald, eds. 2007. The Urban Design Reader. The Routledge Urban Reader Series., eds. Richard T. LeGates, Frederic Stout. New York: Routledge.
Wolfe, Tom. From Bauhaus to Our House. New York: Bantam Books.
Urban Theory: A Critical Assessment / John Rennie Short/ New York: Palgrave, 2006
Urban Design A Typology of Procedures and Products/ Jon Lang.- Amsterdam, Elsevier, 2005.
Urban Design Reader/ Edited by: Matthew Carmona and Steve Tiesdell.- Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2007.
Public Places – Urban Spaces: The Dimensions of Urban Design / Matthew Carmona… [et. al].- Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2003.
The Urban Design Reader/ Edited by: Michael Larice and Elizabeth Macdonald.- London:Routledge, 2007.
The Code of the City: Standard and the Hidden Language of Place Making / Eran Ben- Joseph.- London: MIT Press , 2005.
Creating a Vibrant City Center: Urban design and Regeneration Principles/ Cy Paumier .- Washington: ULI, 2004.
Design First: Design – Based Planning for Communities/ David Walters and Linda Luise Brown .- Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2004.
Gordon Cullen, The Concise Townscape, The Architectural Press, 1978
Identity by Design/ Georgia Butina Watson and Lan Bentley.- Amsterdam: Elsevier,2007.
Integral Urbanism/ Nan Ellin.- New York: Routledge, 2006.
Gosling and Maitland, Urban Design, St. Martin’s Press, 1984
Jonathan Barnett, An Introduction to Urban Design
Powe, Peter. 1991. Making the Middle Landscape
Moor, Malcolm & Rowland, Jon Urban Design Futures
Shane, David G Urban Design Since 1945: A Global Perspective

Cities
Caro, Robert A. The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York. New York: Vintage Books, 1995.
Florida, Richard. The Rise of the Creative Class. New York: Basic Books, 2002.
Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Random House, 1961.
Olsen, Donald J. The City as a Work of Art: London, Paris, Vienna. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986.
Sassen, Saskia. The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Scully, Vincent J. American Architecture and Urbanism. New York: Praeger, 1969.
Sherwood, Roger. Modern Housing Prototypes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978.
Solomon, Daniel. Global City Blues. Washington: Island Press, 2003.
Stern, Robert A.M. et al. New York 1900: Metropolitan Architecture and Urbanism, 1890 – 1915. New York: Rizzoli, 1983.
New York 1930: Architecture and Urbanism Between Two World Wars. New York: Rizzoli, 1987.
New York 1960: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Second World War and the Bicentennial. New York, Monacelli Press, 1995.
Calthorpe, Peter and William Fulton The Regional City. Washington: Island Press, 2001.
Newman, Peter and Jeffrey Kenworthy Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence. Washington: Island Press, 2004.
Urban Future 21: A Global Agenda for Twenty – First century Cities / Peter Hall and Ulrich Pfeiffer.- London: Spon Press, 2000.
Redesigning Cities: Principles, Practice, Implementation / Jonathan Barnett.- Chicago: APA,2003.
Private Cities: Global and Local Perspectives/ Edited by: Georg Glasze, Chris Webster and Klaus Frantz/ London: Routledge, 2006.
Lawrence Halprin, Cities, Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New York, 1964
Brugmann, Jeb Welcome to the Urban Revolution: How Cities are Changing The World
Davis, Mike Planet of Slums
Clark, David Urban World/Global City
Glaeser, Edward, Triumph of the City: How our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier.
Neuwirth, Robert Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World
Perlman, Janice Favela: Four Decades of Living in the Edge in Rio de Janerio

Urban Planning and Policy
A Planners Dictionary / Edited by: Michael Savidson and Fay Dolnick .- [USA]: APA, [2004].
Classic Readings in Urban Planning / Edited by: Jay M. Stein. – Chicago: APA, 2004.
Collaborative Planning: Shaping Places in Fragmented Societies / Patsy Healey.- London: Patsy Healey, 1997.
Planning , Law and Economics: An Investigation of the Rules We Make for Using Land/ Barrie Needham .- London: Routledge , 2006.
Planning and Design Strategies for Sustainability and Profit: Pragmatic Sustainable design on Building and Urban Scales/ Adrian Pitts.- Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2004.
Planning and Housing in the Rapidly Urbanising World/ Paul Jenkins, Harry Smith and Ya Ping Wang.- London: Routledge, 2007.
Planning and Urban Change / Stephan V.Ward.- London: Sage Publication, 2004
Planning and Urban Design Standards/ American Planning Association; Graphics Editor: Emina Sendich .- New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons , 2006.
Planning at the Land-Scape Scale/ Paul Selman .- London: Routledge, 2006.
Planning Futures: New Directions for Planning Theory/ Edited by: Philip Allmendinger and Mark Tewdwr- Jones.- London:Routledge, 2002.
Planning in Britain: Understanding and Evaluating the Post-War System / Andrew W. Gilg.- London: Sage Publications, 2005.
Planning Reform in the New Century/ Edited by: Daniec R.Mandelker.-USA: APA, 2005.
Planning the Good Community: New Urbanism in Theory and Practice / Jill Grant.- London: Routledge, 2006.
Planning Theory for Practitioners/ Michael P. Brooks, AICP.- Chicago:APA, 2002.
Planning Twentieth Century Capital Cities/ Edited by: David L.A. Gordon.- London: Routledge, 2006.
Skills for Planning Practice / Ted Kitchen .- New york: Plagrave Macmilan, 2007.
Town and Country Planning in the UK / Barry CullingWorth and Vincent Nadin.- London: Routledge, 2006.
Comparative Planning Cultures/ Edited by: Bishwapriya Sanyal.- New York: Routledge, 2005.
Indicators for Urban and Regional Planning: The Interplay of Policy and Methods/ Cecilia Wong.- London: Routledge,2006.
Urban Complexity and Spatial Strategies: Towards a Relational Planning for Our time / Patsy Healey.- London: Routledge, 2007.

Sustainable Development
Sustainability Assessment: Criteria and Processes / Robert B. Gibson…[et.al].- London: Earthscan, 2005.
Sustainable Urban Development, Volume 1: The Framework and Protocols for Environmental Assessment/ Edited by: Steven Curwell, Mark Deakin and Martin Symes.- London: Routledge, 2005.
Evaluating Sustainable Development in the Built Environment / Peter S. Brandon and Patrizia Lombardi.- UK: Blackwell , 2005.
The green City: Sustainable Home , Sustainable Suburbs/ Nicholas Low…[et.al].- UK.: Routledge, 2005.
The Renewable City / Peter Droege.- UK.: John Wiley& Sons, 2006.
The Environmental Planning Handbook for Sustainable Communities and Regions / Tom Daniels and Katherine Danials.- Chicago: APA, 2003.
Land and Natural Development (Land) Code: Guidelines for Sustainable Land Development / Diana Balmori and Gaboury Benoit.- USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2007.
Forman, Richard. 1995. Land Mosaics: The Ecology of Landscapes and Regions
Calthorpe, Peter. Urbanism in the age of Climate Change
Newman, P & Jennings, I . Cities as Sustainable Ecosystems: Principles and Practices
Farr, D. Sustainable Urbanism : Design with Nature
Bell, S & Morse, S Measuring Sustainability: Learning from Doing
McDonough, W & Braungart, M Cradel to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
Rogers, R Cities for a Small Planet
Schor, J & Taylor, B Sustainable Planet: Solutions for the 21st Century
Thomas, R Sustainable Urban Design: An Environmental Approach
Hallsmith, G The Key to Sustainable Cities
Buijs, S, Tan, W & Tunas, D, ed. MegaCities: Exploring a Sustainable Future.
Girardet, Herbert Creating Sustainable Cities

Conservation/ Historic Preservation
Illustrated dictionary of Architectural Preservation / Ernest Burden.- New York: McGraw –Hill, 2004.
Kenneth Wiliamson, Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas 1st Edition, Routledge, 2010.
James Strike, Architecture in Conservation: Managing Development at Historic Sites, Routledge, 2012
Aylin Orbasli, Philip Grover, Architectural Conservation: Principles and Practice John Wiley & Sons, 2007.
Chukwunyere C. Ugochukwu, Urban Neighborhood Revitalization and Heritage Conservation: The Architecture of Urban Redesign,) Edwin Melen Press Ltd. 2006.
Revitalizing Historic Urban Quarters/ Steven Tiesdell ,Taner Oc and Tim Heath.-Oxford : Architectural Press: 1996.

Community Engagement
Community Participation Methods in Design and Planning/ Henry Sanoff.- New York : John Wiley & Sons, 2000.
Community Planning: An Introduction to the Comprehensive Plan/ Eric Damian Kelly and Barbara Becker.- Washington : Island Press , 2000
Designing Community: Charrettes, Master Plans and Form- Based Codes/David Walters.- Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2007.
Designing Public Consensus: The Civic Theater…/ Barbara Faga, Fasla.- New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2006.

Urban Housing
Housing Design Quality: Through Policy, Guidance and Review / Matthew Carmona.- London: Spon Press, 2001.
Housing Transformation Shaping the Space of Twenty- First Century Living/ Bridget Franklin.- London: Routledge, 2006.
Introduction to Residential Layout/ Mike Biddulph.-Amsterdom: Elsevier, 2007.
Incentive Zoning: Meeting Urban Design and Affordable Housing Objectives/ Marya Morris.- USA: APA, [n.d].
Habraken, N J Supports: an Alternative to Mass Housing
Turner, John Housing By People: Towards Autonomy in Building Environments
Turner, John Freedom to Build: Dweller Control of the Housing Process

Urban Governance and Management
Urban Governance, Voice and Poverty in the Developing World/ Nick Devas … [et.al].- London, Earthscan, 2004.
Management of Regeneration: Choices, Challenges and Dilemnas / John Diamond and Joyce Liddle.- London: Routledge, 2005.
Managing Cities Developing Countries: The Theory and Practice of …/ Meine Pieter van Dijk.- USA: Edward Elgar,2006.
Managing the Brief for Better Design/ Alastair Blyth John Worthington.- London: Spon Press, 2001.
Market Economy and Urban Change: Impacts in the Developing World/ Edited by: Roger Zetter and Mohamad Hamza.- London: Earthscan, 2004.
Municipalities and Finance: A Sourcebook for Capacity Building / Lan Blore, Nick Devas and Richard Slater.- London: Earthscan, 2004.
Public – Private Partnerships: Policy and Experience / Edited by: Abby Ghobadian … [et. al].- London , Palgrave, 2004.
Empowering Squatter Citizen: Local Government Civil Society… / Edited by: Diana Mitlin and David Satterthwaite.- London: EarthSacan, 2004.

Standards/ Toolkits/ References/ Manuals
Time-Saver Standards for Urban Design /Editors: Donald Watson…[et.al].- New York:McGraw-Hill, 2003.
Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards/ Leonard J.Hopper, RLA, Fasla.- USA: John Wiley 7 Sons, 2007.
The Urban Design Handbook: Techniques and Working Methods/ Ray Gindroz …[et.al].- New York: W.W.Norton, 2003.
Dictionary of Architecture & Construction/ Cyril M. Harris .- [New York]: McGraw- Hill, [n.d].
Element of Visual Design in the Landscape/ Simon Bell.- London: Spon Press, 2004.
Encyclopaedia of the City/ Edited by: Roger W.Caves.- London: Routledge, 2005.
The Visual Language of Spatial Planning: Exploring Cartographic …/ Stefanie Duhr.- London: Routledge, 2007.
The Dictionary of Urbanism / Robert Cowan.- [London] Streetwise Press, [2005].
The latest lllustrated Book of Development Definitions / Harvey S.Moskowitz and Carl G.Lindbloom.- New Jersey: Center for Urban Policy Research, 2004.
Landry, C The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators