Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the historiography on urban network theory explaining the urban models that influenced the theory. It defines the book’s theme, the urban logistics network, and explains why the theme is relevant by pointing out to several gaps in the literature in three areas: the spatial terminologies and scale, the shapes of networks, and the agency of networks. Four parts of the book (I. Single Gateway, II. Changing Shapes of the Urban Network, III. The Making of the Regional Network, and IV. Using the Network) are explained in the process. The chapter clarifies the book’s aim to provide empirical case studies that can be used as tools for other researchers to model their own urban networks.