Conclusion

The conclusion argues that the study of debates on urban change in Berlin and Cairo reveals a parallel periodization in the history of these two cities. During the second half of the nineteenth century, contemporaries in both places moved from associating the transformation of these cities with shifting emotions to efforts of actively shaping the emotions of city dwellers through reform. The conclusion presents the argument that the prominence of emotions in these debates can be explained through their functionality as being both universal and adaptable to a local context. Drawing on this similarity, it calls for a reconsideration of regional categories in historical research on cities with a stronger focus on the role of empire, capitalism, and nationalism as components of a potentially global urban history.