The book concludes by suggesting that if modernist representations of the city dovetail with current concerns among urban theorists, none of the writers under investigation dismisses the idea of development per se. Rather, their visions of the mundane aspects of civic life, technological modernisation, urban collectivity and public works offer an alternative to postmodern urbanism, insofar as the idea of development is reimagined on reparative and redistributive terms. Consequently, urban writing from beyond the imperial centre is seen to restore certain properly ‘modernist’ energies to the field.