The town hall emerged during the Middle Ages in the cities of northern Italy. The development of this type of building is strongly linked to the rise of the European city and of the bourgeoisie. The sixteen town halls in this book all date from the twentieth century, when representative democracy was introduced at the local level in most Western European countries. This placed new demands on the town hall. For example, the monumental, representative character was reduced over time in favor of a neutral office-like appearance. Included in this book are town halls by the likes of: Alvar Aalto, Ben van Berkel, H.P. Berlage, W.M. Dudok, Erick van Egeraat, Norman Foster and Rafael Moneo.