What is the Small Towns Network?

The Small Towns Network is an international, interdisciplinary forum for research on small towns and cities from the Middle Ages to the present. Small towns are a global phenomenon: they mediate between urban and rural society, anchor the urban hierarchy and remain important centres of economic and cultural activity. Their role is highly relevant to current debates on inequality, population decline and resilience, yet they have long been neglected by research. The network promotes comparative, transnational and interdisciplinary studies that bring together scholars from the Global North and South.

Established at the EAUH conference in Barcelona in September 2026, the network is coordinated by Peter Clark (University of Helsinki) and guided by a committee of ten researchers. The network circulates news on researchers, projects and publications, encourages session proposals for conferences such as EAUH and the Global UH Network, reports on conferences and supports joint projects. The IStG is a partner of the network and contributes its expertise in comparative urban history. Small and medium-sized towns are a recurring focus of its work, for example in the Historical Atlas of Westphalian Towns (Bilstein/Lennestadt, Bödefeld, Bad Oeynhausen).