Abstract: In the current research of urban politics, the problem of “city vacancy” stands out: the city is only regarded as a container to accommodate various economic, political and social issues rather than a structural factor that shapes the above phenomena. The way to change this situation is to regain “Urbanism”—shaping the city as an entity that plays a structural role and taking it as the disciplinary boundary of urban studies. For domestic research on urban politics which is still at an initial stage of mainly introducing western theories, the perspective of “bringing the city back” can lay a solid foundation for the establishment of its own research framework.

Key words:  , Urbanism, urban politics, bringing the city back