"Forma urbis: five cities under suspicion", by Josep Parcerisaoffers a retrospective on the recent urban history offive Spanish cities: Malaga, Granada, Tarragona, A Coruñaand Palma de Mallorca. Based on his findings in Trieste,Italy, the author reveals that the general configuration of acity is not necessarily the result of systemic discussions ora master plan. The urban shape is, on the contrary, determinedby the echo of smaller decisions, as specific as thecreation of a new street, a plaza or a building. A complete set of documents for each of these cities, includingan essential graphic support, gives us the keys fortheir modern construction. Moreover, the book theorizesthat forma urbis is no longer a simplistic interpretation ofan existing city. It has become though a design opportunityfor change, in which how to merge the existing city and thenew city remains the main question.