This second volume in the Future Cities Laboratory Indicia series focuses on the tools, methods and approaches needed for urban research. In short, following Marshall McLuhan's famous provocation, the editors focus less on the message and more on the medium of research. This involves retreating from research contents--the topics, themes, questions, hypotheses, insights, ideas, concepts and thoughts--for the moment to consider the materials, methods, tools, techniques and approaches that support them.

This change in perspective reveals a rich array of research approaches that include two- and three-dimensional mapping of vegetation, temperature and humidity, in conjunction with point cloud terrestrial and airborne laser-scanning technology; gathering data from sensors and geospatial data and the emergence of "solution spaces" and multi-dimensional complexity science; subject-oriented approaches to behavioral and cognitive decision making in city navigation.