1968年，作者發表了他的第一篇學術文章，“真的有都市社會學嗎？"。三十二年後，現在回頭來看這段親身對於城市的社會研究的參與經驗，答案是：有，不過是以前有；沒有，現在沒有；但是，如果幸運點，會在廿一世紀復活，發展一些新的概念，新的研究方法，以及新的主題，因為都市社會對於我們對生活的理解比過去更顯必要。作者特別針對華文讀者在論文前言說了一些有針對性的話，提供本刊城際網絡間的讀者參考。

　　　　　In 1968 the author published his first academic article, under the title "Is there an urban sociology?". Thirty-two tears later, with the hindsight of historical perspective and a life of practicing social research on cities, the answer is: yes, there was; no, there is currently not; but perhaps, with luck, it will resurge in the twenty-first century, with new concepts, new methods, and new themes, because it is more necessary than ever to make sense of our lives. The author especially says few words in the beginning of this article for Chinese readers as well as the reference of the readers of this journal of intercity networking.