Characterising urban life, City in Transition is the second volume reporting on the archaeology of the continuing excavation of Silchester Insula IX, taking the story down to the early 2nd century. In describing the evidence for the occupation of the 2nd and 3rd centuries it follows on from Life and Labour in Late Roman Silchester (2006), which published the late Roman occupation. Geochemical and micromorphological analyses inform the interpretation of the use of space within buildings and, together with the study of an abundant material culture and environmental record, provide a rich characterisation of the houses and their occupants. The report sheds important light on the urban condition, debating such themes as population density, status, occupation, diet and domestic ritual.