The thesis focuses on early modern wooden urban settlements (c. 1400-1799) and their social aspects, mainly focusing on Swedish conditions but also looking at other countries. Swedish wooden buildings can in many ways represent a cross-section of society from the hut, to burgher houses and wooden castles. Wooden houses are often seen as hovels and unstable, even though houses have been preserved from the 13th century. Today there are only a few early modern wooden houses left in our cities, a consequence of the demolition frenzy of the 1960s, therefore archaeological urban surveys constitute our main source of knowledge about these environments. The survey includes houses built in; knotted timber, half-timber or cross-timber. Research on archaeological remains and antiquarian studies of the preserved houses can be combined. Farm environments in relation to the city plan and infrastructure are examined. Wood was ubiquitous and played a major role in the creation of early modern living culture. Other important aspects of wooden cities are their role in building the nation state. The period saw a change in urban society. Cities underwent regularization, meaning that houses and blocks had to be moved to fit into a new urban plan with straight streets, some cities were relocated for defence purposes and a number of new cities were established. In the wake of this reorganization, combined with fires and wars, large-scale production of houses was required, with the movable wooden house being crucial.