Urban Theory: A critical introduction to power, cities and urbanism in the 21st

The Nile on eBay   Urban Theory by Alan Harding, Talja Blokland

This interdisciplinary introduction to urban theory explains how the concepts that help us understand the contemporary urban experience have developed and been applied. It discusses a wide range of work - within political science, economics, g

FORMATPaperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

What is Urban Theory? How can it be used to understand our urban experiences? Experiences typically defined by enormous inequalities, not just between cities but within cities, in an increasingly interconnected and globalised world. This book explains:Relations between urban theory and modernity in key ideas of the Chicago School, spatial analysis, humanistic urban geography, and 'radical' approaches like MarxismCities and the transition to informational economies, globalization, urban growth machine and urban regime theory, the city as an "actor"Spatial expressions of inequality and key ideas like segregation, ghettoization, suburbanization, gentrificationSocio-cultural spatial expressions of difference and key concepts like gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity and "culturalist" perspectives on identity, lifestyle, subcultureHow cities should be understood as intersections of horizontal and vertical - of coinciding resources, positions, locations, influencing how we make and understand urban experiences.Critical, interdisciplinary and pedagogically informed - with opening summaries, boxes, questions for discussion and guided further reading - Urban Theory: A Critical Introduction to Power, Cities and Urbanism in the 21st Century provides the tools for any student of the city to understand, even to change, our own urban experiences.

Author Biography

Alan Harding is Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy and Practice at the University of Liverpool Management School in the UK. Previously, he held posts at Manchester, Salford and Liverpool John Moores universities. His research interests are in urban and regional development, governance and policy and he has acted as an advisor on these issues for a wide range of leading agencies with interests in this field.Talja Blokland (1971) is an urban sociologist who has worked at Yale University, the University of Manchester and various Dutch universities. Since  2009, she has held the chair of Urban and Regional Sociology at Humboldt University in Berlin. Her publications include Urban Bonds (Polity 2003), Networked Urbanism (edited with Mike Savage, Ashgate 2008) and various articles on race and ethnicity in the city, poor neighbourhoods, urban violence, gentrification, urban middle classes and neighbourhood relations and everyday interactions.

Table of Contents

1. WHAT IS URBAN THEORY?Urban Studies and Urban TheoryWhat is Urban?What is Theory?And So What on Earth is Urban Theory?2. URBAN THEORIES UNDER CONDITIONS OF MODERNITYThe Chicago School and Urban EcologyUrban Geography and Spatial AnalysisThe Community Power DebateHumanistic (Urban) Geography'Radical′ ApproachesThe Legacy of Previous Theories and Their Challenges3. FROM THE URBAN CRISIS TO THE 'TRIUMPH OF THE CITY'Cities as Actors in a Globalising EconomyUrban Decline and ObsolescenceUrban Economic RenaissanceDiscussion4. CAN CITIES ACT? URBAN POLITICAL ECONOMY AND THE QUESTION OF AGENCYThe Rediscovery of Agency Within Urban TheoryIntroducing American Urban Political EconomyUrban Regimes and Growth MachinesThe Normative DimensionCritiques and Applications5. SPATIAL EXPRESSIONS OF INTRA-URBAN INEQUALITIESInequalities Versus Differentiations: Vertical and Horizontal ParadigmsCities as Sites of Resources: Space and InequalitiesSegregationSuburbanizationGentrificationGhettoization as a Spatial Process of MarginalizationNeighbourhood Effects: Spatial Profit and Disadvantage6. SPATIAL EXPRESSION OF DIFFERENTIATIONThe Cultural TurnThe City as a Realm of Community and LifestyleThe Subcultural ThesisThe Representational City: Public SpaceCultural Diversity: Identities in Public SpaceConclusion: Cities as Matrix of Resources7. URBAN THEORY RECONSIDEREDThe ′Crisis′ in Urban Theory RevisitedThe Performance of TheoriesThe Commensurability of TheoriesTheory, Politics and PracticeA New Urban Agenda?

Review

Just when we need it most, urban theory seems to be failing us. This book explains why we need it. -- Jamie PeckHarding and Blokland address the vaunted "crisis" in urban theory with a thoughtful assessment of extant theories in terms of performance, commensurability, and critical engagement. In a conversational and lively tone, they view theories of inequality, public space, identity, power, agency, and culture through the lens of "relaxed urban theory." Excellent overview for scholars and engaging classroom material. -- Susan E. ClarkeInspired by Peter Saunders's non-spatial urban thinking, Harding and Blokland's book provides a provocative, wide-ranging and comprehensive treatment of concepts geared to understand cities, and is a compulsory addition to any urban student's intellectual arsenal in a period of renewed interest in urban theory. -- Roger KeilUrban theory is said to be in a mess. Proceeding with great analytical clarity, this book introduces a relaxed definition of urban theory that enables the reader to make sense of the non-linear, variegated world of urban theory as it has developed over time and through the application of different disciplines, methods and epistemologies. In reviewing all the major conceptualisations of urban theory, Harding and Blokland provide clear insights into recent developments and the controversies and critiques they have provoked. The book is a pedagogical tour de force for students and scholars alike. -- Patrick Le Galès

Review Quote

Urban theory is said to be in a mess. Proceeding with great analytical clarity, this book introduces a

Details ISBN1446294528 Author Talja Blokland Year 2014 ISBN-10 1446294528 ISBN-13 9781446294529 Format Paperback Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom DEWEY 307.7601 Birth 1958 Pages 312 Publication Date 2014-05-13 Media Book Illustrations black & white illustrations, black & white halftones Short Title URBAN THEORY Language English Subtitle A critical introduction to power, cities and urbanism in the 21st century UK Release Date 2014-05-13 NZ Release Date 2014-05-13 Alternative 9781446294512 Audience Tertiary & Higher Education Publisher Sage Publications Ltd Imprint Sage Publications Ltd AU Release Date 2014-05-12 We've got this

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