Introduction to Cities - How Place and Space Shape Human Experience

The revised and updated second edition of Introduction to Cities explores why cities are such a vital part of the human experience and how they shape our everyday lives. Written in engaging and accessible terms, Introduction to Cities examines the study of cities through two central concepts: that cities are places, where people live, form communities, and establish their own identities, and that they are spaces, such as the inner city and the suburb, that offer a way to configure and shape the material world and natural environment.
 
Introduction to Cities covers the theory of cities from an historical perspective right through to the most recent theoretical developments. The authors offer a balanced account of life in cities and explore both positive and negative themes. In addition, the text takes a global approach, with examples ranging from Berlin and Chicago to Shanghai and Mumbai. The book is extensively illustrated with updated maps, charts, tables, and photographs.
 
This new edition also includes a new section on urban planning as well as new chapters on cities as contested spaces, exploring power and politics in an urban context. It contains; information on the status of poor and marginalized groups and the impact of neoliberal policies; material on gender and sexuality; and presents a greater range of geographies with more attention to European, Latin American, and African cities.
 
Revised and updated, Introduction to Cities provides a complete introduction to the history, evolution, and future of our modern cities.

Sommario

List of illustrations xi
 
List of tables xvii
 
List of boxes xviii
 
About the authors xx
 
Acknowledgments xxi
 
Walk-through tour xxiii
 
Part I The foundations 5
 
1 Cities as places and spaces 6
 
Cities as places 9
 
Exploring further 1.1 11
 
Identity, community, and security 14
 
Places as the site of our identity 14
 
Places as the site of community 15
 
Places as sites of security 16
 
Studying the city 1.1 17
 
Human beings make and remake places 17
 
Place and space 20
 
Studying the city 1.2 21
 
Making the city better 1.1 24
 
Cities shape the fates of human beings 25
 
Cities and people 26
 
2 Social theories of urban space and place: The early perspectives 28
 
The social and theoretical roots of modern urban theory 29
 
Studying the city 2.1 31
 
Ferdinand Tönnies: Community and society 32
 
Georg Simmel: The metropolis and mental life 33
 
Tönnies and Simmel: Further reflections 35
 
The Chicago School of Sociology 38
 
The city as social space 39
 
The city, social change, and social order 40
 
Studying the city 2.2 42
 
Life in the city as a way of life 44
 
Making the city better 2.1 46
 
Early social theories of urban life 47
 
3 Social theories of urban space and place: Perspectives in the post-World War II era 49
 
Theoretical descendents of Marx 50
 
Manuel Castells and the urban question 50
 
David Harvey: Injustice and inequality in the city 51
 
John Logan and Harvey Molotch: The city as a growth machine 53
 
Making the city better 3.1 54
 
Making the city better 3.2 56
 
Further reflections: Marx and the critique of modern cities 57
 
The return to place and the turn to culture 58
 
Jane Jacobs and the discovery of community in the modern metropolis 58
 
Studying the city 3.1 59
 
Sharon Zukin and the turn to culture 61
 
Exploring further 3.1 63
 
Going global: The 1980s and the creation of the global city 66
 
Evaluating theories of the city 69
 
4 Methods and rules for the study of cities 72
 
First rules for doing a social science of cities 74
 
The rule of validity 74
 
The rule of reliability 76
 
Exploring further 4.1 77
 
Cities and the question of numbers 78
 
Studying the city 4.1 79
 
The city as a case study 80
 
The city as the typical case 82
 
The city as a prototypical case 85
 
Ethnographic and historical case studies 87
 
Ethnographic case studies 87
 
Studying the city 4.2 89
 
Historical case studies 90
 
From one to multiple cases 91
 
Studying the city 4.3 94
 
A last but very important rule on doing a good social science of cities: Fitting good theory to good methods 94
 
And what about insight? 95
 
Part II The changing metropolis 99
 
5 The metropolis and its expansion: Early insights and basic principles 100
 
Metropolitan growth: Basic features 102
 
The metropolis and its expansion 104
 
The center of the city 105
 
The zone of transition 106
 
The zone of commuters 106
 
Assessing the concentric zone theory 106
 
The natural areas of the city 107
 
Alternative views of the city 107
 
Studying the city 5.1 108
 
The mobility of people and groups in the metropolis 109
 
Social differences and migration in the metropoli

Info autore

Xiangming Chen is the founding Dean and Director of the Center for Urban and Global Studies and Paul Raether Distinguished Professor of Global Urban Studies and Sociology at Trinity College, Hartford, and a guest professor in the School of Social Development and Public Policy at Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Anthony M. Orum is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. He was the founding editor of the journal City & Community. Krista E. Paulsen is Associate Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Florida, USA.

Riassunto

The revised and updated second edition of Introduction to Cities explores why cities are such a vital part of the human experience and how they shape our everyday lives. Written in engaging and accessible terms, Introduction to Cities examines the study of cities through two central concepts: that cities are places, where people live, form communities, and establish their own identities, and that they are spaces, such as the inner city and the suburb, that offer a way to configure and shape the material world and natural environment.

Introduction to Cities covers the theory of cities from an historical perspective right through to the most recent theoretical developments. The authors offer a balanced account of life in cities and explore both positive and negative themes. In addition, the text takes a global approach, with examples ranging from Berlin and Chicago to Shanghai and Mumbai. The book is extensively illustrated with updated maps, charts, tables, and photographs.

This new edition also includes a new section on urban planning as well as new chapters on cities as contested spaces, exploring power and politics in an urban context. It contains; information on the status of poor and marginalized groups and the impact of neoliberal policies; material on gender and sexuality; and presents a greater range of geographies with more attention to European, Latin American, and African cities.

Revised and updated, Introduction to Cities provides a complete introduction to the history, evolution, and future of our modern cities.

Dettagli sul prodotto

• Autori: X Chen, Xiangmin Chen, Xiangming Chen, Xiangming (University of Illinois Chicago) O Chen, Xiangming Orum Chen, Chen Xiangming, Anthony Orum, Anthony M Orum, Anthony M. Orum, Orum Anthony M., Krista E Paulsen, Krista E. Paulsen, Paulsen Krista E.
• Editore: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Lingue: Inglese
• Formato: Tascabile
• Pubblicazione: 30.04.2018
• EAN: 9781119167716
• ISBN: 978-1-119-16771-6
• Pagine: 432
• Categorie: Scienze naturali, medicina, informatica, tecnica > Geoscienze > Geografia; Scienze sociali, diritto, economia > Sociologia > Teorie sociologiche; Soziologie, Geographie, Sociology, Geography, Stadtsoziologie, Stadtgeographie, Urban Sociology, Urban geography, Geography - Planning, Geographie / Planung