Research Catalog

Title

The transformation of cities : urban theory and urban life / David C. Thorns.

Author

Thorns, David C.

Publication

New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xiii, 258 pages : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

• "This text offers an excellent wide-ranging introduction to the changing forms and experiences of the urban. It examines how modern cities have been reshaped over the second part of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. In doing so, it explores and assesses the systems of explanation that have been developed in order to advance our understanding of contemporary transformations in urban life.
• Throughout, discussion of theory is married with grounded analysis of actual cities around the world, and case studies are provided to illustrate the diversity of urban experience as it is shaped by distinctive histories and contexts." "This is the perfect text for the student and non-specialist reader wanting to understand the nature of cities in an increasingly global world."--BOOK JACKET.

Subjects

• Sociology, Urban
• Cities and towns > History > 20th century

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 236-254) and index.

Contents

• 1. Introduction. An Urban Millennium. Urban Analysis and Urban Transformation. Structure of the Book -- 2. Industrial-Modern Cities. Origins and Growth of the Pre-industrial City. Industrial City. Suburban Development in First-world Cities during the Twentieth Century. Explanations for the Growth and Shape of the Industrial-Modern City -- 3. Demographic Change and the City. Introduction. Demography of Global Cities. Household Structure Changes. Youth versus Age. Regional Changes - Urbanising World. Changes to Regional Spatial Distributions. Migration and City Change -- 4. Global Cities. Introduction. Modern to Postmodern Cities. Socio-economic Analysis - Postmodernity. Two Faces of the Postmodern City. Postmodernism - Epistemological Challenges. Postmodern Critique. From World Systems to Globalisation. Global Dynamics. Global and the Local -- 5. Everyday Life in the City. Introduction. Meaning of House and Home. Non-material Dimensions of House and Home.
• Home as a Site of Work. Neighbourhood and Community. Analysis of Community. Neighbourhood -- 6. Consumption and Urban Culture. Defining Consumption. Collective Consumption. Commodification. Commodification and the City. Consumer Culture. Shopping. The Development of Shopping. Theme Parks. Theme Parks - History and Development. Urban Tourism and Place-making -- 7. Urban Social Inequality and Social Exclusion. Introduction. Definitions of Social Exclusion. Causes of Social Exclusion. Patterns of Social Exclusion -- 8. Planning and the Urban Environment. Introduction. Planning and the City. Urban Governance. Urban Struggles -- 9. The Sustainable City. Introduction. Sustainable Development. Critique of Sustainability. The Aotearoa/New Zealand Resource Management Act, 1991. New Urbanism/Smart Growth -- 10. Reflections.

ISBN

• 0333745965 (cloth)
• 0333745973 (paper)

LCCN

• 2002020061
• 9780333745977

OCLC

• ocm48943542
• SCSB-9240403

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries