Blackwell, 2005, x+342
This volume represents some of the major research in urban sociology during the past 25 years. The readings selected with three tensions or balances:
- to include a broad range of topics but focus on the most significant issues for scholars and policymakers;
- to emphasize works by sociologists but incorporate work from other disciplines; and
- to be accessible and interesting to undergraduates but include enough scholarly substance to engage graduate students.
The works included here are by no means a comprehensive survey of urban sociology. The intent behind this volume is to collect the original work of contemporary scholars in slightly abbreviated versions. Of the 20 readings in this collection, 16 are excerpts from books and 4 are articles from scholarly journals. Although they are recent works, they are likely to stand the test of time because of their solid contributions to central questions in the field of urban sociology.
Nancy Kleniewski (editor)
Contents
Introduction: Contemporary Issues in Urban Sociology
Part I: Recent Theoretical Perspectives on Cities and Society
1. The City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place
2. Urban Restructuring: A Critical View
3. Space and Status
4. Los Angeles and the Chicago School: Invitation to a Debate
5. Modernity, Post-modernity and Urban Culture
Part II: Globalization and Its Impact on Cities
6. Overview of Global Cities
7. The Urban–Rural Interface and Migration
8. Community, Ethnicity, and Urban Sociology
9. The New Urban Reality
10. The Return of the Sweatshop
Part III: The Changing Urban Economy
11. Understanding Homelessness: From Global to Local
12. Economic Restructuring and Redevelopment
13. Gentrification, Cuisine, and the Critical Infrastructure: Power and Centrality Downtown
14. Gazing on History
15. Neo-Bohemia: Art and Neighborhood Redevelopment in Chicago
Part IV: Urban Policy Choices
16. Chaos or Community? Directions for Public Policy
17. The Missing Link
18. Fortress LA
19. Economic Inequality and Public Policy: The Power of Place
20. The Challenge of Urban Sprawl
