<<The>> city in cultural context

Although there has been an explosion of information and research in urban geography and in urban studies generally since 1960, the study of cities and of urbanization has remained unbalanced. We have often forgotten that it is people - through institutions - who have the central role in building and developing cities, and in bringing about the various transformations embodied in the urbanization process.A major problem has been caused by assigning too much explanatory power to such concepts as 'the market,' and 'the mode of production,' while not paying enough attention to human actions and to the attitudes, values, and beliefs that relate to those actions. We have not attended to Park's dictum (Park 1936, p.133): 'Cities . .. are, with all their complexities and artificialities, man's most imposing creation, the most prodigious of human artifacts.' By saying so, however, we are not imputing unlimited authority or even equal authority to all individuals to make decisions regarding city building or urbanization. Nor do we endorse the beguiling but dangerous notion of consumer sovereignty.The self-confidence of behavioral studies and analyses of decision making has been shaken by work that has laid bare the constraints under which human intentions are realized. These constraints, which are real enough and have had varying influence on different people in different contexts, are themselves socially constructed. They are the result of human agency, past and present. Cover THE CITY IN CULTURAL CONTEXT Title Page Copyright Page Preface Table of Contents List of tables List of plates 1 Introduction The city in cultural context Urban studies: themes and perspectives Organization of the book References 2 Reflections on the cultural geography of the European city Introduction Is there a European city? Urban regions of medieval Europe Impact of the Renaissance Forms of social interaction and the regionalization of European cities Conclusion Notes References 3 Culture and the urban order Introduction Culture Order The urban order Conclusion Notes References 4 Culture and economy in the shaping of urban life: general issues and Latin American examples Introduction The city in Latin America The cultural influence on urban life Notes References 5 Culture, 'modes of production,' and the changing nature of cities in the Arab World Neocolonial countries State socialist countries 'Charity case' countries Oil and sand countries Summary Notes References 6 The urban culture and the suburban culture: a new look at an old paper The argument Changes since 1967 Factors for the future Conclusion References 7 The Soviet city: continuity and change in privilege and place The Russian city and the autocracy Privilege and place in the Russian city The ideal urban culture and form of the Soviet socialist city The relationship between the city and state Privilege and place in the contemporary Soviet city Summary Notes References 8 Japanese urban society and its cultural context The political and economic determinants Japanese urban society: aspects of life in Tokyo Conclusion Notes References 9 City as a mirror of society: China, tradition and transformation The traditional Chinese city The Western presence The Communist revolution and after Notes References 10 Autonomous and directed cultural change: South African urbanization Retrospect Majority urbanization Minority urbanization Conclusion Notes References 11 The built environment and cultural symbolism in post-colonial Madras Introduction Madras: a case in point Indian urbanization in comparative perspective Notes References 12 A cultural analysis of urban residential landscapes in North America: the case of the anglophile élite A cultural approach to urban residential landscape The dominant image of the English landscape The landscape of anglophile élites: Westchester and Vancouver Controlling the residential landscape Conclusion Notes References 13 Commentary Some problems The virtue of comparison Drawing comparisons: a first step References Contributors Index Pt. I. The Study Of The Urban -- Urban Education: Policy Science Or Critical Scholarship? / Gerald Grace -- Urban Education And The Current Crisis / Rachel Sharp -- Theorising The Urban: Some Approaches For Students Of Education / Gerald Grace -- Historical Location -- Reconstructing The History Of Urban Education In America / Sol Cohen -- University Settlements, Class Relations And The City / Tony Evans -- Urban, The Domestic And Education For Girls / Mica Nava -- Contemporary Policy And Practice -- Policy For Schools In Inner London / Frances Morrell -- Education In New York City: Public Schools For Whom? / Dale Mann -- Contradictions And Constraints In An Inner City Infant School / Jan Lee -- Teachers For The Inner City: Change And Continuity / Christopher Cook. Edited By Gerald Grace. First Published In 1984--t.p. Verso. The City; Sociology Of The City--p. Preceding T.p. Routledge Library Editions--the City--cover. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. Contemporary urban studies engages a wide range of approaches in the analysis of the processes at work in urban areas. These approaches derive from anthropology, economics, geography, history, politics and sociology as well as from the professional experience of town planning and architecture. Social process and the city reflects this growing cross-disciplinary engagement. This shows the important, problematic, role which cities in particular, and urban change in general have played in the growth of Australia. The overriding concern of each .. As the complexities and interdependencies of modern life increased, so have the resolve to combat the environmental and social ills to which these give rise. This book focuses on the framework of urban problems - the changing demographic, social and economic structure, the shortage of land and transport needs of a complex industrial society.

Routledge Library Editions: The City reprints some of the most important works in urban studies published in the last century.

For further information on this collection please email info.research@routledge.co.uk.

Written in a lively and accessible style, the individual chapters of 'The City' offer a thematic overview of four dominant ways of approaching cities: as lived-in places, as imagined spaces, as networks of association and as technologies of flow First published in 1976, this book applies the historical materialist, or Marxist view of urban sociology and collates some fundamental sources of this perspective.