Key Concepts In Urban Studies

"Key Concepts in Urban Studies is written in an accessible, concise way and introduces students to the key topics in urban studies. Drawing examples from different parts of the world, this authoritative resource exposes students to the diverse forms that cities take, and the social, spatial and temporal dimensions of urban living. It is an essential resource for students across disciplines interested in the city." - Lily Kong, Singapore Management University "An insightful multidisciplinary introduction to the multifarious places, processes and problems that constitute modern cities. Its short, digestible entries unpack the complexity and evolution of urban conditions, offering cross-references between concepts and links to key literature and to useful current and historical examples. The book’s clear, often sharp critical edge also encourages deeper enquiry." - Quentin Stevens, School of Architecture and Design, RMIT University Key Concepts in Urban Studies is an essential companion for students of urban studies, urban sociology, urban politics, urban planning and urban development. This revised edition has been updated and expanded to provide a keen global focus, particularly in emerging economies with discussions on the creation of "dream cities" in the Gulf States and a renewed emphasis on building mega-scaled "downtowns" in India and China. New features include: Contemporary and international examples throughout. Detailed entries on environmental concerns and the sustainability of urban development. Discussion of the role of consumption in city culture and urban development. New entries on modern urban planning and adaptive urbanism. Key Concepts in Urban Studies is a must-have text with an explicit focus on contemporary urbanism which students will find invaluable during their studies. Mark Gottdiener is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at The University at Buffalo (SUNY). Leslie Budd is Reader in Social Science at the Open University. Panu Lehtovuori is Professor of Planning Theory at Tampere University of Technology.

This series provides students with accessible and authoritative knowledge of the essential topics in a variety of disciplines. Cross-referenced throughout, the format encourages critical evaluation through understanding.

"This extraordinary collage of sophisticated essays on key terms in urban geography both provides a conventional basis to and recasts innovatively a burgeoning field in the discipline." - Roger Keil, co-Editor, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research "The city is an obvious but confounding object of geographical analysis; urban structure and life are shaped by an astounding array of social, economic, and political dynamics. This volume embraces these complexities of city form in a wide-ranging, readable, well-informed, and highly interdisciplinary analysis of key topics in urban studies. With its fresh approach, this book provides an accessible entry point for the newcomer to urban geography, yet also delivers creative insights for those with greater familiarity." - Professor Steven K. Herbert, University of Washington Organized around 20 short essays, Key Concepts in Urban Geography provides a cutting-edge introduction to the central concepts that define contemporary research in urban geography. Involving detailed and expansive discussions, the book includes: An introductory chapter providing a succinct overview of the recent developments in the field. Over 20 key concept entries with comprehensive explanations, definitions and evolutions of the subject. A glossary, figures, diagrams and suggested further reading. This is an ideal companion text for upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate students in urban geography and covers the expected staples of the subdiscipline from global cities and urban nature to transnational urbanism and virtuality.

"I have been looking for a book which does this for ages! It provides a clear explanation of the different elements and concepts which underpin how the planning system works and which are fundamental to the operation of the UK system. It also provides good guidance on further reading. A real assett to anyone wanting to understand the nature of planning in the UK" - Dr Catherine Hammond, Architecture and Planning, Sheffield Hallam University Key Concepts in Planning forms part of an innovative set of companion texts for the human geography sub-disciplines. Organized around 19 short essays, the book provides a cutting edge introduction to the central concepts that define contemporary research in planning. Involving detailed and expansive discussions, the text includes: An introductory chapter providing a succinct overview of the recent developments in the field. 18 key concept entries with comprehensive explanations, definitions and evolutions of the subject. Detailed suggested further reading for each concept discussed. It is an ideal companion text for upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate students in planning, and covers the expected staples of the discipline in an accessible style.

This open access textbook is a comprehensive introduction to space syntax method and theory for graduate students and researchers. It provides a step-by-step approach for its application in urban planning and design. This textbook aims to increase the accessibility of the space syntax method for the first time to all graduate students and researchers who are dealing with the built environment, such as those in the field of architecture, urban design and planning, urban sociology, urban geography, archaeology, road engineering, and environmental psychology. Taking a didactical approach, the authors have structured each chapter to explain key concepts and show practical examples followed by underlying theory and provided exercises to facilitate learning in each chapter. The textbook gradually eases the reader into the fundamental concepts and leads them towards complex theories and applications. In summary, the general competencies gain after reading this book are: – to understand, explain, and discuss space syntax as a method and theory; – be capable of undertaking various space syntax analyses such as axial analysis, segment analysis, point depth analysis, or visibility analysis; – be able to apply space syntax for urban research and design practice; – be able to interpret and evaluate space syntax analysis results and embed these in a wider context; – be capable of producing new original work using space syntax. This holistic textbook functions as compulsory literature for spatial analysis courses where space syntax is part of the methods taught. Likewise, this space syntax book is useful for graduate students and researchers who want to do self-study. Furthermore, the book provides readers with the fundamental knowledge to understand and critically reflect on existing literature using space syntax.

Urban studies is concerned with the study of the urban development of a city. It primarily focuses on the history of development of the city from an architectural perspective as well as the impact of urban design on the community development efforts. It helps to understand the values and development of humans as well as their interaction with their physical environment. Urban studies is an interdisciplinary field that uses concepts from various academic disciplines such as geography, economics, public health, sociology and environmental studies. It focuses on the study of the interactions of the residents within the city, and how race and gender differences lead to social inequalities. This book is a compilation of chapters that discuss the most vital concepts in the field of urban studies. It explores all the important aspects of this field in the present day scenario. The book is appropriate for students seeking detailed information in this area as well as for experts.

Literary Urban Studies and How to Practice It is the first textbook in literary urban studies (LUS). It illuminates and investigates this exciting field, which has grown since the humanities’ ‘spatial turn’ of the 1990s and 2000s. The book introduces city literature, urban methods of reading, classics in LUS and new directions in the field. It outlines the located qualities of literary narratives, texts and events through three units. First, the concept of the city and the main methods and terms needed as tools for investigating city literatures are introduced. A second section, ordered historically, shows how notions like pre-modern, realist, modernist, postcolonial and planetary actually work in nuanced explorations of actual writers, texts and places. The third unit covers literary urban modes: fictional and non-fictional prose in multiple genres; poetry and the idea of the city; dramatic city representation and the theatre as urban place. Multiple key categories of place are explored: the sacred spaces of religion; entry points such as railway stations and junctions; residential areas such as the ‘slum’, suburb and mass housing district; hubs of publishing and performance; categories of city such as the port and resort. In each chapter key terms, reflection questions and tasks labelled ‘Research It’ support reference and learning. Some Research It tasks enable readers to enter new areas of LUS by engaging with neighbouring disciplines like human geography, cultural history, sociology and urban studies. Others equip users by sharpening particular skills of writing or documentation. A thorough glossary of key terms and concepts aids the reader. Literary Urban Studies and How to Practice It is designed for application to literatures and cities in any period and part of the world. Armed with it, humanities researchers at any career stage can develop their interdisciplinary skills and ability to participate in activism and public debates while becoming specialised in LUS. The book is a gateway to practicing LUS and spatial literary research.

This handbook is a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary and up-to-date account of the urban condition, and of the theories through which the structure, development and changing character of the city is understood.

Key Thinkers on Cities provides an engaging introduction to the dynamic intellectual field of urban studies. It profiles the work of 40 innovative thinkers who represent the broad reach of contemporary urban scholarship and whose ideas have shaped the way cities around the world are understood, researched, debated and acted upon. Providing a synoptic overview that spans a wide range of academic and professional disciplines, theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches, the entry for each key thinker comprises: A succinct introduction and overview Intellectual biography and research focus An explication of key ideas Contributions to urban studies The book offers a fresh look at well-known thinkers who have been foundational to urban scholarship, including Jane Jacobs, Henri Lefebvre, Manuel Castells and David Harvey. It also incorporates those who have helped to bring a concern for cities to more widespread audiences, such as Jan Gehl, Mike Davis and Enrique Peñalosa. Notably, the book also includes a range of thinkers who have more recently begun to shape the study of cities through engagements with art, architecture, computer modelling, ethnography, public health, post-colonial theory and more. With an introduction that provides a mapping of the current transdisciplinary field, and individual entries by those currently involved in cutting edge urban research in the Global North and South, this book promises to be an essential text for anyone interested in the study of cities and urban life. It will be of use to those in the fields of anthropology, economics, geography, sociology and urban planning.