Urban Studies - Society (Four-Volume Set) (Sage Library Urban Studies) (1ST ed.)

Marc Notes:
Includes bibliographical references.;v. 1. Cities as social spaces -- v. 2. Experiencing the city -- v. 3. Designing and planning cities -- v. 4. Cities, ideas and ideals.

Biographical Note:
Ronan Paddison is Head of Department of Geography at the University of Glasgow. His primary research interests are in urban and regional government. He is currently working on an ESRC Cities Project, looking at issues of urban governance in Central Scotland. He is managing editor of Urban Studies, while also editing Space and Polity.

Wim Ostendorf is Associate Professor at the AMIDSt, Department of Geography and Planning of the University of Amsterdam. In teaching he is involved in research methodology, urban geography and geography of the Netherlands. In his research he concentrates on urbanisation processes in metropolitan regions and on issues with respect to population, segregation and housing. He was and still is engaged in European research projects such as Cost Civitas, URBEX and Neighbourhood Trajectories.

Donald McNeill is Associate Professor at the Urban Research Centre, University of Western Sydney. He is known for his research in urban geography, and in particular the relationship between architecture and urban space, with particular reference to skyscrapers, hotels, and airports. Having published widely on mayors and urban governance, he continues to research in urban politics and development in Barcelona and London.

Steve Tiesdell is Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Convenor of the CPD Programme and Director of Teaching and Learning in the Urban Studies department at the University of Glasgow. He has published widely in the fields of urban design, regeneration and the development process.

Susan Parnell is Professor and Director of the ′CityLab′ at the University of Cape Town (UCT) African Centre for Cities. Since 1994 and democracy in South Africa her work has shifted to contemporary urban policy research (local government, poverty reduction and urban environmental justice). By its nature this research is not been purely academic, but has involved liasing with local and national government and international donors. Sue is also on the boards of several local NGOs concerned with poverty alleviation, sustainability and gender equity in post-apartheid South Africa.

Throughout the world, the study of cities takes place within a wide variety of social sciences as well as in the some humanities disciplines. Furthermore, in the study of cities a major split occurs between those focusing the economic as opposed to the more social questions raised by cities. In the former the focus is on city economies, their change and how policy intervention is able to steer change; in the latter the emphasis is more on social life and change, power and inequalities. As such, the readings in both Urban Studies - Economics and Urban Studies - Society set out to map the multidisciplinary nature of the field.

Urban Studies - Society examines the social meaning of cities and how they have been variously imagined. It reviews social stratification and national and global inequalities. It provides an assessment of the rich literature on living in cities and concludes, in the final volume, by looking at discussion of social engineering and the search for the good city.

Volume I - Cities as Social Spaces
Volume II - Experiencing the City
Volume III - Designing & Planning Cities
Volume IV - Cities, Ideas & Ideals

Contributor Bio:Paddison, Ronan
Ronan Paddison is Emeritus Professor of Geography at the University of Glasgow. His research interests focus on the political processes driving urban change and, in particular, under what conditions local participation can contribute to the making of more inclusive and democratic cities. Recent projects have included the role of community participation in the installation of public art, and the limitations to public participation in the post-political city. He is Managing Editor of Urban Studies and of Space and Polity.