Synopses & Reviews
Anthropological perspectives are not often represented in urban studies, even though many anthropologists have been contributing actively to theory and research on urban poverty, racism, globalization, and architecture. The New Urban Anthropology Reader corrects this omission by presenting 12 cross-cultural case studies focusing on the analysis of space and place.
Five images of the city—the divided city, the contested city, the global city, the modernist city, and the postmodern city—serve as the framework for the selected essays. These images highlight current research trends in urban anthropology, such as poststructural studies of race, class, and gender in the urban context; political economic studies of transnational culture; and
studies of the symbolic and social production of urban space and planning.
Selected Chapters:
Theorizing the City: An Introduction by Setha M. Low
Part I. The Divided City
The Changing Significance of Race and Class in an African American Community, Steven Gregory
Fortified Enclaves: The New Urban Segregation by Teresa P. R. Caldeira
Part II. The Contested City
Spatializing Culture: The Social Production and Social Construction of Public Space in Costa Rica, Setha M. Low
Part III. The Global City
Wholesale Sushi: Culture and Commodity in Tokyo’s Tsukiki Market, Ted Bestor
Part IV. The Modernist City
The Modernist City and the Death of the Street by James Holston
Part V. The Postmodern City
Spatial Discourse and Social Boundaries: Re-imagining the Toronto Waterfront by Matthew Cooper
Synopsis
"Theorizing the City has become fundamental reading for those students of urban society and culture who wish to better understand twentieth-century city forms and spaces, as well as why certain race, gender, age, and class inequalities continue to be manifested today." -- Alejandro Lugo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign "Using rich comparative material, this volume presents an intriguing anthropological vision of how cities are shaped. A major addition to a comparative anthropology of cities." --Judith Goode, co-editor of The New Poverty Studies "These informative essays make clear that anthropology has much to offer to urban theory and policy debates." --Nancy Foner, author of From Ellis Island to JFK: New York's Two Great Waves of Immigration Anthopological perspectives are not often represented in urban studies, even though many anthropologists have been contributing actively to theory and research on urban poverty, racism, globalization, and architecture. Theorizing the City corrects this omission. Following a brief history of urban anthroplogy, emphasizing developments in the field during the 1990s, this volume presents twelve ethnographies of major cities in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Five images of the city--the divided city, the contested city, the global city, the modernist city, and the postmodern city--serve as frameworks for the essays. Each section highlights current research trends such as poststructural studies of race, class, and gender in the urban context; political economic studies of transnational culture; and studies of the symbolic meanings and social production or urban spaces. Setha M. Low is professor of environmental psychology and anthopology and director of the Public Space Research Group at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. She is the author of On the Plaza: The Politics of Public Space and Culture.
Table of Contents
Introduction. Theorizing the city / Setha M. Low -- pt. 1. The divided city. The changing significance of race and class in an African American community / Steven Gregory. Creating family forms: the exclusion of men and teenage boys from families in the New York City shelter system, 1987-1991 / Ida Susser. Fortified enclaves: the new urban segregation / Teresa P.R. Caldeira -- pt. 2. The contested city. Spatializing culture: the social production and social construction of public space in Costa Rica / Setha M. Low. Landscape and power in Vienna: gardens and discovery / Robert Rotenberg -- pt. 3. The global city. Personal relations and divergent economies: a case study of Hong Kong investment in South China / Josephine Smart and Alan Smart. Wholesale sushi: culture and commodity in Tokyo's Tsukiji Market / Theodore C. Bestor -- pt. 4. The modernist city. The modernist city and the death of the street / James Holston. The power of space in the evolution of an Accra Zongo / Deborah Pellow -- pt. 5. The postmodern city. Making place in the nonplace urban realm: notes on the revitalization of downtown Atlanta / Charles Rutheiser. Discourses of the city: policy and response in post-transitional Barcelona / Gary McDonogh. Spatial discourses and social boundaries: re-imagining the Toronto waterfront / Matthew Cooper.