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Urban People and Places
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Urban People and Places
The Sociology of Cities, Suburbs, and Towns



February 2014 | 224 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Providing a thorough and comprehensive survey of the contemporary urban world that is accessible to students, Urban People and Places: The Sociology of Cities, Suburbs, and Towns will give balanced treatment to both the process by which cities are built (i.e., urbanization) and the ways of life practiced by people that live and work in more urban places (i.e., urbanism) unlike most core texts in this area. Whereas most texts focus on the socio-economic causes of urbanization, this text analyses the cultural component: how the physical construction of places is, in part, a product of cultural beliefs, ideas, and practices and also how the culture of those who live, work, and play in various places is shaped, structured, and controlled by the built environment. Inasmuch as the primary focus will be on the United States, global discussion is composed with an eye toward showing how U.S. cities, suburbs, and towns are different and alike from their counterparts in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America

 
1. Urbanization as a Worldwide Phenomenon
 
2. Urbanization in More and Less Developed Countries
 
3. Urbanization in the United States
 
4. Classic Statements about Cities & Communities
 
5. Contemporary Perspectives and Cities & Communities
 
6. Civic Culture and the Politics of Community
 
7. Among Kin, Friends and Strangers: Social Control in Cities, Suburbs and Towns
 
8. How Social Scientists, Planners and Reformers Figure out What's Going on and What Needs Fixing
 
9. Fixing People and Places
 
10. Embracing the Cultures of Urban People and Places

This book contributes to our understanding of the spatial connection of a PLACE to PEOPLE and their habitat.

Dr Quazi Zaman
Scott Sutherland School of Architecture & Built Environment , Robert Gordon University
December 13, 2023

Good intro and primer for UG students taking urban sociology modules

Dr Andrzej Zieleniec
Sociology , Keele University
August 12, 2014

The book raises the question of urbanization and urbanism alike. It stresses evidences in urbanization in developing and developed parts of the world. The recognition that urbanization in less developed countries has unfolded far more quickly and differently than it did in developed societies is highlighted. The according reasoning is well understandable and outlined in relation to given sociological pradigms. The link to 'urbanism' and the atmosphere of urban feeling and countanance is well embedded in the over-all agument of this exciting contribution to works on 'urban people and places'.

Professor Sabine Troeger, Dr.
Geography Institute - Library, University of Bonn
May 16, 2014

This book has a refreshing, energising style that is immeasurably encouraging for students. There is an excellent introduction and first chapter setting the scene with useful 'questions for study and discussion at the ends.

Mr Barry Hills
Dept of Environmental Science, Glyndwr University
May 1, 2014
Key features

KEY FEATURES:

  • An up-to-date survey of literature on urbanization and urban ways of life in both developed and newly-developing societies, with particular emphasis on the United States.
  • Provides students with a clear overview of the major schools of urban theorizing: human ecology, Marxism and neo-Marxism, post-modernism.
  • Offers a new "cultural" approach to the study of cities and urban life is offered in contrast to established schools of thought.
  • A comprehensive treatment of debates over the existence, persistence, and effectiveness of community life in modern urban settings
  • Takes a “sociology of knowledge” approach to the way scientists study urban people and places, and the ways that reformers and policy experts seek to fix them.
  • Includes lists of useful Websites for further exploration.

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 2

Chapter 8


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