ENGLISH

Cities in the urban age: a dissent

By Robert A , Beauregard

Book information

Publisher
The University of Chicago Press
Year
2019
ISBN
9780226535418, 9780226535241, 9780226535388, 022653541X
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
1 MB (1308202 bytes)
Series
Chicago scholarship online
Pages
\230
Time added
2020-07-26 19:24:52
Cities and towns;Cities and towns--Political aspec

Description

We live in a self-proclaimed Urban Age, where we celebrate the city as the source of economic prosperity, a nurturer of social and cultural diversity, and a place primed for democracy. We proclaim the city as the fertile ground from which progress will arise. Without cities, we tell ourselves, human civilization would falter and decay. In 'Cities in the Urban Age, ' Robert A. Beauregard argues that this line of thinking is not only hyperbolic-it is too celebratory by half. For Beauregard, the city is a cauldron for four haunting contradictions. First, cities are equally defined by both their wealth and their poverty. Second, cities are simultaneously environmentally destructive and yet promise sustainability. Third, cities encourage rule by political machines and oligarchies, even as they are essentially democratic and at least nominally open to all.

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