The level of change occurring in Western cities over the past two decades appears to have intensified. The economies of these cities have undergone a period of major restructuring: large-scale industry has all but disappeared, service sector jobs have increased and the urban labour market has become increasingly polarized. Spatially, the city appears to be turning inside out: new retail and industrial spaces are now found on the outermost extremities of towns. Economic vitality is becoming concentrated in gentrified enclaves, whilst the informal economy is growing up in enclaves of a different kind, often supported and enhanced by an illegal one dependent on crime and drugs. Politicians have responded to these changes by shifting the emphasis of policy from the social to the economic. Cities are increasingly subject to an urban entrepreneuralism, based around the intersection of cultural and economic speculation. This book critically addresses these issues, and sets out to cover the key changes that have recently taken place in urban theory and urban practice.
It draws on a wide range of sources and presents a picture of contemporary urban change, covering economic, social, cultural, political and landscape-related elements of urban restructuring.
- ISBN10 0340632143
- ISBN13 9780340632147
- Publish Date 26 March 2004
- Publish Status Transferred
- Out of Print 11 September 2004
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Hodder Arnold
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 288
- Language English