ABSTRACT
Cities in the 21st Century provides an overview of contemporary urban development. Written by more than thirty major academic specialists from different countries, it provides information on and analysis of the global network of cities, changes in urban form, environmental problems, the role of technologies and knowledge, socioeconomic developments, and finally, the challenge of urban governance.
In the mid-20th century, architect and planner Josep Lluís Sert wondered if cities could survive; in the early 21st century, we see that cities have not only survived but have grown as never before. Cities today are engines of production and trade, forges of scientific and technological innovation, and crucibles of social change. Urbanization is a major driver of change in contemporary societies; it is a process that involves acute social inequalities and serious environmental problems, but also offers opportunities to move towards a future of greater prosperity, environmental sustainability, and social justice.
With case studies on thirty cities in five continents and a selection of infographics illustrating these dynamic cities, this edited volume is an essential resource for planners and students of urbanization and urban change.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part One|37 pages
Urban system Cities in the global socioeconomic network
part Two|57 pages
Urban morphology Transformations and dissolutions
chapter Seven|16 pages
Mutations in the Latin American metropolis Santiago de Chile under neoliberal dynamics
part Three|50 pages
Urban ecosystems Resources and energy
part Four|61 pages
Urban technologies Information, knowledge, infrastructures and culture in cities
part Five|51 pages
The urban economy and society Dynamism and inequalities
chapter Eighteen|14 pages
The city in the net Infrastructural networks, economic development and urban form
part Six|32 pages
Governing cities Visions, projects and instruments