Urban Modernity: Cultural Innovation in the Second Industrial Revolution

摘要

Urban identities constitute a distinguishing feature of western cultures and societies, where the development of the ancient ideal of polis, as opposed to traditional rural communities, is accompanied by innovation in science and technology. In a context so dramatically marked by the conflict between modern westernness and its critics in the early twenty-first century, Urban Modernity offers a noteworthy contribution to the history of social groups and institutions in industrial cities. The book sheds light on the rise of urban identity in the cultural memory constructed by particular social groups, in the cases of Paris, London, Chicago, Berlin and Tokyo.