Introduction to Cities: How Place and Space Shape Human Experiences

摘要

Cities can be understood either at a distance or from within. Unlike many books that treat cities in grand narratives as passive creations of human beings, Introduction to Cities unfolds its broad discussion of cities around the central notion of lived places, or spaces in more theoretical terms. Because scale is a critical factor in the analysis of metropolitan issues (Brenner, 2003), the innovative use of places as the focus of this book vividly and successfully presents contemporary cities as intriguing mosaics composed of variegated sites that convey distinct experiences to their inhabitants through different senses of community, identity, and security. As the authors have stated, 'It is these uses and meanings that connect human being to cities and that make cities distinct from one another'.