City Life
- Adrian Franklin - University of South Australia, Australia, University of Tasmania, Australia
Cities are more important as cultural entities than their mere function as dormitories and industrial sites. Yet, the understanding of what makes a city 'alive' and appealing in cultural terms is still hotly contested - why are some cities so much more interesting, popular and successful than others?
In this engaging discussion in the text City Life, Adrian Franklin takes the reader on a tour of contemporary western cities exploring their historical development and arguing that it is the transformative, ritual and performative qualities of successful cities that makes a difference.
Here is a new urban culture characterized by ecological frames of reference; tracking the making of contemporary city life from traditional times, through early modern, mechanic and modernized stages of development.
Adopting dynamic narrative structures and stories to develop its critical position, this book creates a vibrant synthesis of city life from its key components:
- leisure and tourism
- recreation and play
- arts and culture
- nature and environment
- architecture and public space
Emphasising the importance of experience, the book represents the fluid complexity of the city as a living space, an environment and a posthumanist space of transformation. It will be of interest to all those engaging with the difficulties of urban life in sociology, human geography, tourism and cultural studies departments.
The course linked to this text is not runninghtis academic year. However, we are re-designing our UG Housing courses for 2011-12 and it is likley that this very useful introduction to the city will be added to reading lists then ( for 2/3 rd UG students)
A highly provocative textbook which provides a no-holds-barred coverage of the realities of the quality of live, particularly in the many disadvantaged / marginalised urban communities throughout Britain. A particularly useful teaching aid, it offers a sequenced structure to the learning process in an impressively provocative approach.
Well constructed and appropriate format for this level of student
