Emerald Group Publishing Limited Public Spaces: Times of Crisis and Change: 15 (Research in Urban Sociology, 15)

This volume is about the plurality and complexity of modern urban public spaces. The authors move far beyond the nostalgia of traditional streets, squares and gardens to mobilize contemporary sociological knowledge based on the mediated relations between spatial morphology and everyday life in cities across several continents. Contributions analyse diverse social realities and social interventions within the context of urban public spaces, linking to the broader discussion of urban public policies in European cities and beyond. Sometimes these interventions lead to exclusionary processes; other times they are the object of conflicts and resistances. When we speak about the (re)constructions, the uses and counter-uses of urban public spaces, we are always in the core of the political (city: polis) domain as those places are not fixed and do not have unique representations or immutable configurations they are networks of relationships and social practices with antagonistic views and flexible uses. Review Editors Lopes and Hutchison present readers with a collection of research and academic perspectives exploring the plural and complex nature of the use of contemporary urban spaces. The editors have organized the selections that make up the main body of the text in four parts devoted to urban images, urbanism, and public spaces; culture, arts, and public spaces; the structure and restructuring of public spaces, and other key subjects. João Teixeira Lopes is a faculty member of the University of Porto, Portugal. Ray Hutchison is a faculty member of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. -- Annotation ©2017 ― (protoview.com) About the Author Ray Hutchison is chair of Urban and Regional Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He is the series editor of Research in Urban Sociology and the author of some 20 articles on immigration, ethnic and racial groups, and schooling. He teaches courses in Urban Sociology, Race and Ethnic Relations, and The City Through Time and Space.