MACMILLAN Inequality and Uncertainty: Current Challenges for Cities

It is not possible to ignore the fact that cities are not only moving, vibrant and flourishing spaces, promising hope for better quality of life, but that they also accumulate and reflect significant problems. This book explores the relational and dynamic nature of urban inequalities, including their visible and invisible forms. By using the rather elusive term of ‘uncertainty’, the authors zoom in on specific aspects of urban inequalities that are difficult to measure, yet are acutely sensed and experienced by people and, more and more often, perceived as unfair. Here, in the recognition of inequalities as unjust and in the disagreement with the status quo, lies a positive aspect of uncertainty, which can lead to a social awakening and more active citizenship. From the Back Cover It is not possible to ignore the fact that cities are not only moving, vibrant and flourishing spaces, promising hope for better quality of life, but that they also accumulate and reflect significant problems. This book explores the relational and dynamic nature of urban inequalities, including their visible and invisible forms. By using the rather elusive term of ‘uncertainty’, the authors zoom in on specific aspects of urban inequalities that are difficult to measure, yet are acutely sensed and experienced by people and, more and more often, perceived as unfair. Here, in the recognition of inequalities as unjust and in the disagreement with the status quo, lies a positive aspect of uncertainty, which can lead to a social awakening and more active citizenship. About the Author Marta Smagacz-Poziemska is professor at the Institute of Sociology of the Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland. M. Victoria Gómez is senior lecturer at University Carlos III, Madrid, Spain. Patricia Pereira is a researcher in urban sociology at the NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Interdisciplinary Center of Social Sciences, Portugal. Laura Guarino is a PhD candidate in Social Sciences at the University of Genoa, Italy and research assistant at the University of Aix-Marseille, France. Sebastian Kurtenbach is interim professor for social policy at the University of Applied Sciences Münster, Germany. Juan José Villalón Ogáyar is senior lecturer at the University National of Distance Education in Madrid, Spain.