Researching Cities

More than half the worlds population now living in cities, and a considerably higher proportion in the advanced economies, it is small wonder that urban research occupies a prominent position among the social science disciplines. The diversity of questions aimed at the better understanding of cities is matched by the wide range of research methods employed in investigation. Yet, much of how and what we learn about cities is dependent not only on the questions we ask, but also on the methods chosen to investigate them.
"Researching Cities" is organized in three main sections. The first, Orientations, examines the fundamentals of doing research including the identification of the current research frontiers, formulating a research question, the basics of research design and their philosophical underpinning. These provide the foundations to the main section of the book which looks in turn at the principal facets of cities and of urban life their economy, social structure, governance, past and future, together with the urban experience and representations of the city. In each chapter emphasis is given to how research can be constructed, building up an appreciation of quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis. Illustration is provided through examples drawn widely from different disciplines and types of city. The book concludes by looking back at the range of methods introduced and the implications of their use, and the writing up of research.
The books originality and appeal lies in its approach. While a book that will provide guidance with the conceptual as well as practical problems of undertaking urban research, the approach is firmly rooted within the nature of the subject, cities, itself. Not just a book about research methods the text will also be of value in exploring inter-disciplinary understandings of cities and urban living.