The Cultural Meaning of Urban Space

This book presents a cross-cultural approach to the study of urban space from a variety of theoretical and practical perspectives. Essays written by major contributors to contemporary urban studies explore conceptual and linguistic interpretations of urban space, visual and social examinations of world cities, and policy issues in spatial analysis. Using case studies from Asia, Latin America, North America, and Europe, the authors raise important questions about space and power, processes of change, aesthetics and attitudes toward space, and social divisions expressed through urban life. This collection endorses the centrality of cross-cultural investigation and paves the way for comparative debate which will lead to new areas of urban research.

ROBERT ROTENBERG is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of the International Studies Program at DePaul University. He has conducted research in Vienna for fifteen years and has done urban analyses of Chicago and Toronto.

GARY W. McDONOGH is Visiting Professor and Director of the Growth and Structure of Cities Program at Bryn Mawr. He has done research in Barcelona and Savannah and has published Good Families of Barcelona (1986).