Urban Politics

A critical exploration of global, contemporary urban politics in a geographical context.

"Offers a much needed update on urban politics in a globalized world... Davidson and Martin, as well as contributors, chart new territory and produce thought-provoking research that move the field in a more critical direction"
- Setha M. Low, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York

"A critical analysis of power and politics is essential to an understanding of contemporary urbanism.  Informative and challenging, clear and sophisticated, Urban Politics: Critical Approaches encourages readers to grapple with the great diversity of analytical lenses that frame urban political research through detailed, engaging case studies"
- Eugene McCann, Simon Fraser University

This critical, thought provoking discussion of contemporary urban politics places key issues in a geographical context. Divided into three sections:

• The urban as political setting
• The urban as political medium
• The urban as political community

The text provides a thorough theoretical grounding with an extensive thematic overview. This unique approach links classical, institutional urban politics with a broader set of urban politics and practices.

With case study material integrated throughout, and consideration given to the discussion of different urban politics from multiple theoretical perspectives, this is a completely up to date overview for students of urban geography, urban studies, urban sociology, and of course, urban politics.

Thinking Critically about Urban Politics - Mark Davidson and Deborah Martin
PART ONE: CITY AS SETTING
The Neighbourhood as a Place for (Urban) Politics - Katherine Hankins and Deborah Martin
Splintered Governance: Urban Politics in the Twenty First Century - Kevin Ward
Ruthless: The Foreclosure of American Urban Politics - Elvin Wyly and Kathe Newman
PART TWO: CITY AS MEDIUM
Policing the City - Kurt Iveson
Mayors and the Representation of Urban Politics - Donald McNeill
Making Urban Politics Go Away: The Role of Legally Mandated Planning Processes in Occluding City Power - John Carr
PART THREE: CITY AS COMMUNITY
Queering the City: Sexual Citizenship in Creative City Singapore - Natalie Oswin
Making Space in the Multicultural City: Immigrant Settlements, Neighbourhoods and Urban Politics - Jamie Winders
The Embedded Politics of Entrepreneurs - Susan Hanson
Is Class Relevant to Urban Politics? - Mark Davidson
The Urban Imaginary of Nature: Cities in American Environmental Politics - Matthew Huber
Urban Politics as Parallax - Deborah Martin and Mark Davidson