Cityscapes in History: Creating the Urban Experience explores the ways in which scholars from a variety of disciplines - history; history of art; geography and architecture - think about and study the urban environment. The concept ’cityscapes’ refers to three different dynamics that shape the development of the urban environment: the interplay between conscious planning and organic development; the tension between social control and its unintended consequences and the relationship between projection and self-presentation; as articulated through civic ceremony and ritual. The book is structured around three sections; each covering a particular aspect of the urban experience. ’The City Planned’ looks at issues related to agency; self-perception; the transfer of knowledge and the construction of space. ’The City Lived’ explores the experience of urbanity and the construction of space as a means of social control. And finally; ’The City as a Stage’ examines the ways in which cultural practices and power-relations shape - and are in turn shaped by - the construction of space. Each section combines the work of scholars from different fields who examine these dynamics through both theoretical essays and empirical research; and provides a coherent framework in which to assess a wide range of chronological and geographical subjects. Taken together the essays in this volume provide a truly interdisciplinary investigation of the urban phenomenon. By making fascinating connections between such seemingly diverse topics as 15th century France and modern America; the collection raises valuable questions about scholarly approaches to urban studies.
2015-02-10 2015-02-10File Name: B01FYC1T4Y
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