Urban Theory

(Valid until 3 months after publication)

Extending over five volumes and bringing together more than one hundred published articles and other major works, Urban Theory is a new collection from Routledge. The five-volume set provides comprehensive coverage of the most important developments in urban theory from the classical studies of Max Weber and Lewis Mumford to contemporary scholarship and research that embraces topics as diverse as globalization, post-colonialism, neoliberalism, and complexity theory.

The collection's first two volumes make readily accessible the crucial texts that have helped to shape the field of Urban Studies, from some of the earliest writings on cities up to important work produced in the middle decades of the twentieth century. Volumes III to enable users to explore—and make sense of—more contemporary themes in urban theory, including: architecture and planning; culture; crime and deviancy; ecology, housing; gentrification; leisure and tourism; the media and communication; urban and regional networks; political economy; politics and power; social life; transport; urbanization; virtual cities; and violence and war.

The editor has organized the collection such that, where relevant, discrete sections of each volume have been organized around self-contained themes, such as ‘The Chicago School’ or ‘Marxist Urban Theory’. This structure permits users quickly to identify the texts that define a particular sub-genre of urban theory. Moreover, the collection embraces a truly international and comparative range of theoretical writing, and includes pieces translated into English for the first time. Each volume is also supplemented by a critical and synoptic introduction newly written by the learned editor. Indeed, for researchers and advanced students, Parker’s collection is certain to be welcomed as an indispensable one-stop research and pedagogic resource.