The Humanity of Cities: An Introduction to Urban Societies [Paperback]

John Gulick (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0897891597 | ISBN-13: 978-0897891592 | Publication Date: November 30, 1988

Combining major urban theories with empirical studies from around the world, the author offers poignant glimpses into urban life, including: the streets of San Francisco as seen through the eyes of a proud garbage collector; the marketplace of Ibadan, as seen by a petty food trader; the curiously empty streets of Fun city, a California retirement community; and Cairo's teeming cemetary, the "City of the Dead," filling with the living. The problems of urban life are shown to be more a result of worldwide forces, rather than the intrinsic nature of cities. This major, new, and timely contribution to the field is a most useful way to introduce urban scholars, planners, and students in a igriety of disciplines to The Humanity of Cities. A complete teachers' manual makes this the perfect text.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“In this introduction to urban sociology, it is argued that the concept of the inhumanity of cities--as contrasted with human settlements of other forms--is empirically and intellectually unsound, and that it is also a deterrent to peoples' constructive thought and action in urban everyday life. Humanity of cities represents a realistic and constructive base concept, while inhumanity of cities as a base concept is both the product of and the generator of destructive illusions. By no means, however, is any sort of utopian view of cities promulgated here. The agenda for concerned and involved people is to identify all the ways in which the humanity of cities is actually experienced, so that city dwellers may heighten their awareness of how to enhance the humanity of cities. Static utopia is not the goal, but instead well-informed, constant mobilization for improvement. Bureaucratic subcultures, which seem so often to ordinary people to be antagonistic and inhumane, are investigated here with a view to digging beneath their monolithic facades. Also discussed are grass-roots movements in which ordinary citizens mobilize themselves against bureaucratic and other powerful urban structures.”–Sage

About the Author

JOHN GULICK is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and Fellow of the Carolina Population Center. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 329 pages
• Publisher: Bergin & Garvey Paperback (November 30, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897891597
• ISBN-13: 978-0897891592
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,808,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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