The Short Guide to Urban Policy

Description

With an ever increasing proportion of the world's population inhabiting urban environments, the management of cities remains a perennial challenge for governments and policymakers. This concise, but wide-ranging text makes sense of the multiple ways in which urban issues and problems have been defined and addressed in different places at different times. From initiatives that focus on social tensions within the urban realm, to those which seek to develop cities as economic entities, the book provides an accessible discussion and critique of some of the key approaches that have characterised urban policy across the globe. Providing case studies of urban policy actions, explanations of key concepts, and succinct chapter summaries, this unique introductory text is invaluable reading for both students and practitioners who are new to the area of urban policy, and who wish to understand and assess policy responses to the challenges posed by urban living and lifestyles.

Claire Edwards is Lecturer in the School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork, Ireland. She teaches and researches in the area of urban policy, disability studies and the sociology of health and illness. Rob Imrie is a researcher and writer about urban governance and community development in cities, the impact and implications of urban policy, and the geographies of disability and the built environment.

"An ideal introductory text: Comprehensive - covering an impressive array of topics - yet concise; sophisticated, yet decidedly accessible to undergraduates as well as reflective practitioners. An excellent primer for those on both sides of the Atlantic" David Imbroscio, University of Louisville, USA, author of Urban America Reconsidered