Overview

Bringing together leading urban scholars, this book discusses the linkages between the economic, social and psychological factors of the urban environment. It focuses on the growth of private urbanity that has led to a 'spectactularization' of the city, the most extreme component of attention being the fascination which is aroused by attractions and state-managed events. The complex characteristics of this fascination are examined under the dimensions of aesthetics, emotions, lived experiences and power structures and governance. The interdisciplinary nature of this collection has wide international appeal and will be of interest to academics of social and cultural geography and cultural and media studies.

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9781409418535

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Reviews

'This book opens up an important dialogue between poststructuralist, Marxist, and phenomenological perspectives on cities as sites of spectacle. The chapters present groundbreaking reflections on the contradictions and aspirations of an excessive capitalism .' Ilse Helbrecht, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany 'Cities are sites of everyday social and economic life but they also reflect the play of imagination, desire, and semiological excess. In the 21st century, the theatrical is coming to overshadow the merely functional in our experience of the urban. Cities and Fascination offers a number of original and provocative investigations of this phenomenon.' Allen J. Scott, University of California, Los Angeles, USA 'A cutting-edge journey across the frontiers of urban theory, Cities and Fascination excavates the ways in which contemporary cities sear their way into our minds, captivate our hearts and dominate our imaginations. Crossing disciplinary boundaries and continents with equal ease, this brilliant collection explores the results of such fascination for politics, architecture, philosophy and the ways in which we inhabit our rapidly urbanizing world.' Stephen Graham, Newcastle University, UK 'The value of Cities and Fascination for this reviewer arises from its sophisticated explication of the subjective aspects to urban experience - be they emotion, affect, meaning or atmospheres - interpreted through BAhme, Schmitz and Sloterdijk but also as seen in actual practice.' Australian Planner

'This book opens up an important dialogue between poststructuralist, Marxist, and phenomenological perspectives on cities as sites of spectacle. The chapters present groundbreaking reflections on the contradictions and aspirations of an excessive capitalism .' Ilse Helbrecht, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany 'Cities are sites of everyday social and economic life but they also reflect the play of imagination, desire, and semiological excess. In the 21st century, the theatrical is coming to overshadow the merely functional in our experience of the urban. Cities and Fascination offers a number of original and provocative investigations of this phenomenon.' Allen J. Scott, University of California, Los Angeles, USA 'A cutting-edge journey across the frontiers of urban theory, Cities and Fascination excavates the ways in which contemporary cities sear their way into our minds, captivate our hearts and dominate our imaginations. Crossing disciplinary boundaries and continents with equal ease, this brilliant collection explores the results of such fascination for politics, architecture, philosophy and the ways in which we inhabit our rapidly urbanizing world.' Stephen Graham, Newcastle University, UK 'The value of Cities and Fascination for this reviewer arises from its sophisticated explication of the subjective aspects to urban experience - be they emotion, affect, meaning or atmospheres - interpreted through Bohme, Schmitz and Sloterdijk but also as seen in actual practice.' Australian Planner

Author Information

Professor Heiko Schmid, University of Heidelberg, Germany, Professor Wolf-Dietrich Sahr, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brasil and Professor John Urry, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, UK

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