Overview

Learning the City: Translocal Assemblage and Urban Politics critically examines the relationship between knowledge, learning, and urban politics, arguing both for the centrality of learning for political strategies and developing a progressive international urbanism.   Presents a distinct approach to conceptualising the city through the lens of urban learning Integrates fieldwork conducted in Mumbai's informal settlements with debates on urban policy, political economy, and development Considers how knowledge and learning are conceived and created in cities Addresses the way knowledge travels and opportunities for learning about urbanism between North and South

Full Product Details

Author:   Colin McFarlane (Durham University, UK)
Publisher:   John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Imprint:   Wiley-Blackwell
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.40cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.345kg
ISBN:  

9781405192811

ISBN 10:   140519281
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   05 August 2011
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

Series Editors' Preface ix Acknowledgements x Introduction 1 1 Learning Assemblages 15 Introduction 15 Translation: Distribution, Practice and Comparison 17 Coordinating Learning 19 Dwelling and Perception 21 Assemblage Space 23 Conclusion 30 2 Assembling the Everyday: Incremental Urbanism and Tactical Learning 32 Introduction 32 Incremental Urbanism 33 Learning the Unknown City: Street Children in Mumbai 43 Learning, Rhythm, Space 47 Tactical Learning 54 Conclusion 59 3 Learning Social Movements: Tactics, Urbanism and Politics 62 Introduction 62 Knowing Social Movements 63 Global Slumming 66 The Housing Assemblage: Materializing Learning 69 Learning and Representation: Counting the Poor 74 Entrepreneurial Learning 85 Conclusion 90 4 Urban Learning Forums 92 Introduction 92 Uncertain Forums 93 Dialogic Urban Forums 98 Translocalism and Translation 105 Conclusion 113 5 Travelling Policies, Ideological Assemblages 115 Introduction 115 Translating Policy 117 Comparative Learning: Translation and Colonial Urbanism 122 Ideology and Postwar Urban Planning 128 Neoliberal Urban Learning Assemblages 134 Ideology and Explanation: Beyond Diffusionist Story-Making 145 Conclusion 151 6 A Critical Geography of Urban Learning 153 Introduction 153 The Actual and the Possible 155 Agency and Critical Learning 160 Assemblage and the Critical Learning Imaginary 164 Postcolonial Urban Learning? 167 Conclusion 172 Conclusion 174 References 185 Index 205

Reviews

<p> Readers who have ever puzzled over the movement ofparticular discourses or knowledge systems from one urban contextto another, or between otherwise disparate groups, will find inthis volume an exhaustive and compelling effort to theorize thedevelopment, movement, and effects of learning Itsrevelatory power is arguably profound: for McFarlane, it promisesnothing short of understanding the power to forge a different kindof city. In the 21st century city, the material and analyticalstakes of learning could not be higher. (Antipode, 1September 2013) <p> This book is a significant step in bringing learning tothe core of urban study This volume s detailedfieldwork effectively supports its desire to see learning occupy acentral place in the production of more socially justurbanisms. (Area, 1 May 2013) <p> Learning the City is a critical academiccontribution useful for scholars of the field ... It is sureto become indispensable for academics of thediscipline. (Geography Helvitica, 1 December 2012) Through Learning the City McFarlane has made a majorcontribution to our understandings of the urban. In its commitmentto the diverse and lively practices through which the city islearned and known, in its engagement with the diverse forms ofagency and political practices through which agency is assembledand re-assembled the book enlivens understandings of spatialpolitics. It is also a text that is animated by a powerful sense ofhope that cities might come to bere-assembled in different waysthat are more equitable and more open to different agentic forcesand contributions. ( Society and Space, 1 November 2012) <p> In Learning the City, McFarlane successfully manages toopen the black box of urban learning in widening the perspective toacknowledge diverse urban learning practices, which may even bear atransformative potential in certain contexts. (InternationalPlanning Studies, 23 October 2012) <p> Learning the City is an important and theoreticallysophisticated piece of work. It is like a good movie: you need tore-view it in your mind several times to position yourself ...McFarlane s innovative theory of urban learning is veryhelpful to an understanding of contemporary urbanism and of how itcan be changed for the better. Its great merit is to make us seecities as complex learning assemblages and milieus. (UrbanGeography, 34.1) <p> A wonderfully insightful book that rewards carefulattention and deserves a wide readership ... A powerful frameworkfor re-thinking issues of poverty, urban informality anddevelopment in the Global South. (Singapore Journal ofTropical Geography 34 (2013)) <p> A rich and perceptive account of how we dwell in andlearn about cities and what it takes to live an urban life McFarlane s book forces us to review the conceptual tools wehave in the planning field for getting to know whatcities are like and how urban life is experienced. (PatsyHealey, Planning Theory & Practice, 14:2) <p> Urbanism, McFarlane believes, needs a theory of learning;throughout his book he builds a very sophisticated one [he]brings us closer to the material stuff of urban life andpolitics a kind of urbanism in motion, whereby what we cometo term knowledge , infrastructure and resources are never simply there , butmust be translated, distributed, coordinated, perceived andinhabited . (International Journal of Urban and RegionalResearch, Volume 38.1, January 2014).

Learning the Cityis a critical academic contribution useful for scholars of the field. found it particularly useful for my research on policy circulation of Bus Rapid Transit concepts through the South African city ... While Learning the Cityis probably too sophisticated for younger readers, it is sure to become indispensable for academics of the discipline. ( Geography Helvitica , 1 December 2012) Through Learning the City McFarlane has made a major contribution to our understandings of the urban. In its commitment to the diverse and lively practices through which the city is learned and known, in its engagement with the diverse forms of agency and political practices through which agency is assembled and re-assembled the book enlivens understandings of spatial politics. It is also a text that is animated by a powerful sense of hope that cities might come to bere-assembled in different ways that are more equitable and more open to different agentic forces and contributions. ( Society and Space , 1 November 2012) There will certainly be a range of contributors that join in on the exciting task of making these links. In Learning the City , McFarlane successfully manages to open the black box of urban learning in widening the perspective to acknowledge diverse urban learning practices, which may even bear a transformative potential in certain contexts. ( International Planning Studies , 23 October 2012) Learning the City makes an exhaustive case for framing our studies of knowledge and power through the optic of the learning assemblage. Its revelatory power is arguably profound: for McFarlane, it promises nothing short of understanding the power to forge a different kind of city (p. 179). In the 21st century city, the material and analytical stakes of learning could not be higher. ( Antipode , 1 September 2012)

Overall, however, this book is a significant step in bringing learning to the core of urban study. Ultimately, this volume's detailed fieldwork effectively supports its desire to see learning occupy a central place in the production of more socially just urbanisms. ( Area , 1 May 2013) Learning the City is a critical academic contribution useful for scholars of the field ... It is sure to become indispensable for academics of the discipline. ( Geography Helvitica , 1 December 2012) Through Learning the City McFarlane has made a major contribution to our understandings of the urban. In its commitment to the diverse and lively practices through which the city is learned and known, in its engagement with the diverse forms of agency and political practices through which agency is assembled and re-assembled the book enlivens understandings of spatial politics. It is also a text that is animated by a powerful sense of hope that cities might come to bere-assembled in different ways that are more equitable and more open to different agentic forces and contributions. ( Society and Space , 1 November 2012) In Learning the City , McFarlane successfully manages to open the black box of urban learning in widening the perspective to acknowledge diverse urban learning practices, which may even bear a transformative potential in certain contexts. ( International Planning Studies , 23 October 2012) Learning the City makes an exhaustive case for framing our studies of knowledge and power through the optic of the learning assemblage. Its revelatory power is arguably profound: for McFarlane, it promises nothing short of understanding the power to forge a different kind of city (p. 179). In the 21st century city, the material and analytical stakes of learning could not be higher. ( Antipode , 1 September 2012) Learning the City is an important and theoretically sophisticated piece of work. It is like a good movie: you need to re-view it in your mind several times to position yourself ... McFarlane's innovative theory of urban learning is very helpful to an understanding of contemporary urbanism and of how it can be changed for the better. Its great merit is to make us see cities as complex learning assemblages and milieus. (Urban Geography, 34.1)

Learning the City makes an exhaustive case for framing our studies of knowledge and power through the optic of the learning assemblage. Its revelatory power is arguably profound: for McFarlane, it promises nothing short of understanding the power to forge a different kind of city (p. 179). In the 21st century city, the material and analytical stakes of learning could not be higher. ( Antipode , 1 September 2012)

Author Information

Colin McFarlane is Lecturer in Human Geography at Durham University, UK. His research focuses on urban geography, especially theorising the intersections between urban inequality, materiality, and knowledge.

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