Awards

• Winner of Jane Jacobs Urban Communication Book Award 2007
• Winner of Jane Jacobs Urban Communication Book Award 2007.

Overview

"City leaders now confront a global competition for economic investment. Not surprisingly, urban elites have cast about for strategies that promise to secure for their cities a share of this future of global economic growth. What is remarkable, however, is that so many of these urban growth strategies are largely symbolic in nature. We see, for example, city leaders competing madly for the Olympics so that they can broadcast spectacular urban vistas to global television audiences. We see officials pouring public funds into tourist amenities, not so much for their tangible economic value, but rather because they help cultivate an image of vitality and renewal. We see, in short, a rich trade in images about ""the city,"" usually for strategic economic reasons. But how are these image-building strategies produced in the crucible of local political struggle? How are the local politics of urban redevelopment intertwined with the global politics of circulating bold images of urban vitality? Who, if anyone, benefits from public investment in such 'image-building' activities? Urban Communication brings together a community of scholars from communication, cultural studies, and urban sociology to explore the symbolic dimensions of contemporary city-building, drawing on case studies from around the world."

Full Product Details

9780742540620

Table of Contents

Reviews

This collection is a unique blend of analyses by urban scholars and specialists in communication. The contributors remind us that the narrative construction of the city is a constantly changing process with powerful consequences. -- Dennis R. Judd The city is a dynamic space and place in transition, shaped and reshaped by the convergence of communication technology. Urban Communication makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the dynamics and importance of the city. It is a critical time for the city as the economic reconfiguration of the urban/suburban landscape occurs. It is a crucial time as the needs and values of a population in flux are being reshaped. The challenge is to design and integrate the contemporary city keeping in mind both economic vitality and quality of life issues. Gibson and Lowes's anthology signifies another step in the maturation of urban communication as a discipline. -- Gary Gumpert Recommended. CHOICE Bridging communication studies and urban studies from a critical studies approach takes the growing field of urban communication in new directions. In so doing this volume addresses issues of the relationship between the 'sense of place' and 'image of place.' What do communication scholars have to bring to the table in understanding and improving the urban environment? This volume shows the answer to that question?a great deal! The study of urban communication is based on the notion that cities are inherently places of and products of communication. The city has long been ignored, or at best marginalized, in communication studies. There are fundamental questions of communication facing cities, suburbs, and exurbs today. This volume makes asignificant contribution, inviting communication scholars to consider how their own research can inform our understanding of urban dilemmas. Further, it invites community leaders to consider the relevance and value of communication research.. -- Susan Drucker Bridging communication studies and urban studies from a critical studies approach takes the growing field of urban communication in new directions. In so doing this volume addresses issues of the relationship between the 'sense of place' and 'image of place.' What do communication scholars have to bring to the table in understanding and improving the urban environment? This volume shows the answer to that question--a great deal! The study of urban communication is based on the notion that cities are inherently places of and products of communication. The city has long been ignored, or at best marginalized, in communication studies. There are fundamental questions of communication facing cities, suburbs, and exurbs today. This volume makes a significant contribution, inviting communication scholars to consider how their own research can inform our understanding of urban dilemmas. Further, it invites community leaders to consider the relevance and value of communication research. -- Susan Drucker

Bridging communication studies and urban studies from a critical studies approach takes the growing field of urban communication in new directions. In so doing this volume addresses issues of the relationship between the 'sense of place' and 'image of place.' What do communication scholars have to bring to the table in understanding and improving the urban environment? This volume shows the answer to that question a great deal!The study of urban communication is based on the notion that cities are inherently places of and products of communication. The city has long been ignored, or at best marginalized, in communication studies. There are fundamental questions of communication facing cities, suburbs, and exurbs today. This volume makes a significant contribution, inviting communication scholars to consider how their own research can inform our understanding of urban dilemmas. Further, it invites community leaders to consider the relevance and value of communication research.--Susan Dr

This collection is a unique blend of analyses by urban scholars and specialists in communication. The contributors remind us that the narrative construction of the city is a constantly changing process with powerful consequences. -- Dennis R. Judd, University of Illinois, Chicago; coauthor, City Politics: The Political Economy of Urban America; coeditor, American Urban Polit The city is a dynamic space and place in transition, shaped and reshaped by the convergence of communication technology. Urban Communication makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the dynamics and importance of the city. It is a critical time for the city as the economic reconfiguration of the urban/suburban landscape occurs. It is a crucial time as the needs and values of a population in flux are being reshaped. The challenge is to design and integrate the contemporary city keeping in mind both economic vitality and quality of life issues. Gibson and Lowes's anthology signifies another step in the maturation of urban communication as a discipline. -- Gary Gumpert, president, the Urban Communication Foundation Recommended. CHOICE Bridging communication studies and urban studies from a critical studies approach takes the growing field of urban communication in new directions. In so doing this volume addresses issues of the relationship between the 'sense of place' and 'image of place.' What do communication scholars have to bring to the table in understanding and improving the urban environment? This volume shows the answer to that question?a great deal! The study of urban communication is based on the notion that cities are inherently places of and products of communication. The city has long been ignored, or at best marginalized, in communication studies. There are fundamental questions of communication facing cities, suburbs, and exurbs today. This volume makes asignificant contribution, inviting communication scholars to consider how their own research can inform our understanding of urban dilemmas. Further, it invites community leaders to consider the relevance and value of communication research.. -- Susan Drucker, Hofstra University; co-editor, Voices in the Street: Explorations in Gender, Media, and Public Space Bridging communication studies and urban studies from a critical studies approach takes the growing field of urban communication in new directions. In so doing this volume addresses issues of the relationship between the 'sense of place' and 'image of place.' What do communication scholars have to bring to the table in understanding and improving the urban environment? This volume shows the answer to that question-a great deal! The study of urban communication is based on the notion that cities are inherently places of and products of communication. The city has long been ignored, or at best marginalized, in communication studies. There are fundamental questions of communication facing cities, suburbs, and exurbs today. This volume makes a significant contribution, inviting communication scholars to consider how their own research can inform our understanding of urban dilemmas. Further, it invites community leaders to consider the relevance and value of communication research. -- Susan Drucker, Hofstra University; co-editor, Voices in the Street: Explorations in Gender, Media, and Public Space

This collection is a unique blend of analyses by urban scholars and specialists in communication. The contributors remind us that the narrative construction of the city is a constantly changing process with powerful consequences. -- Dennis R. Judd, University of Illinois, Chicago; coauthor, City Politics: The Political Economy of Urban America; coeditor, American Urban Polit The city is a dynamic space and place in transition, shaped and reshaped by the convergence of communication technology. Urban Communication makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the dynamics and importance of the city. It is a critical time for the city as the economic reconfiguration of the urban/suburban landscape occurs. It is a crucial time as the needs and values of a population in flux are being reshaped. The challenge is to design and integrate the contemporary city keeping in mind both economic vitality and quality of life issues. Gibson and Lowes's anthology signifies another step in the maturation of urban communication as a discipline. -- Gary Gumpert, president, the Urban Communication Foundation Recommended. * CHOICE * Bridging communication studies and urban studies from a critical studies approach takes the growing field of urban communication in new directions. In so doing this volume addresses issues of the relationship between the 'sense of place' and 'image of place.' What do communication scholars have to bring to the table in understanding and improving the urban environment? This volume shows the answer to that question?a great deal! The study of urban communication is based on the notion that cities are inherently places of and products of communication. The city has long been ignored, or at best marginalized, in communication studies. There are fundamental questions of communication facing cities, suburbs, and exurbs today. This volume makes asignificant contribution, inviting communication scholars to consider how their own research can inform our understanding of urban dilemmas. Further, it invites community leaders to consider the relevance and value of communication research.. -- Susan Drucker, Hofstra University; co-editor, Voices in the Street: Explorations in Gender, Media, and Public Space Bridging communication studies and urban studies from a critical studies approach takes the growing field of urban communication in new directions. In so doing this volume addresses issues of the relationship between the 'sense of place' and 'image of place.' What do communication scholars have to bring to the table in understanding and improving the urban environment? This volume shows the answer to that question—a great deal! The study of urban communication is based on the notion that cities are inherently places of and products of communication. The city has long been ignored, or at best marginalized, in communication studies. There are fundamental questions of communication facing cities, suburbs, and exurbs today. This volume makes a significant contribution, inviting communication scholars to consider how their own research can inform our understanding of urban dilemmas. Further, it invites community leaders to consider the relevance and value of communication research. -- Susan Drucker, Hofstra University; co-editor, <I>Voices in the Street: Explorations in Gender, Media, and Public Space<I>

Bridging communication studies and urban studies from a critical studies approach takes the growing field of urban communication in new directions. In so doing this volume addresses issues of the relationship between the 'sense of place' and 'image of place.' What do communication scholars have to bring to the table in understanding and improving the urban environment? This volume shows the answer to that question?a great deal! The study of urban communication is based on the notion that cities are inherently places of and products of communication. The city has long been ignored, or at best marginalized, in communication studies. There are fundamental questions of communication facing cities, suburbs, and exurbs today. This volume makes asignificant contribution, inviting communication scholars to consider how their own research can inform our understanding of urban dilemmas. Further, it invites community leaders to consider the relevance and value of communication research..--Susan D

Author Information

Timothy A. Gibson is assistant professor of communication at George Mason University. Mark Lowes is associate professor of communication at the University of Ottawa in Canada.

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