Review by Choice Review
Prolific author Short (public policy, Univ. of Maryland) here briefly surveys a collection of ideas for thinking about cities and urban change. The "critical" in the title points to his conflict theory perspective, which entails frequent citations of Marx and related writers. Apart from anecdotal exceptions, historical references go back no earlier than the 1400s, in keeping with world system theory. Chapters on such topics as the gendered city, the erotic city, the designed city, the immigrant city, and several others offer a kaleidoscopic range of interpretations of the underlying critical perspective, and Short draws on everything from movies to architectural schools to illustrate his interpretations of a wide range of writers. He considers pluralism versus elite theory, the work of the early urban ecologists, and a range of other urban theorists. As a synthesis of theoretical writings, the book presents little systematic statistical or other empirical evidence to test any of these ideas, concentrating on simply juxtaposing them and commenting on them. It will be useful for college-level courses, particularly for instructors with a critical bent. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. E. Carlson Florida State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
