Review by Choice Review
Libraries supporting programs in urban studies, urban planning, and comparative urbanization will need these two volumes in their collections. Most of the 23 papers published here were first presented in Madrid at a 1985 conference on giant cities, although some were later invited and a few are "recycled" materials available elsewhere by the same authors. In addition to a general factual introduction by the coeditors, Volume 1 offers overviews of African, Latin American, Chinese, East Asian and South Asian, Eastern European, and Western European urbanization written by recognized specialists. There are also two pieces (by Castells and Kasarda respectively) on American high tech/restructuring, and two interesting, more discursive essays (one by Sachs, the other by Teune). Despite attempts to establish a comparable theme for these articles, each piece stands alone and their quality varies. The same problem exists for Volume 2, which contains chapters on specific mega-cities: New York, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Shanghai, Delhi, Lagos, Cairo, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo. One special feature of the second volume is that many of the essays have been prepared by specialists or coauthors who live in and study the cities whose problems they analyze. This gives the essays more credibility, albeit sometimes at the cost of theoretical depth and comparative perspective. J. Abu-Lughod New School for Social Research
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
