Review by Choice Review
The field of urban studies is both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary; the entries in this comprehensive work span the disciplines of economics, sociology, anthropology, urban planning, urban design and architecture, geography, and political science. Articles in this two-volume encyclopedia are signed, and most provide a thoughtful list of further readings, including essential books, articles, and Web sites. A list of entries, a reader's guide, a list of contributors, and an index add to the set's usefulness, but only volume 2 contains the index. This set is sparsely illustrated with black-and-white photographs that do not contribute significantly to the text they accompany; more maps and diagrams would be an asset. Article topics cover both the specific and local (biographies of authors and scholars, articles on key 21st-century cities) and the general and global (important practices, policies, and theories). Articles address the perspectives of both academics and practitioners. In addition to articles on a wide variety of topics in contemporary practice in urban design and planning and city governance, this encyclopedia devotes entries to important theoretical approaches, including the Chicago School and the new urban sociology. This is a forward-thinking reference work, focusing on topics relevant to the 21st-century metropolis. Headwords reflect this: "Creative Class," "Surveillance," "SimCity," and "Transit-Oriented Development" are illustrative entries. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers; general readers. A. E. Leonard New York City College of Technology
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
More than 50 percent of the world's population is now considered urban. Intended to provide an overview of current work in the field and to serve as a guide for further reading, this encyclopedia offers information about related disciplines, including urban anthropology, urban economics, urban geography, urban history, urban politics, urban psychology, and urban sociology as well as professional fields like architecture and urban planning. Volume 1 begins with an alphabetical list of the entries plus a Reader's Guide. In addition to entries pertinent to the various disciplines, the encyclopedia has entries for topics ranging from the theoretical (Urban semiotics, World system perspective) to the cultural (Film, Hip Hop) to the sociological (Crime, Ghetto). Also here are entries for specific places (Airport, Piazza); cities (Chicago, Illinois; Mexico City, Mexico); and individuals (Dickens, Charles; Jacobs, Jane). The content is extensively indexed and cross-referenced. Compared to works such as Routledge's Encyclopedia of the City (2005), Encyclopedia of Urban Studies has a more all-encompassing twist and lengthier, more complete entries. Entries average two to four pages in length, and each includes suggestions for further reading. One criticism is that, at best, this is background information because in an ever-changing world, some of the information was outdated before it was published. Information about recent events that have affected urban areas, like the bank, stock, and employment crises, are not in evidence. Recommended for academic and large public library collections. The set is also available as an e-book through Sage Reference Online. Although the electronic version is somewhat more expensive, it will most likely be widely used.--Shonrock, Diana Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
This work examines the current state of the urban environment. With half of the world's population now living in cities for the first time, and with that number projected to grow to 60 percent within the next 20 years, the nature of the urban setting is increasingly important. This work, edited by Hutchison (chair, urban & regional studies, Univ. of Wisconsin, Green Bay), contains 325 A-to-Z entries that cover themes in urban studies as well as specific theories, individuals, and key studies. There is also a "Reader's Guide," which organizes the entries into 17 thematic groupings to give users an alternative to simple alphabetization. There are entries on 32 individual cities selected either for current or historical significance or as an example of a theme in urban studies. Bruges, Belgium, for example, is included for its importance as a medieval commercial center but also for how it transitioned into a modern tourist center. Similarly, Savannah, GA, makes the cut as an example of urban planning and how that process worked through the life of the city. Bottom Line Well written and well thought out, this one-of-a-kind work on a very timely topic is recommended for academic and large public libraries.-Ryan Johnson, Univ. of Mississippi, Oxford (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Library Journal Review
