The global cities reader

Since the early 1980s, the field of urban studies has been revolutionized by the study of global forces and their impact on cities.

Providing the first comprehensive survey of this new interdisciplinary scholarship on globalized urbanization, this important volume contains fifty selections from classic writings by authors such as John Freidmann, Michael Peter Smith, Saskia Sassen, Peter Taylor, Manuel Castells, Anthony King and Mike Davis, as well as major contributions by other international scholars of global city formation.Classic and contemporary case-studies of globalizing cities serve to illuminate global city theory within Europe, North America and East Asia, whilst contributing authors explore key topics including: - the histories and geographies of globalized urbanization - the social and economic order of globalizing cities - pathways of globalized urbanization in the older industrialized world, the developing world and on the 'margins' of the world economy - state restructuring, urban governance and socio-political contestation in globalizing cities - culture, identity and representation in globalizing cities - emerging issues and debates in contemporary research on globalized urbanization.Containing wide-ranging discussions on major theories, methods, themes and debates, and a combination of theoretical and methodological contributions, comparative analyses and detailed case studies, this key textbook will appeal to a broad interdisciplinary readership at undergraduate and graduate levels in urban, globalization, development, cultural, and environmental studies.