The Short Guide to Urban Policy (Short Guides)

With an ever increasing proportion of the world's population inhabiting urban environments, the management of cities remains a perennial challenge for governments and policymakers. This concise, but wide-ranging text makes sense of the multiple ways in which urban issues and problems have been defined and addressed in different places at different times. From initiatives that focus on social tensions within the urban realm, to those which seek to develop cities as economic entities, the book provides an accessible discussion and critique of some of the key approaches that have characterised urban policy across the globe. Providing case studies of urban policy actions, explanations of key concepts, and succinct chapter summaries, this unique introductory text is invaluable reading for both students and practitioners who are new to the area of urban policy, and who wish to understand and assess policy responses to the challenges posed by urban living and lifestyles.

Claire Edwards is Lecturer in the School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork. Her teaching and research interests focus around urban policy, critical disability studies, and sociologies of health and illness. She recently completed an EU-funded project exploring the role of patients’ organisations in the governance of medical knowledge.

Rob Imrie was previously Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths University of London and retains a Visiting Professorship there. He has published widely on issues relating to architecture, urban design, and urban politics and regeneration.