The Routledge Handbook of Anthropology and the City provides a comprehensive study of current and future urban issues on a global and local scale. Premised on an 'engaged' approach to urban anthropology, the volume adopts a thematic approach that covers a wide range of modern urban issues, with a particular focus on those of high public interest. Topics covered include security, displacement, social justice, privatisation, sustainability, and preservation. Offering valuable insight into how anthropologists investigate, make sense of, and then address a variety of urban issues, each chapter covers key theoretical and methodological concerns alongside rich ethnographic case study material. The volume is an essential reference for students and researchers in urban anthropology, as well as of interest for those in related disciplines, such as urban studies, sociology, and geography.

About the Author

Setha Low is Professor of Anthropology, Earth and Environmental Sciences (Geography), Environmental Psychology, and Women's Studies at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA. Her most recent books are Spatializing Culture: The Ethnography of Space and Place (2017), and Spaces of Security: Ethnographies of Securityscapes, Surveillance and Control (2019), edited with M. Maguire. She is former President of the American Anthropological Association and served as Deputy Chair of the World Council of Anthropological Associations.

Reviews

'This provocative collection truly engages anthropology with pressing questions we face as scholars, students and citizens. Bringing together well-established scholars and new voices worldwide, it combines sensitive ethnographies and thoughtful analyses of belonging, rights and transformative actions that speak to all of us who live and work in global cities.'

Gary McDonogh, Bryn Mawr College, USA

'A bold and spirited collection that addresses ever more pressing concerns about urban inequalities, precarity, mobility, governance, sustainability and heritage with a deep commitment to public engagement and activism. This is an anthropology that leaps off the protected library shelf and takes part in the cut and thrust of urban living as it unfolds.'

Emma Tarlo, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK

'This thought-provoking, creative, and insightful handbook underscores cultural anthropology's continued relevance to urban studies, and is a call to action for social justice in the city-truly inspiring work and a must-read for those who are fascinated by urban lives the inner workings of cities.'

Suzanne Scheld, California State University, Northridge, USA, and SUNTA President-Elect

'A compelling, extensive, and powerful collection of insightful anthropological works that examine the pervasive neoliberal transformations of urban life across the globe, from Asia and Africa, to Europe and the Americas. [...] Not an ordinary volume on urban studies, but a timely and thought-provoking book that propels urban anthropology into the post-neoliberal era.'

Swee-Lin Ho, National University of Singapore

"Through rich ethnographic case studies from around the world, the volume offers a comprehensive overview of contemporary urban problems and provides creative solutions for grappling with them."

Samir Shalabi, Anthropology News

'This provocative collection truly engages anthropology with pressing questions we face as scholars, students and citizens. Bringing together well-established scholars and new voices worldwide, it combines sensitive ethnographies and thoughtful analyses of belonging, rights and transformative actions that speak to all of us who live and work in global cities.'

Gary McDonogh, Bryn Mawr College, USA

'A bold and spirited collection that addresses ever more pressing concerns about urban inequalities, precarity, mobility, governance, sustainability and heritage with a deep commitment to public engagement and activism. This is an anthropology that leaps off the protected library shelf and takes part in the cut and thrust of urban living as it unfolds.'

Emma Tarlo, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK

'This thought-provoking, creative, and insightful handbook underscores cultural anthropology's continued relevance to urban studies, and is a call to action for social justice in the city-truly inspiring work and a must-read for those who are fascinated by urban lives the inner workings of cities.'

Suzanne Scheld, California State University, Northridge, USA, and SUNTA President-Elect

'A compelling, extensive, and powerful collection of insightful anthropological works that examine the pervasive neoliberal transformations of urban life across the globe, from Asia and Africa, to Europe and the Americas. [...] Not an ordinary volume on urban studies, but a timely and thought-provoking book that propels urban anthropology into the post-neoliberal era.'

Swee-Lin Ho, National University of Singapore

Book Information
ISBN 9780367659752
Author Setha Low
Format Paperback
Page Count 534
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g