
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Redirecting examinations of the culture of the city away from its customs, art, and amenities to focus on the mental life of modern society, Alan Blum explores the methods cities and their subjects use to find meaning in the context of urban life, in particular the city's relationships to social change and what has traditionally been identified as justice.
The Material City pictures the city as a landscape of diverse clashes over beliefs, a site that exhibits interpretive collisions over globalization, gentrification, innovation, preservation, market value, popular culture, crowds, consumption, urban governance, and different strategies for healing the democratic city's ever-present conflicts over these concerns. Each chapter uses a problem of urban life to observe and analyze assumptions and values that are typically taken for granted and unspoken, using elements of the philosophy of Plato as well as the work of modern thinkers such as Georg Simmel, Gertrude Stein, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Virginia Woolf, Hannah Arendt, and Jacques Lacan.
The Material City translates contested views of everyday life and its management into a deeper reflection on urbanity as a system of desire. The historical and the contemporary metropolis alike are shown to be sites where the enigma of mortality – and its relation to pleasure, comedy, and fate – plays out.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Indebtedness
- Preamble
- 1 Strategy of Analysis
- 2 The Material Context of Urban Life
- 3 The Material View of Ambiguity: The Weight of Numbers
- 4 Use Value, Exchange Value
- 5 The City as a Writing Machine
- 6 Figures of Enlightenment: Globalization, Gentrification
- 7 Perpetuity
- 8 Publicity and the Project as Scene
- 9 Urban Governance
- 10 The Desire for Justice in Everyday Life
- 11 The Legacy of Care
- 12 The Soul of the City/The Soul of Inquiry
- References
- Index