Chapter 1 Qualitative urban analysis: Towards a pragmatic renaissance

Abstract

The end of the twentieth century was filled with an ironic mix of panic and fatalism; together with optimism and hope. ‘Digital armageddon’ in the form of the Y2K bug was reportedly on the horizon (Vulliamy, 2000), but as we know, never transpired. If, however, Y2K had materialised and affected technology as predicted, the consequences would have had profound macro and micro impacts – economically, politically, socially and spatially. Cities – with their super-concentration of technological infrastructure, hardware and software – would arguably have endured the brunt of this catastrophe. Had this disaster occurred, its reach would have been well beyond the city, spiralling out from the CBD to the suburbs, rural settlements, jumping national boundaries, and ultimately bringing economic, transport and communication systems to a near halt, rendering day-to-day living experiences unbearable, if not virtually impossible.

Citation

Maginn, P.J., Thompson, S.M. and Tonts, M. (2008), "Chapter 1 Qualitative urban analysis: Towards a pragmatic renaissance", Maginn, P.J., Thompson, S.M. and Tonts, M. (Ed.) Qualitative Urban Analysis: An International Perspective (Studies in Qualitative Methodology, Vol. 9), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1042-3192(07)00211-X