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Book part
Publication date: 10 November 2011

Lorenzo Tripodi

The aim of this chapter is a discussion of the post-modern shift towards symbolic economies as a substantial factor of transformation of urban public space. It argues that the…

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is a discussion of the post-modern shift towards symbolic economies as a substantial factor of transformation of urban public space. It argues that the shift towards a cinematic mode of production, in which production, distribution and consumption of images assume a dominant role in the social organisation, calls for a related cinematic urbanism analysing the prime role of cities as factories in the global system of symbolic production. The city of Florence is assumed as an exemplar case study, examining the way the symbolic productive chain develops towards the real and virtual domains. I argue that Florence represents an archetype of the cinematic city, anticipating since the renaissance the tendency towards global symbolic production as a dominant sector of its urban economy.

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Everyday Life in the Segmented City
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-259-3

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Book part
Publication date: 10 November 2011

Lorenzo Tripodi

This volume of Research in Urban Sociology derives from the conference ‘Everyday life in the segmented city’ held in July 2010 in Florence, and is composed of a selection of…

Abstract

This volume of Research in Urban Sociology derives from the conference ‘Everyday life in the segmented city’ held in July 2010 in Florence, and is composed of a selection of papers originally presented on this occasion. Starting from the epochal assumption that for the first time in human history the majority of the world's population lives in urban environment, the conference gathered a set of presentations dealing with issues of global urbanization, showing a multiplicity of approaches and points of view which we tried to preserve within the limits of this publication. Urbanization is a phenomenon inscribed into globalization process with enormous consequences in the transformation of urban space and the everyday life of citizens: a dynamics which is reflected also in a flourishing analytical discourse that increasingly transcends the boundaries of established urban disciplines. The progressive extension of the urban domain beyond the limits of the city, and across diverse scales, has its corollary in the progressive segmentation of the urban dimension along multiple lines of material, social, economic, cultural and ethnic nature. Here we have chosen the perspective of the everyday to analyse how practices and policy can overcome the spin towards fragmentation and anomy and reinforce social cohesion for a more just and liveable city, endorsing the ‘right to the city’ as postulated by the seminal work of Henri Lefebvre. Although not specifically focused on his work, this collection clearly reveals the fundamental influence of the French philosopher over the knowledge and critique of late modern spatial production (Lefebvre, 1991b), and the net of Lefebvre's concept which connect different papers constitutes an evident subtext to this volume of Research in Urban Sociology. The original structure of the conference foresaw five distinct thematic sections, entitled ‘Right to the city’, ‘Cinematic urbanism’, ‘Governance and planning’, ‘Re-appropriation of urban spaces,’ and ‘Suburbanization and post urban cities’. Ultimately, in composing this volume we decided not to adopt those thematic areas as distinct sections, as many papers demonstrated the interdependence of these topics, escaping a strong separation of the arguments. On the contrary, the five topics recur all along this volume as transversal issues connecting almost all contributions. In the Introduction we aim at retracing those connections, starting from the dialectic evocated by the title between ‘everyday life’ practices of the inhabitants and what has been named here ‘segmented city’ as an epitome of the contemporary city in the age of globalization.

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Everyday Life in the Segmented City
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-259-3

Abstract

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The New Spirit of Hospitality
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-161-5

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Book part
Publication date: 24 October 2023

Rodanthi Tzanelli

Abstract

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The New Spirit of Hospitality
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-161-5

Article
Publication date: 11 October 2019

Leila Javanmardi

By analyzing urbanism products, development plans and the process of modernization in Iran, the purpose of this paper is to critically trace the effect of dictatorial control on…

Abstract

Purpose

By analyzing urbanism products, development plans and the process of modernization in Iran, the purpose of this paper is to critically trace the effect of dictatorial control on urbanism and the emergence of government-imposed urban segregation.

Design/methodology/approach

The main body of this work is concentrated on studying the history of urbanism in Iran, of which collecting data and descriptions played a crucial role. To prevent the limitations associated with singular methods, the methodology of this research is based on methodological triangulation (Denzin, 2017). With the triangulation scheme, the data are gathered by combining different qualitative and quantitative methods such as library, archival and media research, online resources, non-participatory observation and photography. For the empirical part, the city of Tehran is selected as the case study. Moreover, individual non-structured interviews with the locals were conducted to gain more insights regarding the housing projects.

Findings

The results reveal that despite the intense propaganda, the regime policies barely mentioned the urban poor. With the rise of new principles of architecture and urban planning, the regime tried to promote the image of an updated society; restructuring of the urban space was part of this process. However, the majority of the urban projects disregarded the financial ability of low-income groups and eventually benefited only the middle and upper classes. Also, by imposing a physical distance, low-income neighborhoods were located in the south in order to marginalize the urban poor who were in contrast with the idea of a modern city. Under these circumstances, severe economic inequality was provoked, which to this day has transformed into a complex socio-spatial segregation.

Originality/value

The works of general historical studies are not concentrated on urbanism and urban researchers have mostly focused on urbanism products during different periods, regardless, of the importance of urbanism as a tool in the service of hegemony. In other words, the majority of existing research investigates the evolution of urbanism and architecture in modern Iran, by questioning “what has been built?” and has ignored to trace the beneficiaries of the urban projects and to question “built for whom?”. Moreover, urbanism under the government of Mossadegh (1951–1953) has been largely overlooked, which could be due to his short time as Prime Minister of Iran. Mossadegh’s government was the first democratic government in Iran; hence investigating the policies used in this period has a great importance.

Details

Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-6862

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Book part
Publication date: 10 November 2011

Ray Hutchison

In 2008 Simone Giometti, Secretary General of the Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco in Florence, asked if I would organize a conference on The New Urban Sociology (the title taken…

Abstract

In 2008 Simone Giometti, Secretary General of the Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco in Florence, asked if I would organize a conference on The New Urban Sociology (the title taken from the third edition of the textbook co-authored with Mark Gottdiener). Later that year I organized three sessions for a symposium on The Tourist City as part of the Florence Expo celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Foundation (November 14–18, 2008). At the conclusion of the Florence Expo, a group of scholars associated with the Del Bianco Foundation, faculty from the University of Florence, and members of INURA (International Network for Urban Research and Action) met to plan a conference on Henri Lefebvre and the New Urban Sociology – the working title for the conference. After two days of discussion held at the library of the National Institute of Renaissance Studies in the Palazzo Strozzi, it was decided that the conference should be titled Everyday Life in the Segmented City, reflecting very well the breadth of study and wealth of ideas that one finds in Henri Lefebvre's many contributions to urban sociology.

Details

Everyday Life in the Segmented City
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-259-3

Book part
Publication date: 10 November 2011

Rachel Kallus

What are the consequences of urban life in an ethno-nationally contested city? How do everyday practices confront municipal strategies that attempt to control such urban…

Abstract

What are the consequences of urban life in an ethno-nationally contested city? How do everyday practices confront municipal strategies that attempt to control such urban situations? Focusing on urban life in which daily negotiation of ethno-national differences occurs, this chapter considers the nuances of urban politics and the use and meaning of the urban space, i.e., the micro-politics and the social dynamic of place-making, and their role in the struggle for urban citizenship in an ethno-nationally mixed city. Discourse analysis and ethnographic encounters define the annual Holiday of Holidays festival in the Israeli–Palestinian neighborhood of Wadi Nisnas as integral to Haifa's strategy for promoting itself as a site of coexistence. The neighborhood serves the entire city in that its “Arab” urban space has become the emblem of that coexistence. This manipulation by the municipality is, however, not reinforced by urban regeneration and heritage management of the local Palestinian community. Nonetheless coexistence discourse is also employed by the residents themselves, suggesting a more nuanced understanding of the role of urban space in promoting the city, as well as of concepts of local identity and citizenship.

Details

Everyday Life in the Segmented City
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-259-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 24 October 2023

Rodanthi Tzanelli

Abstract

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The New Spirit of Hospitality
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-161-5

Abstract

Details

The New Spirit of Hospitality
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-161-5

Book part
Publication date: 7 June 2010

Danai Thaitakoo and Brian McGrath

Along the 14th parallel, day and night oscillate exactly between predictable twelve hour divisions and months pass with little change in temperature barely affected by the earth's…

Abstract

Along the 14th parallel, day and night oscillate exactly between predictable twelve hour divisions and months pass with little change in temperature barely affected by the earth's axial tilt. However between May and October, a shift in atmospheric currents brings monsoon rains from the Indonesian archipelago north to the mountain ranges ringing northern Thailand whose runoff feeds the Mae Nam Chao Phraya River Basin and Bangkok sprawling across its flat, silted tidal delta. Seasonal cycles of precipitation rather than temperature extremes of winter and summer bring rhythm to life just above the equator, putting into motion human cycles of planting, harvest and migration, as well as shaping Thai beliefs and rituals (Fig. 1).

Details

Water Communities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-699-1

1 – 10 of 22