Urban Bonds

ISBN-13: 9780745628028 / Angielski / Miękka / 2003 / 256 str.

Talja Blokland; Lee Mitzman

Opis

What is the role of the neighbourhood in our understanding of community and how has this role changed over the last century? Talja Blokland seeks to answer this question in this careful ethnographic study of the changing nature of social relationships and urban communities.

• Careful ethnographic study of the changing nature of social relationships and urban communities.
  
• Examines the role of the neighbourhood in our understanding of community and how this has changed over the last century.
  
• Interweaves a detailed study of the history and current social life of a poor neighbourhood in Rotterdam, with a reflection on the character of social ties in urban areas everywhere.
  
• Draws on American urban sociology and includes provocative discussions on the issues of community and ethnicity.

Recenzje

"This is a book of major intellectual significance. Talja Blokland succeeds in casting her case study around broader theoretical concerns that will have relevance for urban sociologists everywhere." Mike Savage, University of Manchester

"Talja Blokland has written an engaging, thoughtful and often provocative analysis of changing social life in an inner city neighbourhood." Charles Tilly, Columbia University

"This is a superb empirically grounded study of social relations, exploring important theoretical issues about space, identity and community in the context of wonderful and compelling ethnography." Richard Jenkins, University of Sheffield

Spis treści

Preface.

1. Disintegration And The Demise Of Community .

2. Hillesluis As A Natural Area? Social Ecology And Neighbourhood Use.

3. Personal Networks As Communities.

4. Social Identification And A Grid Of Social Relations.

5. Familiarity And Transactions: Privatization I.

6. Institutions And Attachments: Privatization II.

7. Contemporary Communities And The Importance Of Location.

8. Ethnicity As A Dividing Field.

9. The Neighbourhood In The Imperfect Past.

10. Urban Bonds: Conclusions.

Annex: Research Approach.

Notes.

References.

Index

O autorze

Talja Blokland is a Fellow of the Royal Netherlands Academy of the Arts and Sciences and based at the Amsterdam School for Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam.

Blurb

What is the role of the neighbourhood in our understanding of community and how has this role changed over the last century? Talja Blokland seeks to answer this question in this careful ethnographic study of the changing nature of social relationships and urban communities. This outstanding and thoughtful book interweaves two rather different but parallel lines of inquiry: a detailed study of the history and current social life of an inner city neighbourhood in Rotterdam, and a general reflection on the changing character of social ties in urban areas.

The book is organized around broad conceptual issues in a way that presents the empirical material within a framework that is relevant for teaching purposes. Blokland addresses key issues of community and identity and draws on a wide range of literature in urban sociology. Urban Bonds is set to become a classic in its field and will be widely used in courses on urban sociology, human geography, and ethnicity.