While societies shape the way their cities look and are represented, urban images, in turn, nurture and structure social relations in multiple ways. Nowhere is this dialectical relationship between social processes and urban representations more visible than in the hosting of global spectacles such as the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games, which both embody some of society s deepest dreams and desires.

The focus of this book is the image of cities. It is not only interested in the mechanisms of urban image construction but also in the politics of such phenomenon,...

During the past decade many markets have been rediscovered as tourist attractions, food meccas and even regeneration flagships. These transformations are pushing markets to a gentrification frontier clashing with markets' traditional role as public meeting places that support, economically and socially, a diverse range of communities including the urban poor, migrant workers, ethnic minorities and the elderly.

This book is the first to explore the contemporary challenges taking place in traditional retail spaces, drawing on rich international case studies from Mexico, Argentina,...

This book explores the role of dialogue in urban community formations, specifically focusing on the need for civic dialogue within urban spaces. It examines the relationships between people and place, analyzing how local narratives are constructed by community members and, in a contrasting manner, by professional practitioners. Drawing on theory and method, as well as three city case studies in Liverpool (UK), Medellin (Colombia) and Berlin (Germany), this book analyzes patterns within the city that affect community-members' engagements with spaces, and the politics of inclusion and...