City Visions

How are we to make meaning from cities at the beginning of the new millennium?Are cities still emblematic of wider social and cultural changes in the world we now live in?What kinds of cities, and with what kinds of citizens, do we see ahead?Where are both productive and destructive forces pushing our images and experiences of the city?City Visions focusses on contemporary issues in city cultures and urban politics. With contributions from internationally renowned scholars, the book ranges from discussions of the city in contemporary works of fiction to critiques of urban policies and explorations of the experiences of being in the city. Each chapter seeks to explore representational, theoretical and experiential elements of the contemporary city, and whether focusing on particular urban practices - tourism, dancing, ‘hanging around’ - particular spaces - streets, city centres, ruins - or particular theoretical perspectives - postmodernism, ethics, postcolonialism - each chapter brings to light its own city and its own vision. Taken together the essays suggest exciting new agendas for thinking and talking about cities. David Bell teaches Cultural Studies at Staffordshire University. Azzedine Haddour lectures in French and Cultural Studies at University College London.