Nancy Kleniewski is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Bridgewater State College. She is the author of Cities, Change, and Conflict: A Political Economy of Urban Life (2001).

“In Cities and Society the nation’s leading urban scholars tell us why cities are in the condition they are in, and what our options are for making them better places in which all groups can live, work, and play.” Gregory D. Squires, George Washington University “The essays in Cities and Society provide the reader with a solid foundation in both neo-Marxist and post-modernist schools of thought. Woven together with short and smartly-written introductions, it is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the way that contemporary academic writers make sense of the urban world.” Daniel J. Monti, Jr., Boston University

• Preface. Introduction: Contemporary Issues in Urban Sociology.Part I: Recent Theoretical Perspectives on Cities and Society.1 The City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place.Harvey Molotch.2 Urban Restructuring: A Critical View.John Logan and Todd Swanstrom.3 Space and Status.Daphne Spain.4 Los Angeles and the Chicago School: Invitation to a Debate.Michael Dear.5 Modernity, Post-modernity, and Urban Culture.Mike Savage and Alan Warde.Part II: Globalization and Its Impact on Cities.6 Overview of Global Cities.Saskia Sassen.7 Rural-Urban Interface and Migration.Alan Gilbert and Josef Gugler.8 Community, Ethnicity, and Urban Sociology.Jan Lin.9 The New Urban Reality.Roger Waldinger.10 The Return of the Sweatshop.Edna Bonacich and Richard Appelbaum.Part III: The Changing Urban Economy.11 Understanding Homelessness: From Global to Local.Jennifer Wolch and Michael Dear.12 Markets, Decision-Makers, and the Real Estate Cycle.Susan S. Fainstein.13 Gentrification, Cuisine, and the Critical Infrastructure: Power and Centrality Downtown.Sharon Zukin.14 Gazing on History.John Urry.15 Neo-Bohemia: Art and Neighborhood Redevelopment in Chicago.Richard Lloyd.Part IV: Urban Policy Choices.16 Chaos or Community? Directions for Public Policy.Paul Jargowsky.17 The Missing Link.Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton.18 Fortress L. A.Mike Davis.19 Economic Inequality and Public Policy: The Power of Place.Todd Swanstrom, Peter Dreier and John Mollenkopf.20 The Challenge of Urban Sprawl.Thad Williamson, David Imbroscio, and Gar Alperovitz