Phil Hubbard

Cities and sexualities

This book analyses the social and cultural status of high streets in the age of recession and austerity. High streets are shown to have long been regarded as the heart of many communities, but have declined to a state where boarded-up and vacant retail units are a familiar sight in many British cities. The book argues that the policies deemed necessary to revive the fortunes of high streets are often thinly-veiled attacks on the tastes and cultures of the working class. Policy-makers often promote boutiques, art galleries and upmarket cafés at the expense of some of the outlets frequented by less affluent populations, including betting shops, fast food takeaways, discount stores and bargain booze outlets. Highlighting the social and cultural roles that so-called 'dying' high streets continue to play in the lives of working class and disadvantaged populations, this book provides a powerful argument against retail gentrification, and a timely analysis of class conflict in austerity Britain. It will be of great interest to scholars of geography, social policy and cultural studies.

Retail Gentrification, Class and Disgust

The Battle for the High Street

Locates the concept of 'the city' within traditions of social thought, providing a basis for understanding its varying usages and meanings. Spelling out the importance of a geographical perspective on the city, this book suggests that it is only by bringing different ways of mapping it together that we can begin to make sense of it.

City

Rob Kitchin

In this latest edition of Key Thinkers on Space and Place, editors Phil Hubbard and Rob Kitchin provide us with a fully revised and updated text that highlights the work of over 65 key thinkers on space and place. Unique in its concept, the book is a comprehensive guide to the life and work of some of the key thinkers particularly influential in the current 'spatial turn' in the social sciences. Providing a synoptic overview of different ideas about the role of space and place in contemporary social, cultural, political and economic life, each portrait comprises: Biographical information and theoretical context. An explication of their contribution to spatial thinking. An overview of key advances and controversie. Guidance on further reading. With 14 additional chapters including entries on Saskia Sassen, Tim Ingold, Cindi Katz and John Urry, the book covers ideas ranging from humanism, Marxism, feminism and post-structuralism to queer-theory, post-colonialism, globalization and deconstruction, presenting a thorough look at diverse ways in which space and place has been theorized. An essential text for geographers, this now classic reference text is for all those interested in theories of space and place, whether in geography, sociology, cultural studies, urban studies, planning, anthropology, or women's studies.

Key Thinkers on Space and Place

Gill Valentine

A comprehensive guide to the latest work on space. Each entry is a short interpretative essay, outlining the contributions made by the key theorists.

Space, Theory and Contemporary Human Geography

Thinking Geographically

City provides an accessible yet critical introduction to one of the key concepts in human geography. Always at the heart of discussions in social theory, the definition and specification of ‘the city’ nonetheless remains illusive. In this volume, Phil Hubbard locates the concept of ‘the city’ within current traditions of social thought, providing a basis for understanding its varying usages and meanings through a critical discussion of the contribution of key authors and thinkers. Written in a lively and accessible style, the individual chapters of City offer a thematic overview of four dominant ways of approaching cities: as lived-in places as imagined spaces as networks of association as technologies of flow. Drawing on a diverse range of literatures and case studies, the book spells out the importance of a geographical perspective on the city, suggesting that it is only by bringing these different ways of mapping the city together that we can begin to make sense of cities.

Lewis Holloway

An innovative introduction to Human Geography, exploring different ways of studying the relationships between people and place, and putting people at the centre of human geography. The book covers behavioural, humanistic and cultural traditions, showing how these can lead to a nuanced understanding of how we relate to our surroundings on a day-to-day basis. The authors also explore how human geography is currently influenced by 'postmodern' ideas stressing difference and diversity. While taking the importance of these different approaches seriously as ways of thinking about the role of place in peoples' everyday lives, the book also tries to encapsulate what has been so vibrant and exciting about human geography over the last couple of decades. By using examples to which students can relate - such as how they imagine and represent their home, the way they avoid certain spaces, how they move through retail spaces, where they choose to go to university, how they use the Internet, how they represent other nations and so on - the authors show how geography shapes everyday life in a manner that is seemingly mundane yet profoundly important.

Phil Hubbard

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