The Imaginative Structure of the City

Viewing the modern city as both a material and symbolic field, Blum (communications and culture, social and political thought, and sociology, York U.) explores cities as "living dialectic" landscapes of differing interpretations and actions. Drawing on philosophers from Plato to Derrida and case studies, he discusses anxieties relating to such issues as collective identity, diversity, the theatricality of city scenes, and urban evolution. Distributed in the US by Cornell U. Press Services. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)