My new book was published by Westview Press in mid-January. But I've
been too busy with teaching, hiring, recruiting grad students, etc., to
put out a posting on it 'til now (note: if you find shameless
self-promotion objectionable, please hit the delete key NOW):
THIRD WORLD CITIES IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF
UNEVEN URBANIZATION by David A. Smith (Sociology, UC-Irvine)
Westview Press. January 1996. 202 pages. hc, $55.00, paper, $21.95.
This book links what happens "on the ground" in cities where people live
to the larger political and economic forces at work, putting these
connections in a world-historical framework using a case study approach.
The "urban revolution" taking place in cities of underdeveloped nations
is drastically altering those previously predominantly agrarian
societies. The book use a political economy of the world-system
approach -- which focuses on global inequality and dependency -- as the
context for city growth in the Third World. This view critiques the
conventional ecological perspective on the city which assumes an
equilibrium model, here rapid urban growth and various types of
demographic and socioeconomic inequalities are seen as "transitional"
phases on the path to modernity. In contrast, the book
sytematically argues that uneven development and urban inequality
are the inevitable result of the expansion of the capitalist
world-system. Chapters in the text provide statistical evidence
for cross-national patterns, discuss the logic of comparative
historical-structural case studies, and provide regional and country
studies of West Africa/Nigeria and East Asia/South Korea (exploring the
viability of the concept of "semiperipheral urbanization"). The
conclusion presents a empirical summary of results, theoretical synthesis,
and thoughts on the policy implications of the global perspective.
The book is designed for the general audience of the educated public,
as well as academic specialists and researchers in comparative urban
research and development studies. Since it contains a solid overview and
critique of important literatures, as well as new research, it could be used
as a text for advanced undergraduates classes and graduate seminars.
To order by phone with your credit card, call 1-800-386-5656.
(If you'd like an examination copy you can get one for $5, if you
provide info on the course, enrollment, and current text(s).)
Westview Press is now a division of Harper Collins; their internet
address is http://www.harpercollins.com.