City, class and power

Abstract

In this collection of his most recent writings, Castells addresses the way in which the contradiction between increasing demands for the goods of collective consumption provided by the state, and the compelling logic of capitalist production and distribution, leads to the overt politicization of 'urban' problems. More specifically, he considers the links between the urban question and recent concern over the environment, arguing that together they constitute a new axis of political and social change. After developing an analytical framework based on the new role played by collective consumption in the urban sphere, Castells then considers the relationship between the city and power, by examining increasing state intervention in urban contradictions, and the development of urban social movements from these contradictions. He then examines state planning in France between 1945 and 1975; urban planning in Dunkirk; urban renewal in Paris; and the ecological movement in the USA. The final two chapters attempt to draw together these theories to elucidate the crucial links between social classes, power and urban systems, and to suggest future possibilities for urban research. -Richard House