Social work and the urban age

Abstract

Urbanisation is identified as among the most significant trends of the twenty-first century. By 2030, two thirds of the world’s population will be residing in cities-cities which are increasingly diverse, increasingly ageing and increasingly complex in their institutional arrangements. This chapter outlines the major transformations affecting the modern city and critically considers concepts such as ‘the urban age’ [UN-Habitat (United Nations Habitat). (2012). State of the worlds cities 2012/2013. http://unhabitat.org/books/prosperity-of-cities-state-of-the-worlds-cities-20122013/. Accessed 10 July 2015], ‘the urban crisis’ and the urban condition, drawing on writers such as Gleeson [(2014). Coming through slaughter (MSSI issues paper No. 3). Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, University of Melbourne. http://www.sustainable.unimelb.edu.au/files/mssi/MSSI-IssuesPaper-3_Gleeson_2014_0.pdf. Accessed 5 Sept 2015], Glaeser [(2014). The triumph of the city: How urban spaces make us human. London: PanMacmillan] and Brenner and Schmid (Int J Urban Reg Res 38(3):731-755, 2014) in unravelling the key debates. The chapter asks ‘What are the opportunities and what are the challenges posed by these major shifts and changes? How have cities affected how we live today? What are the specificities of the city for social work consideration?’ It explores key sociological theories and conceptual frameworks for analysing the city, suggesting competing interpretations of how we come to know the city. It presents a view of the city as complex and multi-faceted, rather than a unified problematic.