A first-class work of reference that will be both an essential resource for independent study as well as a useful aid in teaching: a solid but also provocative starting point for wider exploration of the city.

An encyclopedia about various topics relating to urban studies.

Provides an overview of 132 cities around the globe. For each city, a national map indicates its location, and the text describes its location, population, history, government, economy, transportation, health care, education, housing, and cultural attributes. A statistical profile summarizes data about each city.

Edited by one of the leading scholars of urban studies, this encyclopedia offers an accurate and authoritative historical approach to the dramatic urban growth experienced in the United States during the 20th century.

Few cities captivate the imagination as does Los Angeles. It is the locus of spectaculars: movies, earthquakes, freeways, riots, sunsets. In this fascinating desk reference, Leonard and Dale Pitt have gathered a sweeping array of information on the City of Angels. Bolstering their historical and humanistic approach with scientific and technical information, the Pitts include alphabetically arranged entries on history, geography, automobile culture, sports, movies, current events, architecture, flora, fauna, scandals, biography, the arts, politics, neighborhoods, and ethnic, racial, and religious groups. Quotations throughout provide provocative and amusing tidbits about the city that has been called "the fulfillment of the American Dream." Copiously illustrated and wonderfully anecdotal, this is a book for anyone with a question, large or small, about Los Angeles. "It's a great place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit there."—Mark Twain "At heart, Los Angeles is a vast cross-section of the Corn Belt set down incongruously in a Maxfield Parrish setting."—Irwin S. Cobb "Hollywood is wonderful. Anyone who doesn't like it is either crazy or sober."—Raymond Chandler "Great weather and automobiles."—Jamal Wilkes

Provides comprehensive coverage of major topics in urban and regional studies Under the guidance of Editor-in-Chief Anthony Orum, this definitive reference work covers central and emergent topics in the field, through an examination of urban and regional conditions and variation across the world. It also provides authoritative entries on the main conceptual tools used by anthropologists, sociologists, geographers, and political scientists in the study of cities and regions. Among such concepts are those of place and space; geographical regions; the nature of power and politics in cities; urban culture; and many others. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Studies captures the character of complex urban and regional dynamics across the globe, including timely entries on Latin America, Africa, India and China. At the same time, it contains illuminating entries on some of the current concepts that seek to grasp the essence of the global world today, such as those of Friedmann and Sassen on ‘global cities’. It also includes discussions of recent economic writings on cities and regions such as those of Richard Florida. Comprised of over 450 entries on the most important topics and from a range of theoretical perspectives Features authoritative entries on topics ranging from gender and the city to biographical profiles of figures like Frank Lloyd Wright Takes a global perspective with entries providing coverage of Latin America and Africa, India and China, and, the US and Europe Includes biographies of central figures in urban and regional studies, such as Doreen Massey, Peter Hall, Neil Smith, and Henri Lefebvre The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Studies is an indispensable reference for students and researchers in urban and regional studies, urban sociology, urban geography, and urban anthropology.

The first work to offer 5,000 years of authoritative historical coverage of ancient and modern cities in the Middle East and North Africa—from their founding to the present—highlighting each city's cultural, social, political, and economic significance. Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia is a comprehensive reference work on major ancient and modern cities in the Middle East and North Africa from their beginnings to today. In an unprecedented work of historical research, renowned experts Bruce Stanley and Michael Dumper provide 5,000 years of authoritative historical coverage as they trace the full trajectory of each city, discuss ties to other cities, and present a comparative analysis of the region through the lens of its cities. The A–Z entries feature extensive information about each city's location, geography, demographics, climate and environmental issues, ancient and classical history, Islamic history, post–1800 C.E. history, architecture, religious significance, cultural issues, society, municipal features, economic issues, and contemporary trends. Introductory essays explore urban general history and historiography, urban planning and modernization, poverty, interaction between cities, social welfare, culture, identity issues, and the place of these cities within the world economy.