Focusing on a variety of criminal activities, the author applies his structural criminology to the relationships of power which operate in a range of institutional spheres. He looks at the relationship between class and criminality, showing the inadequacy of a simple causal link and discussing the prevalence of "white collar" crime. Hagan sees other significant structures of power in the relative influence of corporate actors - for example large commercial establishments - who bring charges against individuals, and he analyzes both the legal outcome of such conflicts and the symbolic aspects of sentencing and judicial operations in general. Throughout, these essays stress the structural importance of unemployment, race and gender in the legal definitions of criminal behavior and the need to situate each factor within its complex of power relationships.

Lauren's father moves her out of New York City to a Connecticut suburb after her mother dies in a freak accident. She unsuccessfully tries to befriend the popular Farrin, but only discovers that Farrin has been corresponding online with an older man. While trying to prevent their meeting, Lauren is shocked to discover the man's identity.

The first comprehensive architectural and cultural history of condominium and cooperative housing in twentieth-century America. Today, one in five homeowners in American cities and suburbs lives in a multifamily home rather than a single-family house. As the American dream evolves, precipitated by rising real estate prices and a renewed interest in urban living, many predict that condos will become the predominant form of housing in the twenty-first century. In this unprecedented study, Matthew Gordon Lasner explores the history of co-owned multifamily housing in the United States, from New York City’s first co-op, in 1881, to contemporary condominium and townhouse complexes coast to coast. Lasner explains the complicated social, economic, and political factors that have increased demand for this way of living, situating the trend within the larger housing market and broad shifts in residential architecture and family life. He contrasts the prevalence and popularity of condos, townhouses, and other privately governed communities with their ambiguous economic, legal, and social standing, as well as their striking absence from urban and architectural history.

Suburban space has traditionally been understood as a formless remnant of physical city expansion, without a dynamic or logic of its own. Suburban Urbanities challenges this view by defining the suburb as a temporally evolving feature of urban growth.Anchored in the architectural research discipline of space syntax, this book offers a comprehensive understanding of urban change, touching on the history of the suburb as well as its current development challenges, with a particular focus on suburban centres. Studies of the high street as a centre for social, economic and cultural exchange provide evidence for its critical role in sustaining local centres over time. Contributors from the architecture, urban design, geography, history and anthropology disciplines examine cases spanning Europe and around the Mediterranean.By linking large-scale city mapping, urban design scale expositions of high street activity and local-scale ethnographies, the book underscores the need to consider suburban space on its own terms as a specific and complex field of social practice

A “funny and self-revealing” meditation on keeping your faith alive and vibrant in a world of strip malls, SUVs, and soccer games (Denver Post). Many seekers find themselves adrift in the seemingly unreal world of the suburbs. They read spirituality books, but struggle to stay connected to God while doing carpool duty or coaching soccer. In this book, Dave Goetz, a former pastor, shows that the suburbs are indeed a real world—but a spiritually corrosive one that can truly be toxic to the soul. Suburbanites need to understand how this comfortable, predictable environment affects them and what spiritual disciplines are needed for their faith to survive and thrive. Goetz identifies eight toxins in the suburban life, such as hyper-competition and the “transactional” friendship, and suggests eight corresponding disciplines to keep the spiritual life authentic. Goetz weaves sociology studies, his own experiences, current events, wisdom of the spiritual masters, and a little humor to equip spiritual suburbanites for relating to God amid Starbucks, strip malls, and perfect lawns. “Goetz’s witty new book deals with desperate housewives, clueless husbands, and stressed children—and the spirit-deadening alienation sometimes found in their housing tracts and cul-de-sacs.” —Orlando Sentinel

Now in its third edition, City Lights: Urban-Suburban Life in the Global Society is the most interdisciplinary urban studies book on the market. It skillfully blends social science perspectives with insights from the visual arts and humanities to provide a comprehensive introduction to cities, suburbs, and post-suburban areas and how they work. Motivating students to develop their own perspectives on the issues, author E. Barbara Phillips provides an extended discussion of "doing social science," systematically showing how scholarly controversy and public debates over urban-suburban policy are rooted in deep-seated differences: in ideologies, research methods, theoretical orientations, academic disciplines, and/or levels of analysis. Featuring a unique combination of serious scholarship and an accessible, engaging writing style, City Lights, Third Edition, is ideal for courses in urban sociology, urban studies, urban growth and development, urban theory, and urban history. It incorporates many helpful pedagogical features, including almost 200 photographs and illustrations, real-life case studies, excerpts from classic works, key terms, and suggestions for further learning. In addition, end-of-chapter projects encourage students to apply what they have learned by participating in research, activism, or other civic pursuits in their own communities. Thoroughly revised and updated, the third edition features * A focus on the U.S. city but also a global emphasis throughout, with in-depth profiles of such cities as Kyoto, Cordóba, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Mexico City; numerous global-local links; and a new chapter (5) on global urbanization and the urban system * Updated statistical data * Detailed coverage of the Internet's influence on personal, political, and economic relations * Discussions of numerous new topics including the impact of terrorism on cities, new immigrants in the U.S. and elsewhere, gated communities, building "green," and the "New Urbanism" in the U.S * Analyses of recent political, social, and economic changes--including economic downturns--and their effects on urbanites and suburbanites in the U.S. and worldwide