Complied as a reference source for students, this Reader is divided into three main sections, presenting key readings on: Ancient Cities, Medieval and Early Modern Cities, and Pre-Industrial Cities in China and Africa.

See series selling points:

From Simon & Schuster, The Preindustrial City by Gideon Sjoberg examines city life both in the past and present. In his work, Sjoberg takes readers on a journey through the history of cities—from their beginnings and the cities that were independently invented to the different economic, political, and religious structures common in cities.

This set, a series of three textbooks and three readers, explores a fundamental change in the history of human society: the transition from rural to urban ways of living.

This, the first book in the series, explores cities from the earliest earth built settlements to the dawn of the industrial age exploring ancient, Medieval, early modern and renaissance cities. Among the cities examined are Uruk, Babylon, Thebes, Athens, Rome, Constantinople, Baghdad, Siena, Florence, Antwerp, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Mexico City, Timbuktu, Great Zimbabwe, Hangzhou, Beijing and Hankou Among the technologies discussed are: irrigation, water transport, urban public transport, aqueducts, building materials such as brick and Roman concrete, weaponry and fortifications, street lighting and public clocks.

"This book pulls together an exceptional range of literature in addressing the complexity of contemporary patterns and processes of urbanization. It offers a rich array of concepts and theories and is studded with fascinating examples that illustrate the changing nature of cities and urban life" - Paul Knox, Virginia Tech University "The SAGE Companion to the City is a tour-de-force of contemporary urban studies. At once a stocktake, showcase and springboard for scholarly approaches to cities and city life, the editors have assembled a cohesive and convincing set of lucid, insightful and critical essays of great quality. Eschewing grand theory and deadening encyclopediasm, the contributors refresh both longstanding concerns and explore new themes in ways both brilliantly accessible to newcomers and satisfying to the cognoscenti." - Robert Freestone, University of New South Wales Organized in four sections The SAGE Companion to the City provides a systematic A-Z to understanding the city that explains the interrelations between society, culture and economy. Histories: explores power, religion, science and technology, modernity, and the landscape of the city. Economies and Inequalities: explores work and leisure, globalisation, innovation, and the role of the state. Communities: explores migration and settlement, segregation and division, civility, housing and homelessness. Order and Disorder: explores politics and policy, planning and conflict, law and order, surveillance and terror. An accessible guide to all areas of urban studies, the text offers both a contemporary cutting edge reflection and measured historical and geographical reflection on urban studies. It will be essential reading for students of any discipline interested in the city as an object of study.

The 'Industrial Revolution' was a pivotal point in British history that occurred between the mid-eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries and led to far reaching transformations of society. With the advent of revolutionary manufacturing technology productivity boomed. Machines were used to spin and weave cloth, steam engines were used to provide reliable power, and industry was fed by the construction of the first railways, a great network of arteries feeding the factories. Cities grew as people shifted from agriculture to industry and commerce. Hand in hand with the growth of cities came rising levels of pollution and disease. Many people lost their jobs to the new machinery, whilst working conditions in the factories were grim and pay was low. As the middle classes prospered, social unrest ran through the working classes, and the exploitation of workers led to the growth of trade unions and protest movements. In this Very Short Introduction, Robert C. Allen analyzes the key features of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, and the spread of industrialization to other countries. He considers the factors that combined to enable industrialization at this time, including Britain's position as a global commercial empire, and discusses the changes in technology and business organization, and their impact on different social classes and groups. Introducing the 'winners' and the 'losers' of the Industrial Revolution, he looks at how the changes were reflected in evolving government policies, and what contribution these made to the economic transformation. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The European Cities and Technology Reader is divided into three main sections presenting key readings on: Cities of the Industrial Revolution (to 1870), European Cities since 1870 and the Urban Technology Transfer.

This new dictionary provides over 2,000 clear and concise entries on human geography, covering basic terms and concepts as well as biographies, organisations, and major periods and schools. Authoritative and accessible, this is a must-have for every student of human geography, as well as for professionals and interested members of the public.

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.