Uni Reading List
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Urban Geography: A Global Perspective cover

Geography

Geography

Urban Geography: A Global Perspective

Michael Pacione

A large, systematic text on cities and urbanisation that deliberately covers cities in both the developed world and the Global South. It combines the historical development of urban systems with the economic, social, political and environmental processes that shape contemporary cities, and gives sustained attention to urban problems and planning responses.

Prerequisites: An introductory human geography course and a first urban geography module or equivalent reading.

Difficulty Level
Intermediate
Academic Level
Undergraduate
urban geographyurbanizationcitiesglobal southurban planningTextbook

01 / Reading Guide

Reading Guide

Citation

Pacione, M. (2009). Urban Geography: A Global Perspective (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Chapter Summary

The third edition runs to about 740 pages in thirty chapters grouped into six parts. The publisher says the structure of the first two editions is kept, each chapter has been revised, and the study aids (further readings, key concepts, study questions, a glossary and a list of websites) are retained or expanded. The book is illustrated with photographs, figures, tables and many boxed studies.

Part 1: The Study of Urban Geography (Chapters 1–2)

Chapter 1, "Urban Geography: From Global to Local", outlines the field and explains why the book takes a global perspective; Chapter 2, "Concepts and Theory in Urban Geography", introduces the ideas and theories used in the rest of the book.

Part 2: An Urbanising World (Chapters 3–6)

This part covers the growth of cities from the earliest times to the present and the urban geography of the major world regions: "The Origins and Growth of Cities", "The Global Context of Urbanisation and Urban Change", "Regional Perspectives on Urbanisation and Urban Change" and "National Urban Systems".

Part 3: Urban Structure and Land Use in the Western City (Chapters 7–13)

Seven chapters on the structure and land use of Western cities: "Land Use in the City", "Urban Planning and Policy", "New Towns", "Residential Mobility and Neighbourhood Change", "Housing Problems and Housing Policy", "Urban Retailing" and "Urban Transportation".

Part 4: Living in the City: Economy, Society and Politics in the Western City (Chapters 14–20)

Seven chapters on the economy, society and politics of the Western city: "The Economy of Cities", "Poverty and Deprivation in the Western City", "National and Local Responses to Urban Economic Change", "Collective Consumption and Social Justice in the City", "Residential Differentiation and Communities in the City", "Urban Liveability" and "Power, Politics and Urban Governance".

Part 5: Urban Geography in the Third World (Chapters 21–29)

The publisher describes this part as turning to the countries with the highest rates of urban growth, which are often least equipped to respond to the economic, social, political and environmental challenge. The chapters are "Third World Urbanisation within a Global Urban System", "Internal Structure of Third World Cities", "Rural–Urban Migration in the Third World", "Urban Economy and Employment in the Third World", "Housing the Third World Urban Poor", "Environmental Problems in Third World Cities", "Health in the Third World City", "Traffic and Transport in the Third World City" and "Poverty, Power and Politics in the Third World City".

Part 6: Prospective – The Future of the City: Cities of the Future (Chapter 30)

A single closing chapter, "The Future of the City – Cities of the Future".

Key Concepts

Parts 1–2: Field, Theory and Urbanisation

  • Global perspective: the book's stated approach of treating urban geography at scales from the global to the local.
  • Urbanisation and national urban systems: the growth of cities and the way cities are organised within and across countries (Chapters 3–6).

Parts 3–4: The Western City

  • Land use and urban structure: how activities are arranged in the city, with housing, retailing and transport as separate chapters.
  • Residential differentiation and neighbourhood change: Chapters 10 and 18.
  • Urban governance and social justice: collective consumption, liveability, power and politics (Chapters 17, 19 and 20).

Parts 5–6: The Third World City and the Future

  • Third World urbanisation: urban growth in a global urban system, with rural–urban migration, employment and housing for the urban poor as chapters of their own.
  • Environmental and health problems: Chapters 26 and 27.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

  • Deliberately global scope. The title and the part structure give the Third World city a full part of nine chapters, larger than either of the two parts on the Western city, instead of a closing chapter.
  • Clear, regular organisation. Thirty chapters in six parts move from the field and its theory, through urbanisation, to urban structure, economic and social life, the Third World city and the future. The publisher notes that the structure of the first two editions is kept, and that the study aids include further readings, key concepts, study questions and a glossary.
  • Up to date for 2009. The publisher lists the new material in this edition, including metacities, boomburgs, public space, urban sprawl, balanced communities, urban economic restructuring, financial exclusion, the right to the city, urban policy, reverse migration, and traffic and transport.

Limitations

  • Size. At about 740 pages and thirty chapters the book is a reference as much as a course text; a one-semester course has to select.
  • Dating. The edition is from 2009, and its chapter titles use the term "Third World", which reflects the vocabulary of the period; data and policy discussions will need updating from newer sources.
  • Breadth over depth. The publisher describes the book as a comprehensive introduction to an expanding field, so individual debates are treated at survey depth and a reader will need monographs for any single theme.

Where It Fits in the Course

Pacione is the large, systematic text in the urban geography list. For a first look, Kevin Archer's The City: The Basics and Latham and colleagues' Key Concepts in Urban Geography are compact introductions, the latter built from short essays on core concepts. Tim Hall and Heather Barrett's Urban Geography is an introduction suited to students starting urban studies, and Pacione is the fuller reference to turn to afterwards or alongside it.

David Harvey's Social Justice and the City is a different kind of book: a Marxist account of how cities are shaped by capital accumulation. It sits well beside Pacione's theory chapter and the chapters on social justice and urban politics. John Levy's Contemporary Urban Planning is a textbook on planning practice, mainly in the United States, which complements Pacione's chapters on urban planning and policy.

How to Use This Book

The book is meant for students who have taken an introductory human geography course and want a systematic account of urban geography across the developed and developing world. It can be used as the main text of an urban geography course or as a reference for essays.

A practical plan:

  • Core: Part 1 for the framework, then the chapters that match the course's topics: Part 2 for urban growth, Part 3 and Part 4 for the Western city, Part 5 for the Third World city.
  • Selective reading: choose chapters by topic, such as housing (Chapters 11 and 25), transport (13 and 28), poverty (15 and 29) and environment and health (26 and 27). The paired chapters let a reader compare Western and Third World cities on the same theme.
  • Closing: Chapter 30 on the future of the city.

Use the study aids, the glossary and the further readings to test understanding, and read the boxed studies (the publisher counts over 200) for examples. Check the data and terminology against more recent sources.