City provides an accessible yet critical introduction to one of the key concepts in human geography. Always at the heart of discussions in social theory, the definition and specification of `the city' nonetheless remains illusive. In this volume, Phil Hubbard locates the concept of `the city' within current traditions of social thought, providing a basis for understanding its varying usages and meanings through a critical discussion of the contribution of key authors and thinkers.


Written in a lively and accessible style, the individual chapters of City offer a thematic overview of four dominant ways of approaching cities:




as lived-in places
as imagined spaces
as networks of association
as technologies of flow.


Drawing on a diverse range of literatures and case studies, the book spells out the importance of a geographical perspective on the city, suggesting that it is only by bringing these different ways of mapping the city together that we can begin to make sense of cities.