1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910453017803321

Autore

Bell Daniel (Daniel A.), <1964->

Titolo

The spirit of cities [[electronic resource]] : why the identity of a city matters in a global age / / Daniel A. Bell and Avner de-Shalit

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Princeton, N.J. ; ; Oxfordshire, England, : Princeton University Press, c2011

ISBN

1-4008-4826-1

Edizione

[With a New preface by the authors]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (347 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

De-ShalitAvner

Disciplina

307.76

Soggetti

Cities and towns - Social aspects

Identity politics

Urban policy

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Preface to the Paperback Edition: The City and Identity -- Introduction: Civicism -- Jerusalem: The City of Religion -- Montreal: The City of Language(s) -- Singapore: The City of Nation Building -- Hong Kong: The City of Materialism -- Beijing: The City of Political Power -- Oxford: The City of Learning -- Berlin: The City of (In)Tolerance -- Paris: The City of Romance -- New York: The City of Ambition -- Notes -- Selected Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Cities shape the lives and outlooks of billions of people, yet they have been overshadowed in contemporary political thought by nation-states, identity groups, and concepts like justice and freedom. The Spirit of Cities revives the classical idea that a city expresses its own distinctive ethos or values. In the ancient world, Athens was synonymous with democracy and Sparta represented military discipline. In this original and engaging book, Daniel Bell and Avner de-Shalit explore how this classical idea can be applied to today's cities, and they explain why philosophy and the social sciences need to rediscover the spirit of cities. Bell and de-Shalit look at nine modern cities and the prevailing ethos that distinguishes each one. The cities are Jerusalem (religion), Montreal (language), Singapore (nation building), Hong Kong



(materialism), Beijing (political power), Oxford (learning), Berlin (tolerance and intolerance), Paris (romance), and New York (ambition). Bell and de-Shalit draw upon the richly varied histories of each city, as well as novels, poems, biographies, tourist guides, architectural landmarks, and the authors' own personal reflections and insights. They show how the ethos of each city is expressed in political, cultural, and economic life, and also how pride in a city's ethos can oppose the homogenizing tendencies of globalization and curb the excesses of nationalism. The Spirit of Cities is unreservedly impressionistic. Combining strolling and storytelling with cutting-edge theory, the book encourages debate and opens up new avenues of inquiry in philosophy and the social sciences. It is a must-read for lovers of cities everywhere. In a new preface, Bell and de-Shalit further develop their idea of "civicism," the pride city dwellers feel for their city and its ethos over that of others.