Cities in the Third Wave

The Technological Transformation of Urban America, Second Edition

Leonard I. Ruchelman

This fully updated edition surveys the remarkable transformation that is taking place in urban America. Arguing that technology has both created and recast cities throughout history, Leonard I. Ruchelman explores how cities are being affected by new technology and how they will evolve in the future. Countries such as the United States and Japan have passed through the preindustrial and industrial stages of urban development and have now entered the stage of post-industrialism—what the Tofflers called the "third wave."

Considering key questions, Ruchelman asks: How do the computer and communications technologies that are fueling an information economy affect cities and suburbs? How do urban places adapt to changing conditions brought about by deindustrialization and the globalization of business enterprise? What kinds of strategies do they devise to attract and retain investment and jobs? Why do some cities appear to prosper in the new postindustrial era while others become victims? Helping students understand what it will take for their cities, and other cities around the world, to survive and even thrive in this fast-moving environment, this book will be a valuable supplement for a range of courses in urban studies.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 178 • Trim: 6 x 9⅜

978-0-7425-3908-2 • Hardback • December 2006 • $126.00 • (£97.00)

978-0-7425-3909-9 • Paperback • December 2006 • $42.00 • (£35.00)

978-0-7425-7346-8 • eBook • December 2006 • $39.50 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Public Policy / City Planning & Urban Development, Architecture / Urban & Land Use Planning, Technology & Engineering / General, Technology & Engineering / History, Social Science / Sociology / Urban, Social Science / Human Geography, History / World

Cities in the Third Wave

The Technological Transformation of Urban America, Second Edition

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

This fully updated edition surveys the remarkable transformation that is taking place in urban America. Arguing that technology has both created and recast cities throughout history, Leonard I. Ruchelman explores how cities are being affected by new technology and how they will evolve in the future. Countries such as the United States and Japan have passed through the preindustrial and industrial stages of urban development and have now entered the stage of post-industrialism—what the Tofflers called the "third wave."

Considering key questions, Ruchelman asks: How do the computer and communications technologies that are fueling an information economy affect cities and suburbs? How do urban places adapt to changing conditions brought about by deindustrialization and the globalization of business enterprise? What kinds of strategies do they devise to attract and retain investment and jobs? Why do some cities appear to prosper in the new postindustrial era while others become victims? Helping students understand what it will take for their cities, and other cities around the world, to survive and even thrive in this fast-moving environment, this book will be a valuable supplement for a range of courses in urban studies.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 178 • Trim: 6 x 9⅜

978-0-7425-3908-2 • Hardback • December 2006 • $126.00 • (£97.00)

978-0-7425-3909-9 • Paperback • December 2006 • $42.00 • (£35.00)

978-0-7425-7346-8 • eBook • December 2006 • $39.50 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Public Policy / City Planning & Urban Development, Architecture / Urban & Land Use Planning, Technology & Engineering / General, Technology & Engineering / History, Social Science / Sociology / Urban, Social Science / Human Geography, History / World

Author

Leonard I. Ruchelman is Eminent Professor of Urban Studies and Public Administration at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Technology and Urban Development
Chapter 2: The Transformation of Urban America
Chapter 3: Third Wave Technologies and Spatial Restructuring
Chapter 4: Types of Cities
Chapter 5: Conclusions: Cities in the Third Wave

Reviews

Recommended.
— Choice Reviews

Cities in the Third Wave provides a unique review of how technology and the urban experience are intertwined. Leonard Ruchelman boldly summarizes a large literature into an accessible narrative that informs and intrigues.
— Ali Modarres, California State University, Los Angeles

Features

Explores the new urbanization as it is being driven by the information revolution

Examines new form of urban settlement such as innovation centers, headquarter cities, retirement centers, edge cities, and gambling and theme-park meccas

Traces the historical role that technology has played in changing the urban landscape

Assesses the role of cities in the new global economy

An ideal supplement for courses in Urban Politics, Urban Sociology, Urban Geography, Urban Planning, and Urban History