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Clark University

Review: [untitled]Author(s): Antonio LunaSource: Economic Geography, Vol. 74, No. 2 (Apr., 1998), pp. 194-196Published by: Clark UniversityStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/144285 .

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ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHYCONOMIC GEOGRAPHYaspects of hooks's theorizing. He creditsGillian Rose, but he might more fully reg-ister the critical work of Caren KaplanandNeil Smith and Cindi Katz. But, moreimportantly, hooks's theorizing itselfemerges out of a communityof writingandher position has been debated within thatcommunity, sometimes in ways that prob-lematize the claims that Soja makes for it.Sara Suleri, for example, criticizes hooksprecisely for exacerbating divisionsbetween African American and "ThirdWorld" feminists. Whether or not oneappreciates and endorses Suleri's polemi-cal style of argumentation,there is a com-munity of debate that Soja chooses toignore.When it comes to his treatment of femi-nist geography, Soja is engagingly openabout the fact that his graduate student,BarbaraHooper, has "triedwith some suc-cess to control my impulses to tweak a fewof the feminist geographerswho seemed todismiss my admittedly gender-biasedPostmodern Geographies as masculinistposing tout court" (p. 13) (Thank you,Barbara) and is positive about GillianRose's attempts to imagine thirdspace.Buton the whole, feminist geography comesoff ratherbadly:"Despite the developmentof a vigorous feminist movement and thecentrality of space in the discipline, therehave been relatively few contributions bygeographers to what I have described asthe postmortem spatial feminist critique"(p. 119). He notes that this has changed inthe past few years, citing Gillian Rose, butclaims that "an appreciationfor the widerrange of othernesses and marginalities" s"stillmissing" p. 125). It is difficultto eval-uate this claim;with no references to keypublications such as Gender Place andCulture, MappingDesire, Writing Womenand Space: Colonial and PostcolonialGeographies-journals and large editedvolumes that introduce the uninitiated tothe vast and lively subfields of postcolonialfeminist and queer geographies-it isunclear whether Soja is unfamiliarwith ordismissive of a good deal of contemporaryworkwithin geography.At one level, this is

aspects of hooks's theorizing. He creditsGillian Rose, but he might more fully reg-ister the critical work of Caren KaplanandNeil Smith and Cindi Katz. But, moreimportantly, hooks's theorizing itselfemerges out of a communityof writingandher position has been debated within thatcommunity, sometimes in ways that prob-lematize the claims that Soja makes for it.Sara Suleri, for example, criticizes hooksprecisely for exacerbating divisionsbetween African American and "ThirdWorld" feminists. Whether or not oneappreciates and endorses Suleri's polemi-cal style of argumentation,there is a com-munity of debate that Soja chooses toignore.When it comes to his treatment of femi-nist geography, Soja is engagingly openabout the fact that his graduate student,BarbaraHooper, has "triedwith some suc-cess to control my impulses to tweak a fewof the feminist geographerswho seemed todismiss my admittedly gender-biasedPostmodern Geographies as masculinistposing tout court" (p. 13) (Thank you,Barbara) and is positive about GillianRose's attempts to imagine thirdspace.Buton the whole, feminist geography comesoff ratherbadly:"Despite the developmentof a vigorous feminist movement and thecentrality of space in the discipline, therehave been relatively few contributions bygeographers to what I have described asthe postmortem spatial feminist critique"(p. 119). He notes that this has changed inthe past few years, citing Gillian Rose, butclaims that "an appreciationfor the widerrange of othernesses and marginalities" s"stillmissing" p. 125). It is difficultto eval-uate this claim;with no references to keypublications such as Gender Place andCulture, MappingDesire, Writing Womenand Space: Colonial and PostcolonialGeographies-journals and large editedvolumes that introduce the uninitiated tothe vast and lively subfields of postcolonialfeminist and queer geographies-it isunclear whether Soja is unfamiliarwith ordismissive of a good deal of contemporaryworkwithin geography.At one level, this is

surely a petty complaint, but, at another(and I anticipate that Sojawill sympathizewith this point) it speaks directly to gen-der/sexualpolitics in the discipline of geog-raphy and to the question of who has theright and privilege to narrate whose his-tory.Despite (or perhapsbecause) of the factthat I found myself in vigorousdebate withThirdspaceat certainpoints, it is an impor-tant and invigoratingtext. The last threechapters are, quite simply, essential read-ing in any upper-level urban geographyclass. They offer compelling examples ofnew ways of writing and a window into theconcept of thirdspace which disrupts andenergizes conventional accounts of theurban. And if I am uneasy with Soja'sencounter with feminism, I amnonethelessdeeply appreciative of the political visionand commitment that underlies it.GeraldinePratt

Universityof BritishColumbiaPreparingfor the Urban Future: GlobalPressures and Local Forces. Edited byMichael A. Cohen, Blair A. Ruble,

Joseph S. Tulchin, and Allison M.Garland. Washington, D.C.: WoodrowWilson Center Press, 1996.In June 1994 the Woodrow WilsonCenter's comparative urban program, incooperation with the Urban DevelopmentDivision of the World Bank, organized anopen discussionabout the currentstate andevolution of the world's cities as prepara-tion for Habitat II (Istanbul, June 1996).

This book is the product of that discussionamong academics, practitioners, and localand national officials.The main goal of the book is to explorehow cities' issues have changed sinceHabitatI in 1976. The two most importantchanges are the disappearanceof the East-West political and economic dichotomyafter the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 andthe increasing rate of urbanization world-wide. One of the strongest points of thisbook is a diverse thematic and disciplinaryfocus. Seventeen chapters, classified in six

surely a petty complaint, but, at another(and I anticipate that Sojawill sympathizewith this point) it speaks directly to gen-der/sexualpolitics in the discipline of geog-raphy and to the question of who has theright and privilege to narrate whose his-tory.Despite (or perhapsbecause) of the factthat I found myself in vigorousdebate withThirdspaceat certainpoints, it is an impor-tant and invigoratingtext. The last threechapters are, quite simply, essential read-ing in any upper-level urban geographyclass. They offer compelling examples ofnew ways of writing and a window into theconcept of thirdspace which disrupts andenergizes conventional accounts of theurban. And if I am uneasy with Soja'sencounter with feminism, I amnonethelessdeeply appreciative of the political visionand commitment that underlies it.GeraldinePratt

Universityof BritishColumbiaPreparingfor the Urban Future: GlobalPressures and Local Forces. Edited byMichael A. Cohen, Blair A. Ruble,

Joseph S. Tulchin, and Allison M.Garland. Washington, D.C.: WoodrowWilson Center Press, 1996.In June 1994 the Woodrow WilsonCenter's comparative urban program, incooperation with the Urban DevelopmentDivision of the World Bank, organized anopen discussionabout the currentstate andevolution of the world's cities as prepara-tion for Habitat II (Istanbul, June 1996).

This book is the product of that discussionamong academics, practitioners, and localand national officials.The main goal of the book is to explorehow cities' issues have changed sinceHabitatI in 1976. The two most importantchanges are the disappearanceof the East-West political and economic dichotomyafter the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 andthe increasing rate of urbanization world-wide. One of the strongest points of thisbook is a diverse thematic and disciplinaryfocus. Seventeen chapters, classified in six

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analyzes three different historical phases(colonial,independence nation-state build-ing, globalization)and their correspondingurban forms (hybrid,modern-pseudomod-ern, postmodern). Urbanism becomes oneof the representationsof how the forms ofglobal domination are mediated by localstruggles. In a final article in this section,Weiping Wu explores alternativestrategiesand practices among the cities of NewYork,Barcelona,Santiago,and Shanghaiasthey seek a place in the new global eco-nomic order. He points out two differentpaths to urban economic competition: alow road of increasing competitiveness bydecreasing labor cost under a deregulatedlabor market and a high road focusing onefficiency enhancement and innovation.Part 3 explores the social and economicdilemmas of cities at the end of the cen-tury. The various authors argue thatnationaland regionalactors are less impor-tant in the globalization era, while localactors are more visible, endorsing the spe-cific needs of each locality. In a short arti-cle, Michael J. White analyzesthe positiveeffects that urbanization has had in accel-erating the demographic transition. Next,Julie Roque exposes the negative effects ofthe technologicalchange. She proposes thecreation of institutions to ameliorate thedisparitiescreated by uneven technologicaldevelopment and the informationalapartheid. She falls short, however, inexplaining how those institutions can beimplemented. In another chapter Edmun-do Werna, Illona Blue, and Trudy Harp-ham analyzethe changing agendafor urbanhealth. They propose a more integratedapproachthat focuses on institutional inte-gration and an increasing role for localorganizations(communityparticipation).The fourth part evaluates the dilemmasof urban governance. K.C. Sivarama-krishnan,drawing nformationmostly fromcities in India and China, describes theanarchicalqualityof urbangovernance.Hefavorsa certain degree of decentralizationand an increase in the proximitybetweencitizen and government, but always in anenvironment of political and institutional

different sections, attempt to cover a broadrange of topics on internationalization,globalization,and growth of transnationalagreements.The four chapters in Part 1 explore"Urban Convergence and a NewParadigm."Michael Cohen looks at howthe increasing internationalization ofhuman activities in the last 20 years hascreated links among cities worldwide, sothat certain problems are now shared bycities of developed and developing coun-tries. Hank Savitchgoes a step furtherandproposes a set of policy strategies for citiesto increase the rate of adaptability to achanging global environment. Althoughgovernment-induced development is lim-ited, local officials should play with theircities' natural advantages, support socialcapital,and increase their relationshipwithother cities. Martha Schteingart analyzesthe changes that have occurred in theurban arenabetween HabitatI and II. Sheis critical of the neoliberal rhetoric of thepresent situation,which stresses the libera-tion of markets and the deregulation andprivatizationof most urban services.

Under the generic title "FromGlobal toLocal," the articles in Part 2 explore thetensions produced by global forces inurban settings. Global and local are seennot as contradictoryphenomena but as dif-ferent responses to identical processes.Global changes stronglyaffect urbanreali-ties. It is also the case, however, that localcommunities and institutions may influ-ence the lives of people on the other side ofthe globe. Mohamed Halfani uses hisnative Africa to analyze this process insome sub-Saharan cities. African citieshave encountered tremendous crisis due tothe confluence of important "global"trends. Halfani points to the impact ofSouth African investments, the revitaliza-tion of urban governance, the importanceof traditionalkinship institutions, and thevitality of the informal sector as mediatorsof the impact of globalization.In an excel-lent article, Nezar AlSayyad explores theimportance of urbanism as a way of main-taining the specificity of local cultures. He

BOOKREVIEWS 195

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ECONOMICGEOGRAPHYCONOMICGEOGRAPHYtransparency and accountability. JordiBorjaanalyzesthe case of Barcelona anditssuccess in attracting capital to build itstourism industry. He stresses the impor-tance of leadership in the new roles andforms of urban governing. It is not clear,however, how this particularcase can beextrapolated o other regionswith differentinstitutional structures. Finally, MariaElena Ducci explores the politics of urbansustainability.The contrastingneeds of thegreen agenda (global problems) and thebrown agenda (local problems) are ana-lyzed. The new urbanagendain developingcountries is no longer the struggle for landbut the struggle for a better qualityof lifeand a better urban environment.The fifth part of the book deals withchanges in the urbanlandscape. Galia andGuy Burgel analyze the failures of paststrategiesof urbandevelopment.They pro-pose experimenting with new methodolo-gies based on small-scale pragmatic pro-jects and citizen participation. RobertBruegmannargues that the new urbanismis alreadytaking place in the democratizedenvironment of the United States, wherethe city is shaped by every citizen, everyorganization,every day.In the finalpart,LisaR. Peattie proposesa new research agenda for urban studiesbased on a return to case studies. Urbanprocesses are to be understood throughcase analysis and comparision. Finally,Richard Stern analyzes the disciplinarydilemma of urban studies and summarizesthe most significantliteratureabout urbanissues since the 1960s, focusing mostly onurbansociologists and urbangeographers.Overall,this collection is a valuablecon-tributionto recent debates on urbanissues,from a globalization perspective. Thoseinterested in a broad overview of recentissues in urbanpracticeandtheorywill findPreparingfor the UrbanFuture enlighten-ing and useful. For those who want adeeper analysisof the future of the world'scities, however, this book only offers anintroductionto urbandebates.

transparency and accountability. JordiBorjaanalyzesthe case of Barcelona anditssuccess in attracting capital to build itstourism industry. He stresses the impor-tance of leadership in the new roles andforms of urban governing. It is not clear,however, how this particularcase can beextrapolated o other regionswith differentinstitutional structures. Finally, MariaElena Ducci explores the politics of urbansustainability.The contrastingneeds of thegreen agenda (global problems) and thebrown agenda (local problems) are ana-lyzed. The new urbanagendain developingcountries is no longer the struggle for landbut the struggle for a better qualityof lifeand a better urban environment.The fifth part of the book deals withchanges in the urbanlandscape. Galia andGuy Burgel analyze the failures of paststrategiesof urbandevelopment.They pro-pose experimenting with new methodolo-gies based on small-scale pragmatic pro-jects and citizen participation. RobertBruegmannargues that the new urbanismis alreadytaking place in the democratizedenvironment of the United States, wherethe city is shaped by every citizen, everyorganization,every day.In the finalpart,LisaR. Peattie proposesa new research agenda for urban studiesbased on a return to case studies. Urbanprocesses are to be understood throughcase analysis and comparision. Finally,Richard Stern analyzes the disciplinarydilemma of urban studies and summarizesthe most significantliteratureabout urbanissues since the 1960s, focusing mostly onurbansociologists and urbangeographers.Overall,this collection is a valuablecon-tributionto recent debates on urbanissues,from a globalization perspective. Thoseinterested in a broad overview of recentissues in urbanpracticeandtheorywill findPreparingfor the UrbanFuture enlighten-ing and useful. For those who want adeeper analysisof the future of the world'scities, however, this book only offers anintroductionto urbandebates.

Antonio LunaUniversitatPompeu Fabra,BarcelonaEurope's Population in the 1990s. Edited

by David Coleman. New York: OxfordUniversityPress, 1996.Europe'sPopulation n the 1990s is a col-lection of papers on recent demographictrends in European countries, focusing ondivergenceand convergenceat the nationaland, to a lesser extent, subnational evels.Most of the chapters were originally pre-sented at a conference held at the LondonSchoolof Economics n April1993andspon-sored by the British Society for PopulationStudies. Consequently it is not surprisingthat,despitethe European ocus,most of thecontributorsare from Britain,often empha-sizing the British demographic experiencemore than those of other countries.The editor, David Coleman, contributedthe prefaceandthe firstchapter.Theprefaceprovidesa brief overviewof the chaptersaswell as a brief descriptionof recent demo-graphic rends. Colemancharacterizes hesetrends, referred to as the second demo-

graphictransition,as being motivatedby a"primacy f individualaspirations ver tradi-tional restraintsand obligationsto a widersociety" (p. x). The first chapter describesrecentfertilitypatterns n Europe, emphasiz-ing the divergence across nations, such asdecliningfertility n southernEuropeversusincreasing ertility n northernEurope.Whileboth the preface and the first chapter areinformative,providinga wealth of detaileddata, I was surprisedby Coleman'suse ofvalue-ladenlanguage. Examples nclude therepeateduse of the term"illegitimate irths,"reference to the United States as "Neo-Europe,"and characterizingEast Europeancountriesas being "on the wrongside of theIron Curtainafter 1945"(p. vi).In the second chapter, Kathleen E.Kiernan describes changes in marriage,divorce,cohabitation,and single-parenthoodpatternsacrossEuropeannations,as well asgender differences in labor force participa-tion, earnings,and attitudestowardgenderroles and household responsibilities. She

Antonio LunaUniversitatPompeu Fabra,BarcelonaEurope's Population in the 1990s. Edited

by David Coleman. New York: OxfordUniversityPress, 1996.Europe'sPopulation n the 1990s is a col-lection of papers on recent demographictrends in European countries, focusing ondivergenceand convergenceat the nationaland, to a lesser extent, subnational evels.Most of the chapters were originally pre-sented at a conference held at the LondonSchoolof Economics n April1993andspon-sored by the British Society for PopulationStudies. Consequently it is not surprisingthat,despitethe European ocus,most of thecontributorsare from Britain,often empha-sizing the British demographic experiencemore than those of other countries.The editor, David Coleman, contributedthe prefaceandthe firstchapter.Theprefaceprovidesa brief overviewof the chaptersaswell as a brief descriptionof recent demo-graphic rends. Colemancharacterizes hesetrends, referred to as the second demo-

graphictransition,as being motivatedby a"primacy f individualaspirations ver tradi-tional restraintsand obligationsto a widersociety" (p. x). The first chapter describesrecentfertilitypatterns n Europe, emphasiz-ing the divergence across nations, such asdecliningfertility n southernEuropeversusincreasing ertility n northernEurope.Whileboth the preface and the first chapter areinformative,providinga wealth of detaileddata, I was surprisedby Coleman'suse ofvalue-ladenlanguage. Examples nclude therepeateduse of the term"illegitimate irths,"reference to the United States as "Neo-Europe,"and characterizingEast Europeancountriesas being "on the wrongside of theIron Curtainafter 1945"(p. vi).In the second chapter, Kathleen E.Kiernan describes changes in marriage,divorce,cohabitation,and single-parenthoodpatternsacrossEuropeannations,as well asgender differences in labor force participa-tion, earnings,and attitudestowardgenderroles and household responsibilities. She

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