Space and Pluralism

Can Contemporary Cities Be Places of Tolerance?

Description
Table of contents
Reviews

This book addresses the social, functional and symbolic dimensions of urban space in today’s world. The twelve essays range from a conceptual framing of the issues to case descriptions, rich with illustrations. Together they provide a thorough exploration of the nature and significance of social space and particular aspects of its distribution in today’s urban spaces and the various factors that are competing for it.

The book addresses a topic that is intrinsically interdisciplinary. Questions of space are examined from a rich variety of perspectives from urban planning to political philosophy, shedding some light on this shadowy process. Some of the issues addressed include the dichotomies of public and private space, rights and duties regarding the use of space, and conflicts over its allocation. Well-reasoned and lively discussions are offered from the perspective of basic values and rights. The recognition of the specifics of (minority community) identity as an institutional policy is raised in opposition to “abstract distributive accounts of justice” – economic pressures by developers and would-be gentrifiers.

List of Figures
List of Tables

Introduction: Space, Pluralism and Tolerance
Stefano Moroni and David Weberman

Part I: Overarching Themes

1. Space, Place and Politics
Cecília Lippai and David Weberman

2. Culture and Tolerance in Public Space
Ali Madanipour

3. Pluralism and Failures of Recognition: The Need for Dialogue
John Forester and David Laws

Part II: Emerging Issues

4. Pluralism in Private Spaces: Homeowners Associations, Clubs, Shopping Malls
Stefano Moroni and Francesco Chiodelli

5. A Dissenting View of Urban Public Space
Andrew Kirby

6. A Right to a Mosque? Access to Public Space, Religious Freedom and Participatory Goods
Emanuela Ceva and Federico Zuolo

7. Urban Space and Respect for Persons: Making Sense of Pluralism in Cities
Enrico Biale

Part III: Case Studies and Policies

8. Contested Identities and Spatial Marginalization: The Case of Roma and Gypsy-Travelers in
Wales
Francesco Chiesa and Enzo Rossi

9. Negotiating Identity in the Diaspora: Ethnoscapes of Southeast Asian Communities in Los Angeles
Tridib Banerjee, Surajit Chakravarty and Felicity Hwee-Hwa Chan

10. What’s “Out of Place”? Intolerance in Public Space
Laco Toušek and Lenka Strnadová

11. Residential Neighborhoods in an Ethnically Mixed Area: Factors that Shape Coexistence
Itzhak Omer

List of Contributors
Index

Journal of Urban Affairs

"Space and Pluralism could be a useful addition to graduate courses associated with the fields of urban and global studies. It will generate debate, frustration, and questions over the possibility of increased tolerance and ultimately pluralism. As much as the book may portend to be a tool to advance tolerance, I think its ideas are overly hopeful. Maybe asking good questions about “the good” is as much as we can expect right now; hope permits us to begin and without hope there is no place to start; consequently, hate and intolerance will win. We cannot let that happen. Space and Pluralism is a difficult read but it is definitely worth it."