The Routledge Companion to the Suburbs

The Routledge Companion to the Suburbs provides one of the most comprehensive examinations available to date of the suburbs around the world. International in scope and interdisciplinary in nature, this volume will serve as the definitive reference for scholars and students of the suburbs.

This volume brings together the leading scholars of the suburbs researching in different parts of the world to better understand how and why suburbs and their communities grow, decline, and regenerate. The volume sets out four goals: 1) to provide a synthesis and critical appraisal of the historical and current state of understanding about the development of suburbs in the world; 2) to provide a forum for a comprehensive examination into the conceptual, theoretical, spatial, and empirical discontents of suburbanization; 3) to engage in a scholarly conversation about the transformation of suburbs that is interdisciplinary in nature and bridges the divide between the Global North and the Global South; and 4) to reflect on the implications of the socioeconomic, cultural, and political transformations of the suburbs for policymakers and planners. The Routledge Companion to the Suburbs is composed of original, scholarly contributions from the leading scholars of the study of how and why suburbs grow, decline, and transform. Special attention is paid to the global nature of suburbanization and its regional variations, with a focus on comparative analysis of suburbs through regions across the world in the Global North and the Global South.

Articulated in a common voice, the volume is integrated by the very nature of the concept of a suburb as the unit of analysis, offering multidisciplinary perspectives from the fields of economics, geography, planning, political science, sociology, and urban studies.

"Hanlon and Vicino have produced a sorely-needed collection of essays on the definition, composition, and evolution of the wide variety of settlements collectively known as the suburbs. Notable both for its interdisciplinary methods and global scope, this volume includes an excellent and well-balanced selection of articles by leading urban and suburban scholars. I recommend this book to policymakers, researchers, and students concerned with metropolitan growth and the spatial dimensions of poverty and inequality." - Paul A. Jargowsky, Rutgers University, U.S.A.

"The Routledge Companion to the Suburbs brings together key contemporary urban scholars to systematically challenge the ways in which we understand and describe the suburbs. Crossing national and disciplinary boundaries, this collection expands our knowledge of urbanism and the forms it assumes across the globe." - Ali Modarres, Professor and Director, Urban Studies, University of Washington Tacoma, USA