About the Book
This handbook presents the great contemporary challenges facing cities and urban spaces in Latin America and the Caribbean. The content of this multidisciplinary book is organized into four large sections focusing on the histories and trajectories of urban spatial development, inequality and displacement of urban populations, contemporary debates on urban policies, and the future of the city in this region. Scholars of diverse origins and specializations analyze Latin American and Caribbean cities showing that, despite their diversity, they share many characteristics and challenges and that there is value in systematizing this knowledge to both understand and explain them better and to promote increasing equity and sustainability.
The contributions in this handbook enhance the theoretical, empirical and methodological study of urbanization processes and urban policies of Latin America and the Caribbean in a global context, making it an important reference for scholars across the world. The book is designed to meet the interdisciplinary study and consultation needs of undergraduate and graduate students of architecture, urban design, urban planning, sociology, anthropology, political science, public administration, and more.
Table of Contents:
Section I: Histories and Trajectories of Spatial Urban Development, 1. The Study of Latin American and Caribbean Cities in the 21st Century, 2. The Right to the City in Latin America and the Caribbean, 3. Urban Growth, Metropolitanization, and Growth Management in Latin America and the Caribbean, Maria Encarnação Beltrão-Sposito, 4. Historic Urbanism, Urban Morphology, and Urban Design in Latin America and the Caribbean, 5. Structures and Typologies of Latin American and Caribbean Cities, 6. Urban Migrations in the Cities of Latin America and the Caribbean, 7. Land Markets and Land Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean, Section II: Inequality and Continued Displacement, 8. Long-term Features of Cities in Latin America and the Caribbean: Socio-residencial Segregation, Territorial Inequality, and Spatial Fragmentation, 9. Historic Centers in Latin America and the Caribbean: From Heritage Fetishism to Productive Inheritance, 10. From Degradation to Gentrification and Touristification of Historical Centers in Latin America and the Caribbean: a Decolonial Perspective, 11. Urban Poverty and Social Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean: Social Vulnerability in the Era of Sustainable Development, 12. Structural Precariousness and Self-managed Settlements in cities of Latin America and the Caribbean, 13. Conflict, Violence and Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean cities, 14. Peripheral Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean Metropolis Cities: Gated Communities and Spatial Path Dependence, Section III: Contemporary policy debates, 15. Urban and Regional Planning in Latin America and the Caribbean, 16. Financialization of Housing in Latin America and the Caribbean: Rent Extraction, Flexibility and Illegalisms, 17. Environment and City in Latin America and the Caribbean: the Clash of Inequality and Urban Sustainability, 18. Cities and Public Health in Latin America and the Caribbean, 19. Models of Urban Governance and Social Movements in Latin America and the Caribbean, 20. Geography and Urban Insurgences in Latin America and the Caribbean, 21. Emergent Urban Challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean: Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, 22. Accessibility, Mobility, and Transportation Innovations in Latin America and the Caribbean: Successes and Areas for Improvement, 23. Urban Projects and Public Space in Latin America and the Caribbean: Walking Towards a Paradigm of Gender Equality, 24. Race, Gender, Class and Policy Policies in Latin America and Andean countries, 25. Caribbean Island Cities: Urban Issues, Urbanization Processes and Opportunities for Transformation, Section IV: The future of the city, 26. The Future of Latin American and Caribbean Cities: Urban Bias and Political Fragments in Place, 27. From Emerging to Inclusive and Sustainable: the Future of the City in Latin America and Caribbean
About the Author :
Jesús M. González-Pérez holds a PhD in geography from the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) and is currently a full Professor at the University of the Balearic Islands (Spain). He is the President of the Spanish Geographical Association (AGE).
He has stayed at about twenty universities in a visiting scholar capacity, including Stanford, Paris 1, Glasgow, Bergen, Missouri-Kansas City, Havana, São Paulo, and UNAM. In 2015, he was a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University. And in 2016, he was a Tinker Visiting Professor at Stanford University
He has published nearly 200 papers in numerous high impact journals (JCR, SCOPUS) and prestigious publishing houses (Routledge, Springer, Wiley, Peter Lang, etc.), which are available in a wide range of languages (Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, Chinese, etc.), and has participated in over 30 research projects. His main research lines are urban inequality and fragmentation, social segregation and immigration, and tourist gentrification. His experience researching these phenomena goes beyond Europe, embracing the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
Clara Irazábal is the Director of the Urban Studies and Planning Program in the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at the University of Maryland, College Park. In her research and teaching, she explores the interactions of culture, politics, and placemaking, and their impact on community development and socio-spatial justice in Latin American cities and minoritized communities in the US.
Irazábal was a professor at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, Columbia University in New York; and the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. She lectures at Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona. She got her PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. Irazábal has published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, and has worked as consultant, researcher, and/or professor in countries of the Americas, Europe, and Asia. She has taught planning and interdisciplinary studios in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Trinidad and Tobago and domestically in minoritized and immigrant/refugee communities.
Rubén C. Lois-González is full Professor of Geography at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) and Vice President of the International Geographical Union (UGI). He has been visiting professor at universities in France, Norway, Italy and the Federal University of Bahia-UFBA (Brazil). He is Principal Investigator of several European and international cross-border cooperation projects. He is author of about 200 books and book chapters, and more than 150 articles in academic journals. These include Finisterra, Annales de Géographie, Sud-Ouest Européen, Die Erde, European Planning Studies, Land, Use & Policy, Revista Geográfica del Norte Grande, Mobilities, Territory, Politics, Governance, Sociologia Ruralis and Gender, Place & Culture. He has directed 37 doctoral theses. He has been Dean of the Faculty of Geography and History of the University of Santiago de Compostela. He is a member of the Board of the Association of Spanish Geography and founder of the College of Geographers of Spain.
Review :
"Latin America and the Caribbean are among the most urbanized regions of the world. This multidisciplinary handbook brings together leading scholars, predominantly from within the region, to assess critical aspects of urban space, inequality, and policy. It fills a crucial need, and promises to become a key resource for anyone who studies or teaches about cities."
Dr. Michael B. Kahan, Program on Urban Studies and Department of Sociology, Stanford University, USA
"This book is an excellent and timely instruction manual on urban studies in Latin America and the Caribbean that will be of great use to researchers in the field."
Dr. Huhua Cao, Professor at the University of Ottawa, Canada
"This handbook presents a comprehensive discussion and overview on the urban phenomena in Latin America and the Caribbean. The cities and the urban reality of the region is approached by authors coming from different scientific backgrounds, together they convincingly challenge both historical and present development patterns to promote urban equity and sustainability."
Dr. Jorgelina Hardoy, Senior Researcher and Coordinator of the International Institute for Environment and Development, IIED – LATIN AMERICA
"This handbook is an appealing, massive, and multidisciplinary effort to broadcast current critical debates on urban studies in the region. The book will undoubtedly become a reference for analyzing the trajectories, specificities, inequalities, challenges, and policy options of the urban process in Latin America and the Caribbean."
Dr. Andrea Carrión, Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales, IAEN, and FLACSO (Ecuador)
"The authors of this book have given us a profound sense of an emerging modernity. It is a modernity marked by multiple novel conditions, constraints, enablements, and destructions. This will become a must read book. It is a major contribution to our understanding of a series of changes we are currently experiencing."
Dr. Saskia Sassen, The Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University, New York City, USA
"The Routledge Handbook of Urban Studies in Latin America and the Caribbean offers a wealth of insights into the many urgent contemporary challenges facing cities in LAC....This handbook succeeds as a valuable multidisciplinary effort to critically assess the current debates on urban issues in the region. It is also a noteworthy contribution to our understanding of contemporary societies’ present and future challenges."
Alejandra Trejo-Nieto, El Colegio de Mexico, for the Journal of Urban Affairs
"By addressing both general overviews and detailed investigations on subjects such as planning, heritage, public health, mobility, class, gender, and race, this handbook provides valuable insights into the complex urbanization process and the challenges faced by those living in cities within Latin America and the Caribbean. Unlike previous studies that have predominantly focused on North America’s urbanization patterns, this handbook is a much-needed contribution that strives to analyze Latin American and Caribbean cities in relation to their unique urban processes and policies."
Ivis Garcia, Texas A&M University, for the Journal of Planning Literature
"[This book] makes a substantial contribution to both theoretical and practical aspects of urban studies in the region. The theoretical discussions deepen our understanding of LAC urban dynamics, challenge prevailing narratives, encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, and advance research. The practical insights, case studies, and policy recommendations inform decision-making and lay the ground for future work in the region’s cities."
Vanessa Guerra, University of Virginia, for the Journal of Planning Education and Research
