Manuel Castells

"Manuel Castells, the most influential urban theorist of our time, has revolutionized modern thought on the processes of advanced capitalism and the generation of inequality. This collection of Castells' classic writing, which also includes two new essays written specifically for this book, reflects the panoramic breadth of his knowledge, the clarity of his approach, and the scholarly rigor and intellectual depth of his theoretical methods. Editor Ida Susser, through her own experience and collaboration with Castells, has selected his most significant essays and placed them within a theoretical and historical context. The Castells Reader on Cities and Social Theory is an essential resource for students and scholars of sociology, anthropology, political science, and urban studies."--Jacket.

"The cities and the regions of the world are being transformed under the combined impact of a restructuring of the capitalist system and a technological revolution. This is the thesis of this book, now in paperback. Castells not only brings together an impressive array of evidence to support it but puts forward a new body of theory to explain it. He analyzes the interaction between information technology, economic restructuring and socio-spatial change through the empirical observation of contemporary national, urban and regional processes in the capitalist world, with emphasis on the United States. The author summarizes a very wide range of evidence of urban and regional development, and isolates the causes and consequences of the processes and trends that may be observed."--Publisher description.