Abstract

The New Urban Question is an exuberant and illuminating adventure through our current global urban condition, tracing the connections between radical urban theory and political activism.

From Haussmann's attempts to use urban planning to rid 19th-century Paris of workers revolution to the contemporary metropolis, including urban disaster-zones such as downtown Detroit, Merrifield reveals how the urban experience has been profoundly shaped by class antagonism and been the battle-ground for conspiracies, revolts and social eruptions.

Going beyond the work of earlier urban theorists such as Manuel Castells, Merrifield identifies the new urban question that has emerged and demands urgent attention, as the city becomes a site of active plunder by capital and the setting for new forms of urban struggle, from Occupy to the Indignados.
'An exciting writer who brings a fresh perspective to the political debate'
New Internationalist
'Read Merrifield, whose writing is a breath of fresh air in an increasingly arid intellectual field'
Duncan Bowie, The Chartist
'Merrifield is accessible, optimistic and even fun'
New York Times