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The National Embeddedness of Urbanization Trajectories

The National Embeddedness of Urbanization Trajectories The National Embeddedness of Urbanization Trajectories Nora Libertun de Duren Inter-American Development Bank How do we create valid comparisons among cities in different national contexts when the relationships that define them differ? What are we to make of the different outcomes of similar social forces in the development of cities? I would argue that one of the key factors that validate comparisons among cities is to focus on the right unit of analysis, namely, the city plus its links to the national context in which it is embedded. I shall illustrate this point through a comparison of the development of public parks in New York City (NYC) and in Buenos Aires in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, when both cities were important industrial centers. While appeasing industrial labor played a major role in the design of public parks in NYC, development of parks in Buenos Aires focused on attracting landowning elites and their wealth to fuel the industrialization of Buenos Aires. Thus, apparently similar cities undergoing relatively similar socioeconomic transformations evolved differently because of the different historical roles these cities played nationally. I shall also illustrate the relevance of considering the links that connect cities to the http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png City and Community SAGE

The National Embeddedness of Urbanization Trajectories

City and Community , Volume 10 (4): 1 – Dec 1, 2011

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References (65)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© 2011 American Sociological Association
ISSN
1535-6841
eISSN
1540-6040
DOI
10.1111/j.1540-6040.2011.01384.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The National Embeddedness of Urbanization Trajectories Nora Libertun de Duren Inter-American Development Bank How do we create valid comparisons among cities in different national contexts when the relationships that define them differ? What are we to make of the different outcomes of similar social forces in the development of cities? I would argue that one of the key factors that validate comparisons among cities is to focus on the right unit of analysis, namely, the city plus its links to the national context in which it is embedded. I shall illustrate this point through a comparison of the development of public parks in New York City (NYC) and in Buenos Aires in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, when both cities were important industrial centers. While appeasing industrial labor played a major role in the design of public parks in NYC, development of parks in Buenos Aires focused on attracting landowning elites and their wealth to fuel the industrialization of Buenos Aires. Thus, apparently similar cities undergoing relatively similar socioeconomic transformations evolved differently because of the different historical roles these cities played nationally. I shall also illustrate the relevance of considering the links that connect cities to the

Journal

City and CommunitySAGE

Published: Dec 1, 2011

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