{"product_id":"unbuilding-cities-obduracy-in-urban-sociotechnical-change-paperback","title":"Unbuilding Cities: Obduracy in Urban Sociotechnical Change - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAnique Hommels\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCity planning initiatives and redesign of urban structures often become mired in debate and delay. Despite the fact that cities are considered to be dynamic and flexible spaces--never finished but always under construction--it is very difficult to change existing urban structures; they become fixed, obdurate, securely anchored in their own histories as well as in the histories of their surroundings. In \u003ci\u003eUnbuilding Cities\u003c\/i\u003e, Anique Hommels looks at the tension between the malleability of urban space and its obduracy, focusing on sites and structures that have been subjected to \"unbuilding\"--redesign or reconfiguration. She brings the concepts of science and technology studies (STS) to bear on the study of cities. Viewing the city as a large sociotechnological artifact, she demonstrates the usefulness of STS tools that were developed to analyze other technological artifacts and explores in detail the role of obduracy in sociotechnical change. Her analysis distinguishes three concepts of obduracy: interactionist, in which actors with diverging views are constrained by fixed ways of thinking and interacting; relational, in which change is difficult because of technology's embeddedness in sociotechnical networks; and enduring, in which persistent traditions influence the development of technology over time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHommels examines the tensions between obduracy and change in three urban redesign projects in the Netherlands: a renovated city center that fell into drabness and disrepair; a highway system that runs through a densely populated urban area; and a high-rise housing project, designed according to modernist precepts and built for middle-class families, that became a haven for unemployment and crime. \u003ci\u003eUnbuilding Cities\u003c\/i\u003e contributes to a productive fusion of STS and urban studies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnique Hommels is Assistant Professor in the Department of Technology and Society Studies, Faculty of Arts and Culture, University of Maastricht, Netherlands.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 292\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 x 8.9 x 6.9 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 01, 2008\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47456702496946,"sku":"9780262582827","price":54.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/555ef9afc290c5d5267484fa2d1ae60a.webp?v=1778870160","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/unbuilding-cities-obduracy-in-urban-sociotechnical-change-paperback","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}