Urban Geography: Social and Spatial Dynamics of the City

By Barney Warf

Urban Geography: Social and Spatial Dynamics of the City introduces urban geography from an urban political economy perspective. The book emphasizes the dynamics of capitalist cities, exploring the complex politics of inequality in an engaging and approachable way. Addressing a wide range of topics concerned with both production and social reproduction in the city, it explores both social issues such as poverty and inequality as well as environmental issues such as climate change. Initial chapters make a case for why cities are such an important locus of study for urban geography and trace the origins and historical development of cities globally.

From there, subsequent chapters review the urban economy and urban hierarchies, engaging with questions of urban residential space, segregation, social ecology, and gentrification. The relationship between the state and the urban structure is investigated, as well as the issues of environmental problems, air pollution, climate change, and water shortage. Finally, urbanization in the developing world is examined considering the legacies of colonialism and formal and informal urban economies. This textbook is an essential resource for upper-level undergraduate students in geography and environmental science and non-science majors engaging with urban geography within the social sciences.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0443302812
• ISBN13: 9780443302817
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Academic Press
• Length: 294 Pages