Draws on renowned social thinkers to help understand why Americans flock to urban centers

The modern city is the nexus of culture, politics, and art. Despite the manifold problems cities face, more and more Americans are abandoning rural areas and relocating to urban centers. By the year 2000, 4 out of 5 Americans will live within one hour of a major city. What has prompted this emphasis on the city? Chronicling the rise of the modern city, Metropolis draws from the work of such renowned social thinkers as Georg Simmel, Lewis Mumford, Walter Benjamin, Richard Sennett, and Herbert Gans, to illustrate how and why we have come to be an urban society and what the future holds for the American city. Each of the five sections (on modernity and the urban ethos; New York City; community and social bonds in the city; social relations and public places; and the role of space, race, class, and politics in the American city) is prefaced by an introduction by the editor, highlighting the issues under discussion.