Author: Marco Martiniello

Publisher: Universidad de Deusto

Published: 2002-01-01

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 8498305055

It seems the world is becoming increasingly uniform culturally. To a certain degree, this observation is correct in the sense that a global mass culture is certainly being disseminated an sold all over the plane. But the world is at the same time increasingly diversified in terms of ethno-cultura identities. The tension between the trend toward cultural uniformity and the trend toward differentiation of identities is well captured by observing the evolution of social dynamics in cities. Most medium-sized and large European cities are today increasingly fragmented socially, economically and ethnically. Some of them are even becoming socially, ethnically an racially ghettoised. But at the same time, European cities remain places where intergroup encounters con develop and where cultural production takes place. The cities are the crossroads between the local and the global. The first aim of this book is to discuss the changes affecting the city and the role played by cultural diversity and ethno-national identities in those changes. The second aim is to examine some crucial issues and aspects of the current process of cultural diversification of cities and its impact on urban socio-economic, political and cultural activities.