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  • © 2019

The Palgrave Handbook of Bottom-Up Urbanism

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Aims to bridge existing descriptions of bottom-up urbanisms

  • Bridges bottom-up initiatives in the Global North with informal urbanism, both in the Global North and Global South

  • Provides descriptions and manifestos that defend bottom-up initiatives

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Table of contents (20 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
  2. Introduction

    • Conrad Kickert, Mahyar Arefi
    Pages 1-10
  3. Agency Versus Authority

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11
    2. Lean Urbanism Is About Making Small Possible

      • Hank Dittmar, Douglas S. Kelbaugh
      Pages 67-82
    3. Informal Urbanism and the American City

      • Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, Vinit Mukhija
      Pages 83-96
  4. Formalizing the Informal

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 177-177
    2. Lean Urbanism in Central Africa

      • Stephen Coyle
      Pages 179-199

About this book

Who shapes our cities? In an age of increasing urban pluralism, globalization and immigration, decreasing public budgets, and an ongoing crisis of authority among designers and planners, the urban environment is shaped by a number of non-traditional stakeholders. The book surveys the kaleidoscope of views on the agency of urbanism, providing an overview of the various scholarly debates and territories that pertain to bottom-up efforts such as everyday urbanism, DIY urbanism, guerilla urbanism, tactical urbanism, and lean urbanism. Uniquely, this books seeks connections between the various movements by curating a range of views on the past, present, and future of bottom-up urbanism. The contributors also connect the recent trend of bottom-up efforts in the West with urban informality in the Global South, drawing parallels and finding contrast between social and institutional structures across the globe. The book appeals to urbanists in the widest sense of the word: those who shape, study, and improve our urban spaces. 



Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, USA

    Mahyar Arefi

  • University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, USA

    Conrad Kickert

About the editors

Mahyar Arefi is Professor of Planning at the University of Texas at Arlington, USA. He received his PhD in Planning from the University of Southern California. His publications have appeared in edited volumes and peer-reviewed flagship journals. 


Conrad Kickert is Assistant Professor of Urban Design at the University of Cincinnati, USA. He has worked as an urban researcher and designer in The Netherlands, the UK, and the USA.



Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Palgrave Handbook of Bottom-Up Urbanism

  • Editors: Mahyar Arefi, Conrad Kickert

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90131-2

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-90130-5Published: 10 July 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-07939-0Published: 14 December 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-90131-2Published: 27 June 2018

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVII, 357

  • Number of Illustrations: 54 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Urban Studies/Sociology, Urbanism, Urban Geography / Urbanism (inc. megacities, cities, towns)

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access