Urban Bonds: Social Relationships in an Inner City Neighbourhood (Hardcover)

What is the role of the neighborhood in our understanding of community, and how has this role changed over the last century? In this careful ethnographic study of the changing nature of social relationships and urban communities, Talja Blokland seeks to answer these questions. This is an outstanding, thoughtful, and often provocative book, interweaving two rather different but parallel inquiries: a detailed study of the history and current social life of a poor neighborhood in Rotterdam, and a reflection on the character of social ties in urban areas everywhere. The book is organized around broad conceptual issues--well known in sociology and sociological theory--in a way that presents the empirical material within general points that are relevant for teaching purposes. It includes insightful discussions on the issues of community and ethnicity and draws a great deal on American urban sociology.