Widely recognized as a groundbreaking text, The New Urban Sociology is a broad and expert introduction to urban sociology that is both relevant and accessible to the student. A thought leader in the field, the book is organized around an integrated paradigm—the sociospatial perspective—which considers the role played by social factors such as race, class, gender, lifestyle, economics, culture, and politics on the development of metropolitan areas. Emphasizing the importance of space to social life and real estate to urban development, the book integrates social, ecological and political economy perspectives and research through a fresh theoretical approach. With its unique perspective, concise history of urban life, clear summary of urban social theory, and attention to the impact of culture on urban development, this book gives students a cohesive conceptual framework for understanding cities and urban life.
In this thoroughly revised 5th edition, authors Mark Gottdiener, Ray Hutchison, and Michael T. Ryan offer expanded discussions of created cultures, gentrification, and urban tourism, and have incorporated the most recent work in the field throughout the text. The New Urban Sociology is a necessity for all courses on the subject.
 
Review
"The New Urban Sociology is the ideal book to include in an upper level undergraduate or graduate level urban studies or history course, or any course requiring a good foundation in the study of cities. It is intelligently written, offers a sweeping overview of the history of cities (with an especially expansive section on the United States), and is accompanied by tables and figures that are nicely designed, integrate well conceptually, and add much to the narrative. Furthermore, it has one of the most accessible summaries of urban social theory that I have found, making the concepts of Harvey, Lefebvre, Castells, Scott, and others intelligible to students so that they can move on to the more difficult original texts if they so desire. Finally—and highly unusual in most textbooks—The New Urban Sociology integrates abundant citations of the sociological and historical literature into its analytical discussion, a feature that, accompanied by the ending Bibliography, makes the book a valuable research source that students are likely to turn to for many years."
—Wendy Plotkin, H-Urban Editor, Arizona State University
"The New Urban Sociology shows students that there are different ways of understanding cities, such as the structural conditions and larger forces behind how urban problems and inequalities arise. Most texts on urban sociology provide definitions on the basic vocabulary that scholars of cities use, a potted history of the field, and examples of research in chapters themed on key topics in the discipline. The New Urban Sociology goes beyond this standard to put forth a novel ‘sociospatial' approach to understanding cities and metropolitan regions. Drawing from a broad array of research on cities from around the world, they offer a clear, space-based perspective and hold it up against several other urban theories in an engaging manner that will bring students into the conversation of city growth and life from the outset."
—Richard E. Ocejo, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY