There have been striking increases in both long-distance travel and in communications through mobile phones, text messaging, emailing and videoconferencing. Such developments in communication, along with a similar increase in physical travel and movement of goods around the globe, reconfigure social networks by disconnecting and reconnecting people in new ways. This original book puts forward one of the first social science studies of the geographies of social networks and related mobilities of travel, communications and face-to-face meetings. The book examines five interdependent mobilities that form and reform these geographies of networks and travel in the contemporary world. These are: physical travel of people for work, leisure, pleasure, migration and escape; physical movement of objects delivered to producers, consumers and retailers; imaginative travel elsewhere through images and memories seen on texts, TV, computer screens and film; virtual travel on the internet; and communicative travel through letters, cards, telegrams, telephones, faxes, text messages and videoconferences. In the book the authors examine the interconnections between these different mobilities. They research how travel and social meetings require systems of coordination using virtual and communicative travel in-between physical travel and meetings. They argue that, while it might be imagined that there would be less need of physical meetings with improved technology, on the contrary, scheduled visits and meetings have become highly significant. The research shows that they are necessary to social life in the contemporary world, both within business and, especially, within families and friendships which are increasingly conducted at a distance.

Many places around the world are being produced, converted, interpreted and made fit for tourist consumption. This fascinating book analyzes tourist performances such as walking, shopping, sunbathing, photographing, eating and clubbing, and studies why, and indeed how, some places become global centres whilst others don't. Arranged in four distinct parts, Sheller and Urry consider: Performing Paradise Performances of Global Heritage Remaking Playful Places New Playful Places. Incorporating a wide array of empirical research and innovative international case studies, this fascinating book illuminates the tourist performance phenomenon: from Eco-tourism on the beach to shopping in Hong Kong, from the making of 'Cool Reykjavik' to tourism in high-rise suburbs in Paris, and from Inca heritage to medical tourism. Edited by two world authorities in tourism studies, this revealing book deploys a range of theories related to the 'mobility turn' in the social sciences in order to analyze the contingent and networked nature of how places are stabilized as fit for playful performances. Well-written and researched, with coherent analysis and presentation, this book will appeal to academics, students and those interested in the complex character of global change.

This book looks at the making and the consuming of places in the contemporary world. Illustrated through various case-studies from Denmark, it considers how places, performances and peoples intersect. It examines the fascinating circumstances through which visitors to a place, in part, produce that place through their performances. Places are intertwined with people through various systems that generate and reproduce performances in and of that place. These systems comprise networks of 'hosts, guests, buildings, objects and machines' that contingently realize particular performances of specific places. The studies featured here develop an exciting 'new mobility' paradigm emerging within the social sciences.

There have been striking increases in both long-distance travel and in communications through mobile phones, text messaging, emailing and videoconferencing. Such developments in communication, along with a similar increase in physical travel and movement of goods around the globe, reconfigure social networks by disconnecting and reconnecting people in new ways. This original book puts forward one of the first social science studies of the geographies of social networks and related mobilities of travel, communications and face-to-face meetings. The book examines five interdependent mobilities that form and reform these geographies of networks and travel in the contemporary world. These are: physical travel of people for work, leisure, pleasure, migration and escape; physical movement of objects delivered to producers, consumers and retailers; imaginative travel elsewhere through images and memories seen on texts, TV, computer screens and film; virtual travel on the internet; and communicative travel through letters, cards, telegrams, telephones, faxes, text messages and videoconferences. In the book the authors examine the interconnections between these different mobilities. They research how travel and social meetings require systems of coordination using virtual and communicative travel in-between physical travel and meetings. They argue that, while it might be imagined that there would be less need of physical meetings with improved technology, on the contrary, scheduled visits and meetings have become highly significant. The research shows that they are necessary to social life in the contemporary world, both within business and, especially, within families and friendships which are increasingly conducted at a distance.

A New Industrial Future? examines whether a further industrial revolution is taking place around the world. In this compelling book Birtchnell and Urry examine such a new possible future involving the mass adoption of 3D printing. The locating of 3D printers in homes, offices, stores and workshops would disrupt existing systems and pose novel challenges for incumbents. The book drawing upon expert interviews, scenario workshops and various case studies assesses the potential future of global manufacturing, freight transport, world trade and land use. It offers the first book-length social scientific analysis of the character and impacts of a new system of manufacturing that is in formation. The book will be of interest to urban planners, policy makers, social scientists, futurologists, economists, as well as general readers by offering inquiry on this future upheaval in the means of production.

A New Industrial Future? examines whether a further industrial revolution is taking place around the world. In this compelling book Birtchnell and Urry examine such a new possible future involving the mass adoption of 3D printing. The locating of 3D printers in homes, offices, stores and workshops would disrupt existing systems and pose novel challenges for incumbents. The book drawing upon expert interviews, scenario workshops and various case studies assesses the potential future of global manufacturing, freight transport, world trade and land use. It offers the first book-length social scientific analysis of the character and impacts of a new system of manufacturing that is in formation. The book will be of interest to urban planners, policy makers, social scientists, futurologists, economists, as well as general readers by offering inquiry on this future upheaval in the means of production.

Most recent sociological work on the theory of class is based on a distinction between Weberian and Marxist approaches. For the first part of this volume, the authors use this distinction to review the literature on the middle class, concentrating particularly on the traditions of Marxist theory and of the more empirical work inspired by Max Weber. They show, however, that this distinction is of limited utility in reconstructing a theory of the middle class.

First published in 1973, this is a reissue of John Urry's important and influential study of the theory of revolution. Part 1 offers a detailed discussion of the concept of the reference group, tracing its development from the symbolic interactionist tradition and then showing how it came to be used in ways which emasculated some of the suppositions of that tradition. Part 2 sets out a theory of revolutionary dissent, in which Dr Urry emphasizes the interconnection between analyses on the level of the social structure and the social actor. The final section demonstrates the value of this theory by using it to account for the varying patterns of action and revolutionary thought and action in the Dutch East Indies in the first half of this century.

Mobile communications technologies are taking off across the world, while urban transportation and surveillance systems are also being rebuilt and updated. Emergent practices of physical, informational and communicational mobility are reconfiguring patterns of movement, co-presence, social exclusion and security across many urban contexts. This book brings together a carefully selected group of innovative case studies of these mobile technologies of the city, tracing the emergence of both new socio-technical practices of the city and of a new theoretical paradigm for mobilities research.

This book, written by a philosopher interested in the problems of social science and scientific method, and a sociologist interested in the philosophy of science, presents a novel conception of how we should think about and carry out the scientific study of social life. This book combines an evaluation of different conceptions of the nature of science with an examination of important sociological theorists and frameworks. Originally published in 1975.

Bringing together the leading authors currently working at the intersection of social science and transport science, this volume provides a companion to the well-established and extensive international Transport and Society series. Each chapter, and the volume as a whole, offers closer and richer consideration of the issues, practices and structures of multiple mobilities which shape the current world but which have typically been overlooked or minimised. What this approach seeks to do is not only draw attention to many new areas of research and investigation relating to mobile lives, but also to point to new theories and methods by which such lives have to be researched and examined. Such new theories and methods are relevant both to rethinking 'transport' studies as such but are also recasting 'societal' studies as 'transport' so that it comes out of the ghetto and enters mainstream social science.

First published in 1973, this is a reissue of John Urry's important and influential study of the theory of revolution.

• Part 1 offers a detailed discussion of the concept of the reference group, tracing its development from the symbolic interactionist tradition and then showing how it came to be used in ways which emasculated some of the suppositions of that tradition.
• Part 2 sets out a theory of revolutionary dissent, in which Dr Urry emphasizes the interconnection between analyses on the level of the social structure and the social actor.
• The final section demonstrates the value of this theory by using it to account for the varying patterns of action and revolutionary thought and action in the Dutch East Indies in the first half of this century.

This book, written by a philosopher interested in the problems of social science and scientific method, and a sociologist interested in the philosophy of science, presents a novel conception of how we should think about and carry out the scientific study of social life. This book combines an evaluation of different conceptions of the nature of science with an examination of important sociological theorists and frameworks. This second edition of the work was originally published in 1982.

How should we understand the personal and social impacts of complex mobility systems? Can lifestyles based around intensive travel, transport and tourism be maintained in the 21st century? What possibility post-carbon lifestyles?

In this provocative study of "life on the move," Anthony Elliott and John Urry explore how complex mobility systems are transforming everyday, ordinary lives. The authors develop their arguments through an analysis of various sectors of mobile lives: networks, new digital technologies, consumerism, the lifestyles of ?globals?, and intimate relationships at-a-distance. Elliott and Urry introduce a range of new concepts ? miniaturized mobilities, affect storage, network capital, meetingness, neighbourhood lives, portable personhood, ambient place, globals ? to capture the specific ways in which mobility systems intersect with mobile lives.

This book represents a novel approach in "post-carbon" social theory. It will be essential reading for advanced undergraduate students, postgraduates and teachers in sociology, social theory, politics, geography, international relations, cultural studies, and economics and business studies.

In the twenty-first century, more than ever, everything and everybody seems to be on the move. Global flows of people, goods, food, money, information, services and media images are forming an intensely mobile background to everyday life. Social scientists, too, are on the move, seeking new analytical purchase on these important aspects of the social world by trying to move with, and to be moved by, the fleeting, distributed, multiple, non-causal, sensory, emotional and kinaesthetic. Mobile Methods addresses the challenges and opportunities of researching mobile phenomena. Drawing on extensive interdisciplinary discussion, the book brings together a collection of cutting-edge methodological innovations and original research reports to examine some important implications of the mobilities turn for the processes of 'research', and the realm of the empirical. Through analysis that addresses questions such as 'how are social relationships and social institutions made in and through mobility?', and 'how do people experience mobility in twenty-first century world cities?', the authors mobilize sociological analysis, bringing new insights and opening up new opportunities for engagement with contemporary challenges. This book is a key text for undergraduate and postgraduate students of disciplines including Human Geography, Social Policy, Sociology and Research Methods.

Aeromobilities is a collection of essays that tackle in many different ways the growing importance of aviation and air travel in our hypermobile, globalized world. Providing a multidisciplinary focus on issues ranging from global airports to the production of airspace, from airline work to helicopters, and from movement in airports to software systems, Aeromobilities seeks to enhance our understanding of space, time and mobility in the age of mass air travel. From Sao Paulo to Sydney, Aeromobilities draws on local experiences of airspaces to generate theory and research that are global in scope. It is the first book of its kind, bringing together a wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches to aviation and air travel in the social sciences and humanities, while emphasizing the central role of aeromobilities in contemporary social relations. In a world where virtually every aspect of social life is touched upon, in one way or another, by the complex global network of airline flows, with its large passenger aircraft and iconic international airports, Aeromobilities provides innovative analyses of some of the most fundamental and influential mobility networks of our time.

Aeromobilities is a collection of essays that tackle in many different ways the growing importance of aviation and air travel in our hypermobile, globalized world. Providing a multidisciplinary focus on issues ranging from global airports to the production of airspace, from airline work to helicopters, and from movement in airports to software systems, Aeromobilities seeks to enhance our understanding of space, time and mobility in the age of mass air travel. From Sao Paulo to Sydney, Aeromobilities draws on local experiences of airspaces to generate theory and research that are global in scope. It is the first book of its kind, bringing together a wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches to aviation and air travel in the social sciences and humanities, while emphasizing the central role of aeromobilities in contemporary social relations. In a world where virtually every aspect of social life is touched upon, in one way or another, by the complex global network of airline flows, with its large passenger aircraft and iconic international airports, Aeromobilities provides innovative analyses of some of the most fundamental and influential mobility networks of our time.

Many aspects of economic and social life are increasingly conducted "on the move" or away from "home." Modern technologies make it possible to be mobile and connected at the same time. Mobile communications technologies are playing an increasingly important part in the world today. At the same time urban transportation and surveillance systems are also being rebuilt and updated. Notions of mobility are changing and influencing patterns of movement, co-presence, social exclusion and security across many urban contexts.
In "Mobile Technologies of" "the City" Mimi Sheller and John Urry bring together a carefully selected group of innovative case studies which trace the emergence both of the new socio-technical practices of the city and of a new theoretical paradigm for mobilities research. The case studies on Vienna, Liverpool, Bristol, London, Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, range across media, including guidebooks, web sites, train schedules, WI-FI, cinema, mobile phones, and mobile gaming, encompassing infrastructures such as road and rail systems, airline networks and hubs, internet routers and wireless "hot spots." The case studies also focus on urban sites including streets, train platforms, bus stops, airports, internet cafes, park-benches and cars.
"Mobile Technologies of the City" contributes new theoretical perspectives on mobility, communication and security in a world full of easily available access to physical mobilities and communication technologies.

This innovative volume focuses on tourism through the twin lenses of cultural theory and cultural geography. Presenting a set of innovative case studies on tourist destinations around the world, the contributors explore the paradoxes of the tourist experience and the implications of these paradoxes for our broader understanding of the problems of modernity and identity. The book examines how tourism reveals the paradoxical ways that places are both mobile and rooted, real and fake, inhabited by those who are simultaneously insiders and outsiders, and both subjectively experienced and objectively viewed. The concepts of travel and mobility long have been used to explain modern identity and social behavior, but this work pushes beyond the established literature by considering the ways that place and mobility are inherently related in unexpected, even contradictory ways. Travel, the international cast of authors contends, occurs 'in place' rather than 'between places.' Thus, instead of offering yet another interpretation of the ways modern societies are distinguished by their mobilities-in contrast to the supposed place-bound quality of traditional societies-the chapters here collectively argue for an understanding of modern identity as simultaneously grounded and mobile. This rich blend of empirical and theoretical analysis will be invaluable for cultural geographers, anthropologists, and sociologists of tourism.

In this ground-breaking contribution to social theory, John Urry argues that the traditional basis of sociology - the study of society - is outmoded in an increasingly borderless world. If sociology is to make a pertinent contribution to the post societal era it must forget the social rigidities of the pre-global order and, instead, switch its focus to the study of both physical and virtual movement. In considering this sociology of mobilities, the book concerns itself with the travels of people, ideas, images, messages, waste products and money across international borders, and the implications these mobilities have to our experiences of time, space, dwelling and citizenship.
Sociology Beyond Societies extends recent debate about globalisation both by providing an analysis of how mobilities reconstitute social life in uneven and complex ways, and by arguing for the significance of objects, senses, time and space in the theorising of global processes.


eBook available with sample pages: 0203021614

In this ground-breaking contribution to social theory, John Urry argues that the traditional basis of sociology - the study of society - is outmoded in an increasingly borderless world. If sociology is to make a pertinent contribution to the post societal era it must forget the social rigidities of the pre-global order and, instead, switch its focus to the study of both physical and virtual movement. In considering this sociology of mobilities, the book concerns itself with the travels of people, ideas, images, messages, waste products and money across international borders, and the implications these mobilities have to our experiences of time, space, dwelling and citizenship.

Sociology Beyond Society extends recent debate about globalisation both by providing an analysis of how mobilities reconstitute social life in uneven and complex ways, and by arguing for the significance of objects, senses, and time and space in the theorising of contemporary life.

This book will be essential reading for undergraduates and graduates studying sociology and cultural geography.

It is becoming ever clearer that while people tour cultures, cultures and objects themselves are "on the bus" in the sense that they are in a constant state of migration. "Touring Cultures" is edited by John Urry, one of the most acclaimed authors in the field of tourism studies. This collection brings together some of the most influential writers in the field, including Jenni Craik and David Chaney, to examine the complex connections between tourism and cultural change and the relevance of tourist experience to current theoretical debates on space, time and identity. Certain to be an indispensible asset to those involved in learning or teaching about tourism, "Touring Cultures," bringing together in one volume a wealth of thinking from a multidisciplinary range, will also have cross-course appeal in a variey of fields.

The past ten years have seen local government in the UK facing two major challenges: to survive in the face of Thatcher government hostility, and to adapt to enormously powerful forces of economic restructuring which have also been encouraged by government policies. The key aspects of these changing fortunes of British towns explored in this important new book is the ability of individual localities to exercise any control over their own growth and decline. Place, Policy and Politics examines local political initiatives seeking to influence economic and social development in seven sharply contrasting localities, ranging from the outer council estates of Merseyside to the boom towns of Cheltenham and Swindon. Throughout their analysis, the contributors, drawn from a wide range of social science disciplines, address the vital questions in the debate over local policy initiatives, including: To what extent are localities able to harness trends in the national and international economy to provide jobs and a better standard of living for their inhabitants? Why do local authorities vary in their capacity to initiate economic policy? To what extent do national urban and other policies inhibit or encourage their efforts? How might central government modify its policies to facilitate the prospering of localities?

In Consuming Places John Urry draws together some of his most significant essays on the sociology of place. He interrogates the nature of time and space, the different ways in which places are economically and culturally transformed, the form taken by the visual consumption of place, and the ways in which travel transforms nature and the environment. Wide-ranging yet coherent, this much needed book is a major contribution to the sociology of place. It is likely to be debated for years to come.

eBook available with sample pages: PB:0415113113 EB:0203202929

In Consuming Places John Urry draws together some of his most significant essays on the sociology of place. He interrogates the nature of time and space, the different ways in which places are economically and culturally transformed, the form taken by the visual consumption of place, and the ways in which travel transforms nature and the environment. Wide-ranging yet coherent, this much needed book is a major contribution to the sociology of place. It is likely to be debated for years to come.