Cities under siege
Subtitle: the new military urbanism
By: Stephen Graham
Edition: Pbk. ed.
Publisher: Verso
Published: 2011
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 402
ISBN-13: 9781844677627
Subjects: Cities and towns; Political violence; Urban warfare; Military policy
Description: CITY & TOWN PLANNING - ARCHITECTURAL ASPECTS. Cities are the new battleground of our increasingly urban world. From the slums of the global South to the wealthy financial centers of the West, Cities Under Siege traces the spread of political violence through the sites, spaces, infrastructure and symbols of the worlds rapidly expanding metropolitan areas.Drawing on a wealth of original research, Stephen Graham shows how Western militaries and security forces now perceive all urban terrain as a conflict zone inhabited by lurking shadow enemies. Urban inhabitants have become targets that need to be continually tracked, scanned and controlled. Graham examines the transformation of Western armies into high-tech urban counter-insurgency forces. He looks at the militarization and surveillance of international borders, the use of security concerns to suppress democratic dissent, and the enacting of legislation to suspend civilian law.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: 1.War Re-enters the City; title: 2.Manichaean Worlds; title: 3.The New Military Urbanism; title: 4.Ubiquitous Borders; title: 5.Robowar Dreams; title: 6.Theme Park Archipelago; title: 7.Lessons in Urbicide; title: 8.Switching Cities Off; title: 9.Car Wars; title: 10.Countergeographies.