Urban Infrastructure: Globalization / Slowbalization

The book explores the concept of urban infrastructure and the strong evolution of globalization, particularly the driving force taken by global cities. It highlights the link between globalization and urban infrastructure, with Western global cities experiencing financialization, settling, and brownfield urbanization. The pandemic has caused a different configuration between global cities and the rest of the national territory, with financialization and technological revolution merging with urban infrastructures. The theme of smart cities gives strength to the concept of urban infrastructure.

Format: Hardback
Length: 275 pages
Publication date: 02 March 2023
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

The book delves into the concept of urban infrastructure and the profound evolution of globalization, particularly the driving force behind global cities. Urban infrastructure forms an integral part of these global cities, evolving synergistically alongside them. The primary focus lies in Western global cities, where financialization, settlement, and brownfield redevelopment intertwine, differing from the urbanization processes of other global cities in non-developed or emerging countries. This distinction highlights a significant relationship between globalization and urban infrastructure. The occurrence of slowbalization can have far-reaching consequences on urban areas' infrastructures and, more broadly, on the dynamics between global cities and nations. With the onset of the pandemic and the post-COVID era, a distinct configuration has emerged between global cities and the rest of national territories. A key driving element of urban infrastructure and global cities has been the financialization and identification of assets within these cities. Urban infrastructure, once considered a mere asset, has experienced substantial growth in recent decades, mirroring the surge in real estate investments. However, issues surrounding urban infrastructure extend beyond this, encompassing the enormous growth of finance and its concentration in the world's largest cities, with investments initially focused on real estate and subsequently expanding to include urban infrastructures. Additionally, a technological revolution has merged the ubiquitous technological infrastructure with other traditional components of the infrastructure, even seemingly recent themes like smart cities emerging from this evolutionary trend and seamlessly integrating with urban infrastructures. The theme of smart cities, if properly propelled, holds immense potential for the future of urban development and the enhancement of human well-being.

Weight: 606g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031237843
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023