Flammable cities : urban conflagration and the making of the modern world / edited by Greg Bankoff, Uwe Lübken, Jordan Sand.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Bankoff, Greg.

Lübken, Uwe.

Sand, Jordan, 1960-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fires.

Fires--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (419 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Madison : University of Wisconsin Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In most cities today, fire has been reduced to a sporadic and isolated threat. But throughout history the constant risk of fire has left a deep and lasting imprint on almost every dimension of urban society. This volume, the first truly global study of urban conflagration, shows how fire has shaped cities throughout the modern world, from Europe to the imperial colonies, major trade entrepôts, and non-European capitals, right up to such present-day megacities as Lagos and Jakarta. Urban fire may hinder commerce or even spur it; it may break down or reinforce barriers of race, class, and ethnicity; it may serve as a pretext for state violence or provide an opportunity for displays of state benevolence. As this volume demonstrates, the many and varied attempts to master, marginalize, or manipulate fire can turn a natural and human hazard into a highly useful social and political tool.

Contents:

pt. 1. Cities as fire regimes

pt. 2. Fire as risk and as a catalyst of change

pt. 3. The politics of fire.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613532206

9781280128325

1280128321

9780299283834

0299283836

OCLC:

787849147