Transformations of Urban and Suburban Landscapes: Perspectives from Philosophy, Geography, and Architecture - Paperback

by Gary Backhaus (Editor), John Murungi (Editor), Ruth Connell (Contribution by)

The study of landscape and place has become an increasingly fertile realm of inquiry in the humanities and social sciences. In this new book of essays, selected from presentations at the first annual meeting of the Society for Philosophy and Geography, scholars investigate the experiences and meanings that inscribe urban and suburban landscapes. Gary Backhaus and John Murungi bring philosophy and geography into a dialogue with a host of other disciplines to explore a fundamental dialectic: while our collective and personal activity modifies the landscape, in turn, the landscape modifies human identities, and social and environmental relations. Whether proposing a peripatetic politics, conducting a sociological analysis of building security systems, or critically examining the formation of New York City's municipal parks, each essay sheds distinctive light on this fascinating and engaging aspect of contemporary environmental studies.

Author Biography

Gary Backhaus teaches at Morgan State University. John Murungi is Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Towson University.