Cities in the Third Wave : The Technological Transformation of Urban America

Surveys the transformation that is taking place in urban America. In the belief that technology is the force that has created and recast cities throughout history, this book addresses the important question of how the modern-day technology affects cities and how it will shape cities in the future.

This fully updated edition surveys the remarkable transformation that is taking place in urban America. Arguing that technology has both created and recast cities throughout history, Leonard I. Ruchelman explores how cities are being affected by new technology and how they will evolve in the future. Countries such as the United States and Japan have passed through the preindustrial and industrial stages of urban development and have now entered the stage of post-industrialism—what the Tofflers called the "third wave." Considering key questions, Ruchelman asks: How do the computer and communications technologies that are fueling an information economy affect cities and suburbs? How do urban places adapt to changing conditions brought about by deindustrialization and the globalization of business enterprise? What kinds of strategies do they devise to attract and retain investment and jobs? Why do some cities appear to prosper in the new postindustrial era while others become victims? Helping students understand what it will take for their cities, and other cities around the world, to survive and even thrive in this fast-moving environment, this book will be a valuable supplement for a range of courses in urban studies.