Rice to host book launch for ‘Market Cities, People Cities’ 

Rice University
Office of Public Affairs / News & Media Relations

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Amy McCaig
713-348-6777
amym@rice.edu

Rice to host book launch for ‘Market Cities, People Cities’ 

HOUSTON – (May 16, 2018) – Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research will host a launch event for the book “Market Cities, People Cities” (New York University Press, 256 pages, $30) May 17 at 7 p.m. at Rice’s BioScience Research Collaborative, located at 6500 Main St., as part of its “Urban Reads” series.

“Market Cities, People Cities” was authored by Michael Emerson, a Kinder Institute fellow and provost and professor of urban studies at North Park University, and Kevin Smiley, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Buffalo. The launch event will feature a discussion with the authors followed by a book signing. To register, visit https://kinder.rice.edu/events/urban-reads-%E2%80%93-book-launch-michael-emerson-and-kevin-t-smiley.

WHAT: “Market Cities, People Cities” book launch event, part of the Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s “Urban Reads” series.

WHERE: Rice’s BioScience Research Collaborative, 6500 Main St.

WHEN: Thursday, May 17 at 7 p.m.

In the book, the authors examined ongoing changes in cities and argued that Western cities have separated into two distinct types: market cities and people cities. “Market” cities are focused on wealth, jobs, individualism and economic opportunities, while “people” cities focus on creating a high quality of life and equality between citizens, with government investment in infrastructure and an active civil society.

Specifically, the authors examined differing urban trends through extended case studies of Houston (a market city) and Copenhagen, Denmark (a people city). They also drew on data from approximately 100 other cities and assessed how ongoing changes will impact future urban life.

The authors tracked the history of how these two types of cities were created and the differences in function for governments and residents. They also looked at various other topics, including transportation, the environment and inequality, and outlined how cities can adapt to become more market- or people-focused.

“Market cities and people cities are not just mere semantics; they describe fundamentally different approaches to building cities and they profoundly shape our experiences in them,” said Emerson, who has lived in both Houston and Copenhagen. “The fact is, we are different people depending on the type of city in which we reside.”

Emerson and Smiley said the book has substantial implications for residents and for future urban planning and city development.

“By understanding the different types of cities existing today — cities so different that their existence seems almost impossible to those not living there — we can begin better shaping the cities of tomorrow,” Smiley said.

More information about the book is available at https://nyupress.org/books/9781479800261/.

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For more information, contact Amy McCaig, senior media relations specialist at Rice, at 713-348-6777 or amym@rice.edu.

This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu/.

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Related Materials:

Kinder Institute website: https://kinder.rice.edu/

Photo link: http://news.rice.edu/files/2018/05/book-b-1ui9g45.jpg

Photo credit: Rice University

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