Resumen de What Role for Social Sciencein the ‘Urban Age’?

Brendan Gleeson

• There is growing recognition of a new human ascendancy: ‘the urban age’. Risinginterest in urbanism is evident in popular literature, the media and major globalinstitutions. And yet, as with another great issue of the age, global warming, there isevidence that social science is being sidelined from a rapidly enlarging field of humanconcern. New urban knowledges are forwarded from the physical sciences and frompopular commentary that are characterized by naturalism and its kindred tendencies,especially determinism. In this essay I consider why social scientific urbanism seemsincreasingly marginal to an ever broadening urban discussion. The regressiveconsequences for human knowledge and prospect are essayed. The essay’s final part isprospectus: for a revivified social scientific urbanism that draws from Sayer’s recentargument for renewal of critical human knowledge.