The Informal City

by Michel S. Laguerre

Overview

In this book, Michel S.Laguerre argues that there exists an informal city located just beneath and in the interstices of the formal city. The metaphor is not geographical, but rather structural and hermeneutical. This is the city where manoeuvres that cannot be done publicly, legally, ethically or otherwise are performed. The author shows with illustrative data drawn from the American urban experience - the San Francisco-Oakland Metropolitan area - why and how the informal city must be seen as the hidden dimension of the formal city.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349235421
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	01/01/1994
Edition description:	1st ed. 1994
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

MICHEL S. LAGUERRE is Professor of Social Anthropology and Afro-American Studies and a Member of the Executive Committee of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California at Berkeley.

Table of Contents

Introduction - The Informal City Approach - Informal Space - The Informal Economy - Informality and Urban Politics - Informality, Interstitiality and the Modern Firm - Informality and Urban Medical Practices - The Informal Arena of Inter-Ethnic Relations - Conclusion - References - Index

Editorial Reviews

Just beneath the surface of the formal city, in the interstices of officialdom, exists another city, structural and hermeneutical rather than geographical, which is little spoken of because life there is personal, often unethical, and sometime illegal. Laguerre (anthropology and African American studies, U. of California) argues that the informal practices shape everyone's daily life, and not only influence the formal system, but are essential for its smooth functioning, a depth without which the facade of formality would fall in the slightest breeze. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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