Reinventing the City?: Liverpool in Comparative Perspective

"The City" has always been a strong focal point for critical social enquiry given its undisputed centrality for human life in the modern era. More recently, there has been a surge of interest in the postmodern city, the most popular subject being Los Angeles and the "global city" – the New Yorks, Londons and Tokyos of the world – cities linked together through flows of finance. This book seeks to redress the balance using Liverpool, a city neither recognized as "global" or "postmodern", as its focus. Although Liverpool is the central theme of the book, it gives an informed comparative overview of the city in a worldwide context. The introductory chapter sets the scene for the various contributions by re-examining the postmodern global city thesis, surveying various attempts at regenerating cities like Liverpool and critically examining attempts and prospects for transforming the city. The following chapters examine in detail the cultural, social, and economic legacy of the city. Particular emphasis is placed on the people of Liverpool young and old, and how they envisage the city developing.