1st Edition

Unhealthy Places The Ecology of Risk in the Urban Landscape

By Kevin Fitzpatrick, Mark LaGory Copyright 2000

    Unhealthy Places focuses on issues of health in today's cities. By arguing that place matters in relation to the population's health, Kevin Fitzpatrick and Mark LaGory make a convincing argument about the general unhealthiness of urban environments and, thus, of the urban dweller. The authors offer a place-oriented approach to health and cover such topics as the ecology of everyday urban life, the sociology of health, needs and risks of the socially disadvantaged, needs and risks of children and the elderly in cities, and strategies for better health services in urban environments.

    Chapter 1 1 The Importance of Place; Chapter 2 2 Humans as Spatial Animals; Chapter 3 3 The Ecology of Everyday Urban Life; Chapter 4 4 The Sociology of Health; Chapter 5 5 Cities as Mosaics of Risk and Protection; Chapter 6 6 Special Populations in the City; Chapter 7 7 Special Populations in the City; Chapter 8 8 The Ecology of Health Promotion and Service Delivery; References; Index;

    Biography

    Kevin Fitzpatrick is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Alabama. Mark LaGory is Professor of Sociology and Urban Affairs at the University of Alabama. His previous books include The Environment for Aging: Interpersonal, Social, and Spatial Contexts (1988) and Remaking the City (1983).

    "A must read for anyone concerned with environmental justice, poverty, urban decay, and the aging of our society." -- Hal Rothman, Professor of History, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
    "his book makes an important contribution to the field of environmental justice - a field that is undertheorized." -- Contemporary Sociology, May 2001