Neil Smith (geographer)
Encyclopedia
Neil Smith was born 1954 in Leith
, Scotland
. he is a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography, at the Graduate Center department of the City University of New York
. From 2008 he holds a twenty percent appointment as Sixth Century Professor of Geography and Social Theory, at the University of Aberdeen
, in Scotland, his native land. Dr Smith earned his B.Sc. degree from the University of St. Andrews, and his Ph.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University
, where he studied under David Harvey
. Formerly, he was the Robert Lincoln McNeil Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania
, and taught at Columbia
and Rutgers
universities, where, in this last, he was chair of the geography department (1991–94), and a senior fellow at the Center for the Critical Analysis of Contemporary Culture.
Professor Smith’s research explores the broad intersections among space, nature, social theory, and history, including trenchant analysis of American Empire. In his major work of social theory (Smith 1984), he proposed that uneven spatial development is a function of the procedural logic of capital market
s, thus, society and economies 'produce' space. Prof. Smith is credited with the convincing theories about the gentrification
of the inner city as an economic
process propelled by urban land prices and city land speculation — not a cultural preference for living in the city; his seminal article, "Toward a Theory of Gentrification: A Back to the City Movement by Capital, not People" (1979) is cited more than 300 times.
Articles
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. he is a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography, at the Graduate Center department of the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
. From 2008 he holds a twenty percent appointment as Sixth Century Professor of Geography and Social Theory, at the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
, in Scotland, his native land. Dr Smith earned his B.Sc. degree from the University of St. Andrews, and his Ph.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, where he studied under David Harvey
David Harvey (geographer)
David Harvey is the Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York . A leading social theorist of international standing, he received his PhD in Geography from University of Cambridge in 1961. Widely influential, he is among the top 20 most cited...
. Formerly, he was the Robert Lincoln McNeil Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, and taught at Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Rutgers
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
universities, where, in this last, he was chair of the geography department (1991–94), and a senior fellow at the Center for the Critical Analysis of Contemporary Culture.
Professor Smith’s research explores the broad intersections among space, nature, social theory, and history, including trenchant analysis of American Empire. In his major work of social theory (Smith 1984), he proposed that uneven spatial development is a function of the procedural logic of capital market
Capital market
A capital market is a market for securities , where business enterprises and governments can raise long-term funds. It is defined as a market in which money is provided for periods longer than a year, as the raising of short-term funds takes place on other markets...
s, thus, society and economies 'produce' space. Prof. Smith is credited with the convincing theories about the gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
of the inner city as an economic
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
process propelled by urban land prices and city land speculation — not a cultural preference for living in the city; his seminal article, "Toward a Theory of Gentrification: A Back to the City Movement by Capital, not People" (1979) is cited more than 300 times.
Publications
Books- 2006 The Politics of Public Space, Routledge (with Setha LowSetha Low- External links :*...
) - 2005 Endgame of Globalization, Routledge
- 2002 American Empire: Roosevelt's Geographer and the Prelude to Globalization. University of California Press. (winner, Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography)
- 2000 Globalización: Transformaciones Urbanas, Precarización social Y Discriminación De Género, (with Cindi Katz). Nueva Grafica, S.A.L. La Cuesta, La Laguna
- 1996 The New Urban Frontier: Gentrification and the Revanchist City. Routledge.
- 1994 Geography and Empire: Critical Studies in the History of Geography, Basil Blackwell, Oxford (edited with Anne Godlewska)
- 1986 Gentrification of the City, George, Allen and Unwin, London (edited with Peter WilliamsPeter WilliamsPeter Williams is the name of:* Sir Peter Williams , former chairman of Oxford Instruments; Chancellor, University of Leicester* Peter Williams , New Zealand television presenter...
) - 1984 Uneven Development: Nature, Capital and the Production of Space. Basil Blackwell. 2nd Edition 1990.
Articles
- 2003 Foreword, pp vii-xxiii in Urban Revolution, by Henri LefebvreHenri LefebvreHenri Lefebvre was a French sociologist, Marxist intellectual, and philosopher, best known for his work on dialectics, Marxism, everyday life, cities, and space.-Biography:...
. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. - 2003 "Geographies of Substance" in Envisioning Human Geography, Paul Cloke, Philip Crang, and Mark Goodwin, eds.
- 2003 "Gentrification Generalized: From Local Anomaly to Urban 'Regeneration' as Global Urban Strategy" in Frontiers of Capital: Ethnographic Reflections on the New Economy, M. Fisher and G. Downey, eds.
- 2003 "Generalizing Gentrification" in Retours en ville, Catherine Bidou, Daniel Hiernaux, and Helene Riviere D'Arc, eds. Paris: Descartes & Cie. January.
- 2002 "Scale Bending" in Rethinking Scale, E. Sheppard and R. McMaster, eds.
- 2002 "Remaking Scale: Competition and Cooperation in Prenational and Postnational Europe" in State/Spaces.
- 2002 "Scales of Terror: The Manufacturing of Nationalism and the War for U.S. Globalism," pp 97–108 in After the World Trade Center, Sharon Zukin and Michael Sorkin, eds. New York: Routledge.
- 2002 "New Globalism, New Urbanism: Gentrification as Global Urban Strategy," Antipode 34(3): 434-57. Reprinted in “Neo-Liberal Urbanism”, Neil Brenner and Nik Theodore, eds., Malden, MA: Basil Blackwell.
- 2002 "Ashes and Aftermath," Studies in Political Economy 67. Spring issue, pp 7–12.
- 2002 "Ashes and AFtermath," Philosophy & Geography 5(1): 9-12.
- 2002 "Kontinuum New York," pp 72–86 in Die Stadt Als Event, Regina Bittner, ed. Dessau, Bauhaus.
- 1979 "Toward a Theory of Gentrification A Back to the City Movement by Capital, not People" Journal of the American Planning Association 45:4, pp 538–48. DOI: 10.1080/01944367908977002