New World Cities

"For millennia, urban centers were pivots of power and trade that ruled and linked rural majorities. After 1950, explosive urbanization led to unprecedented urban majorities. That transformation--inextricably tied to rising globalization--changed almost everything for nearly everybody. New World Cities looks at six metropolises during the twentieth century--Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Montreal, Los Angeles, and Houston--exploring the challenges of explosive urbanization and the gains and limits of popular politics"--