Conclusions

Abstract

Though cities have always been “risk cities,” this book argues that the cities of the contemporary postmodern world currently face a myriad of risks of unprecedented magnitude. For this reason–like contemporary societies, which are characterized by “the inherent pluralization of risks” they face (Beck in The reinvention of politics: Rethinking modernity in the global social order, trans. M. Ritter. Polity, Cambridge, p. 32, 1997)—our contemporary cities must also be understood in light of this constitutive concept. The already existing risks and constantly emerging new risks faced by the contemporary risk city have profound influence over urban social form and politics, from individuals and households to formal institutions and civil society. Risk, therefore, must be understood as a major force driving change and social transformation in urban societies. That being the case, it must also feature as a decisive concept in the theory and practice of urban planning. Moreover, risk, as a negative resource, is socially and spatially differentiated in the risk city, and therefore, it becomes a major concept of social and spatial inequality in cities.