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Science Geography

The Feel of the City

Experiences of Urban Transformation

by (author) Nicolas Kenny

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Jun 2014
Category
Geography, General, General
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781442647749
    Publish Date
    Jun 2014
    List Price
    $86.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781442615816
    Publish Date
    Jun 2014
    List Price
    $45.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442669062
    Publish Date
    Jun 2014
    List Price
    $35.95

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Description

At the start of the twentieth century, the modern metropolis was a riot of sensation. City dwellers lived in an environment filled with smoky factories, crowded homes, and lively thoroughfares. Sights, sounds, and smells flooded their senses, while changing conceptions of health and decorum forced many to rethink their most banal gestures, from the way they negotiated speeding traffic to the use they made of public washrooms.

The Feel of the City exposes the sensory experiences of city-dwellers in Montreal and Brussels at the turn of the century and the ways in which these shaped the social and cultural significance of urban space. Using the experiences of municipal officials, urban planners, hygienists, workers, writers, artists, and ordinary citizens, Nicolas Kenny explores the implications of the senses for our understanding of modernity.

About the author

Nicolas Kenny is an assistant professor in the Department of History at Simon Fraser University.

Nicolas Kenny's profile page

Editorial Reviews

‘Kenny treats readers to an unusual but fascinating and valuable perspective on industrialization and urbanization… Highly recommended.’

Choice Magazine, vol 52:02:2015