100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

🎉 Meet Toy Hero - our brand-new toy store, built by the team behind Book Hero

Bourdieu in the City

Challenging Urban Theory
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Loïc Wacquant reinterprets Pierre Bourdieu's sociology to offer a fresh urban theory through three interlinked concepts: the trialectic of symbolic space (mental frameworks), social space (distribution of capital), and physical space (urban environment). This approach energises and challenges traditional urban studies by applying Bourdieu’s topological sociology to contemporary city life, focusing on marginality, ethnicity, and penality in postindustrial metropolises.

Bourdieu in the City serves as a compact, incisive resource for students and scholars across sociology, anthropology, geography, urban studies, urban planning, architecture, and social theory.
Read More
Format: Hardback
$13199
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 3-4 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for scholars, students, and professionals in sociology, urban studies, anthropology, geography, urban planning, architecture, and social theory seeking an advanced, critical perspective on urban inequality and marginality.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Building on three decades of comparative research on marginality, ethnicity, and penality in the postindustrial metropolis, Loïc Wacquant offers a novel interpretation of Pierre Bourdieu as urban theorist. He invites us to explore the city through what he calls the trialectic of symbolic space (the mental categories through which we perceive and organise the world), social space (the distribution of capital in its different forms), and physical space (the built environment). On this reading, Bourdieu's topological sociology gives us the tools both to energise and also to challenge the canon of urban studies and to redraw their theoretical landscape.

Compact and incisive, Bourdieu in the City will be of interest to students and scholars in sociology, anthropology, geography, urban studies, urban planning, architecture, and social theory.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised by Neil Brenner of the University of Chicago as a "captivating" and "brilliantly creative" synthesis of urban social science and Bourdieu’s theory, the book offers incisive insights into neoliberal urban marginality and power relations. Professor Talja Blokland from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin highlights Wacquant’s careful conceptual analysis and his contribution to sharpening theoretical and methodological perspectives on urban inequality. It is considered a must-read and a significant milestone in urban scholarship.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781509556434

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 13 January 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Polity Press

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 158.0mm

Height: 231.0mm

Weight: 499g

Pages: 288

About the Author

Loïc Wacquant is Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, and Research associate at the Centre de sociologie européenne, Paris. His books are translated in twenty languages and include Urban Outcasts (2008) and The Invention of the "Underclass" (2022), both also published by Polity.

Also by Loïc Wacquant

View all
  • Racial Domination
    Race is arguably the single most troublesome and volatile concept of the social sciences in the early 21st century. It is invoked to explain all manner of historical phenomena and current issues, from slavery to police brutality to acute poverty, and it is also used as a term of civic denunciation and moral condemnation. In this erudite and incisive book...
    Paperback
    $4799
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks
  • The Invention of the 'Underclass'
    At century’s close, American social scientists, policy analysts, philanthropists, and politicians became obsessed with a fearsome and mysterious new group said to be ravaging the ghetto: the urban "underclass." Soon, this scarecrow category and its demonic imagery were exported to the United Kingdom and continental Europe, agitating the international study of exclusion in the postindustrial metropolis. In this punchy book,...
    Paperback
    $3799
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks
  • Rethinking the Penal State
    In this book based on his 2024 Adorno Lectures, Loïc Wacquant combines social theory, comparative history, and structural ethnography to probe criminal punishment as a core function of the state. Extending Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of bureaucratic field and symbolic power, he captures the constitutive duality of punishment, which is at once material and symbolic, an instrument of class control and...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Education & Reference

View all
  • Revenge of the Tipping Point
    Twenty-five years after the publication of his groundbreaking first book, Malcolm Gladwell returns with a brand new volume that reframes the lessons of The Tipping Point in a startling and revealing light. What does the heartbreaking fate of the cheetah tell us about the way we raise our children? Why do elite universities care so much about sports? What is...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Body Keeps the Score
    The Body Keeps the Score by Dr Bessel van der Kolk is a compelling and compassionate exploration of the deep-seated impact of trauma on the human body and mind. This groundbreaking work delves into the complex causes of trauma and paints a vivid picture of the revolutionary treatments that are enabling countless individuals to reclaim their lives filled with purpose...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Age Code
    What if the food you eat could rewind your biological clock? 'Clear and compelling' — Chris van Tulleken 'Really interesting and insightful' — Joe Wicks 'Fascinating' — Tim Spector From the rising incidence of cancer in the under-50s to increased infertility rates, there are signs everywhere that growing numbers of us are ageing too quickly. Why? Many believe there’s one...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Signed Copy
    New Release
    "What Were You Thinking!?"
    Everything parents need to know about their baby, child or teen's developing brain to raise resilient, emotional intelligent kids, by globally renowned neuroscience educator Nathan Wallis. 'What were you thinking!?'If you've ever asked this in despair while watching a toddler melt down, a tween push boundaries or a teenager make a truly terrible decision, this book is for you.In "What Were...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • One Last Question, Prime Minister
    From Muldoon to Luxon, untold stories from the House of Parliament Barry Soper has spent close to five decades questioning New Zealand's prime ministers.From the imposing, larger-than-life characters of Rob Muldoon and David Lange, to the golden age of Helen Clark and John Key, and the post-Covid era of Jacinda Ardern and the 'Chrises', Soper's insight and nose for a...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    2027 Witch's Diary - Southern Hemisphere
    From the bestselling authors of Spellcasting, which has now sold over 250,000 copies worldwide, comes the essential witchy journal to plan your days, harness magick, and connect with higher powers. Features include: 8" x 6" (8" x 12" open) Beautiful glossy gold gatefold cover Compact size, perfect to carry in your bag and keep on you throughout the day 12-month...
    Paperback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Regime Change
    From the two reporters who have covered him more closely than perhaps anyone else over the past decade comes this definitive portrait of Donald Trump in the White House and the first year of his second presidency. Based on hundreds of interviews and unprecedented reporting from deep within the administration’s most closely guarded rooms, Regime Change takes the reader into...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $4299
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Signed Copy
    Go Hard or Go Home
    From the front bench to rock bottom: Go Hard or Go Home is Kiri Allan's fearless memoir of ambition, disruption and survival in NZ politics and beyond. Kiri Allan's six-year political career spanned some of the most challenging times in recent history. Events a government might encounter once in a generation stacked up: a terrorist attack, a volcanic eruption, destructive and deadly...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    Pre-order
    Out 4 Aug 2026
  • Roadmap to Property Success
    Ready to ditch the 9-to-5 and build lasting wealth through property? In Roadmap to Property Success, seasoned investor and coach Steve Goodey shares the exact strategies that helped him – and thousands of Kiwis – build sustainable property portfolios from scratch. With real-life lessons, hard-won wisdom, and zero sugar-coating, this is your no-BS guide to property investing in New Zealand....
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Maori Made Easy Workbook 1/Kete 1
    Maori Made Easy Workbook 1/Kete 1 by Scotty Morrison is the ultimate companion for anyone eager to learn the beautiful and complex Maori language. Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to brush up on your skills, this workbook offers a structured and engaging way to immerse yourself in te reo Maori. Designed to be accessible regardless of your starting...
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Suicidal Empathy
    The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...
    Paperback
    $3099
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Strangers
    The must-read memoir of the end of a marriage and the start of a personal revolution, based on the iconic Modern Love essay in the New York Times and perfect for fans of Glennon Doyle. "A beautifully written eulogy for the loss of a relationship" — Joyce Carol Oates How do we go on when a loved one betrays us?...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.