1st Edition
Reinventing a Small, Worldly City The Cultural and Social Transformation of Cardiff
Introduction, 1. Small Cities and Cultures, 2. Cardiff: The Making of a City, 3. A City in the Making: Culture and Society, Conclusion
Biography
Ana Gonçalves is an Adjunct Professor at the Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies (ESHTE), Portugal and a Senior Researcher in the Tourism, Culture and Space (TERRiTUR) research group at the Centre for Geographical Studies, Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon. She holds a European PhD in Literary and Cultural Studies awarded by the University of Lisbon. She has been a speaker at various international conferences and has published several articles in the fields of urban cultural studies and tourism. She has been the recipient of a number of research grants awarded by various renowned organisations.
Small cities have been neglected in urban discourses, overshadowed by the glamour of world cities, the problems of mega-cities, and the allure of smart cities. But small cities retain a sense of material space, compactness, and local character which is engaging. Cardiff, examined here through qualitative research and incisive argument, is both a small city and – no contradiction – an emerging national capital. It also has a multi-ethnic cultural sphere. While there are tensions between the pressures of global consumerism and local liveability, Cardiff retains local distinctiveness. Through her study of Cardiff, Ana Gonçalves adds significantly to contemporary debates in urban cultures and development, balancing evidence and critique in a clear and highly readable narrative.
Malcolm Miles, Professor of Cultural Theory, University of Plymouth
