The City as Power: Urban Space, Place, and National Identity ed. by Alexander C. Diener and Joshua Hagen

Urban landscapes serve as powerful arenas for contesting national identity, citizenship, and belonging, acting as 'cultural geologies' that layer and erase narratives over time. This edited volume explores how cities like Berlin, Budapest, and Ulaanbaatar become contested spaces where memory, ideology, and countermovements shape inclusion and exclusion. Through case studies—including the preservation of Valongo Wharf in Rio de Janeiro—a palimpsest-like approach reveals how urban space delineates insiders from outsiders, while globalized ethnic and national identities mobilize citizenship ideals. The work integrates postcolonial perspectives, spatial analysis, and social movements to demonstrate urban environments' pivotal role in modern identity politics.

Baker, J. (2019). The City as Power: Urban Space, Place, and National Identity ed. by Alexander C. Diener and Joshua Hagen. Historical Geography, 47(1), 235–238. https://doi.org/10.1353/hgo.2019.0011