A fascinating collection of thirty compelling stories about events that shaped Gotham, It Happened in New York City describes everything from the installation of the Statue of Liberty to the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, from the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11 to the construction of the new Yankee stadium, slated to open in 2009.

Cities are staging more events than ever. Within this macro-trend, there is another less acknowledged trend: more events are being staged in public spaces. Some events have always been staged in parks, streets and squares, but in recent years events have been taken out of traditional venues and staged in prominent urban spaces. This is favoured by organisers seeking more memorable and more spectacular events, but also by authorities who want to animate urban space and make it more visible. This book explains these trends and outlines the implications for public spaces. Events play a positive role in our cities, but turning public spaces into venues is often controversial. Events can denigrate as well as animate city space; they are part of the commercialisation, privatisation and securitisation of public space noted by commentators in recent years. The book focuses on examples from London in particular, but it also covers a range of other cities from the developed world. Events at different scales are addressed and, there is dedicated coverage of sports events and cultural events. This topical and timely volume provides valuable material for higher level students, researchers and academics from events studies, urban studies and development studies.

In recent years, mega-events as Olympics, international exhibitions and especially the World Cup have put into action all kinds of capitals, reconfigured territorial scales of power and produced a discourse about competitiveness, urbanism and global cities that proclaims convergence between public and private interests.

Cities are staging more events than ever. Within this macro-trend, there is another less acknowledged trend: more events are being staged in public spaces. Some events have always been staged in parks, streets and squares, but in recent years events have been taken out of traditional venues and staged in prominent urban spaces. This is favoured by organisers seeking more memorable and more spectacular events, but also by authorities who want to animate urban space and make it more visible. This book explains these trends and outlines the implications for public spaces. Events play a positive role in our cities, but turning public spaces into venues is often controversial. Events can denigrate as well as animate city space; they are part of the commercialisation, privatisation and securitisation of public space noted by commentators in recent years. The book focuses on examples from London in particular, but it also covers a range of other cities from the developed world. Events at different scales are addressed and, there is dedicated coverage of sports events and cultural events. This topical and timely volume provides valuable material for higher level students, researchers and academics from events studies, urban studies and development studies.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1881.

The five cities under the spotlight here - Genoa, Barcelona, Athens, Bilbao, and Shanghai - were chosen because they have all recently hosted a global event or will do so in the near future. After an introduction of the characteristics and impact of global events in general, the history of each city is sketched and the political and urban implications of the events are examined. Three key aspects - organization, management and city marketing - are dwelt on at length. The conclusions that this study draws can help put an end to the structural errors made in the organization of large scale events.