The aim of the book is to inspire readers to consider space and place beyond their material properties and attend to the imaginary places and ideals that underpin and produce material places and social spaces. This collection will be useful to practitioners and students seeking to understand the power of affect and the importance of virtualities within contemporary societies, where intangible goods have taken on an increasing value.
Tonya Davidson teaches sociology at Carleton University in Ottawa. She is the co-editor of Seasonal Sociology (with Ondine Park) and Ecologies of Affect (with Ondine Park and Rob Shields).
Ondine Park is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of Alberta and is interested in urban and cultural studies and social theory. Her most recent research focuses on the idea and promise of the suburb. She can be found at www.ualberta.ca/~opark.
Rob Shields is the H.M. Tory Chair in the Departments of Sociology and Art and Design at the University of Alberta. He is co-editor of the journal Space and Culture, and his most recent works include What Is a City? Rethinking the Urban after Katrina (ed., 2008) and Building Tomorrow: Innovation in Construction (ed., 2005).