Cities of Parts, Cities Apart? Changing Places in Modern Melanesia

Date
1994
Authors
Connell, John
Lea, John
Contributor
Advisor
Department
Instructor
Depositor
Speaker
Researcher
Consultant
Interviewer
Annotator
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Hawai'i Press
Center for Pacific Islands Studies
Volume
Number/Issue
Starting Page
Ending Page
Alternative Title
Abstract
Melanesian urbanization is primarily postcolonial, occurring after colonial restrictions on migration and city growth. Recency, impermanence, discontinuity, and differences between places and cultures characterize city life. Culture influences socioeconomic organization; gangs rather than unions cut across social ties, insecurity strengthens identity, and the growing squatter settlements refine and define ethnic distinctiveness. Ideology reinforces rural ties. Security concerns have introduced new divisions. Modern dress, lifestyles, and language have shaped new identities, yet tribal and regional affiliations are more important than national identity. Melanesian cities are intricately subdivided places where ethnicity and cultural identity triumph over class. They are a peripheral part of the world capitalist economy where modernity challenges tradition and local resistance. Fragmented planning systems, weak or missing municipal governments, and inadequate finance have led to breakdowns in urban service delivery, mismanagement, diversity, and spontaneity. Melanesian urbanism emphasizes historical specificity, plurality, difference, and incoherence.
Description
Keywords
Oceania -- Periodicals.
Citation
Connell, J., and J. Lea. 1994. Cities of Parts, Cities Apart? Changing Places in Modern Melanesia. The Contemporary Pacific 6 (2): 267-309.
Extent
Format
Geographic Location
Time Period
Related To
Rights
Rights Holder
Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.