Loose Space: Possibility and Diversity in Urban Life – Edited by Karen A. Franck and Quentin Steven

Main finding
The book focuses on case studies around the world of public spaces that exhibit a type of 'looseness' tied to the phenomena of city-dwellers appropriating spaces for uses other than those originally intended for the space. The reviewer commends the broad international and multidisciplinary approach of the book, however criticizes the fundamental concept of looseness and its developed relevance in urban studies. The reviewer thinks the edited book failed to consider looseness as inherent to spaces and not something added afterward. However, the book is deemed useful for urban planners, policymakers and architect, but not for sociologists or social theorists.

Description of method used in the article
This was a book review of Loose Space: Possibility and Diversity in Urban Life edited by Karen A. Franck and Quentin Steven that featured 13 case studies organized in the edited volume by four section: Appropriation, Tension, Resistance, and Discovery.

Verdict
Of practical use