Information Sources in Urban Studies

Many important information sources in urban studies are available in paper only. They are listed below with their University of Chicago call numbers and locations.

General Guides

There do not seem to be any really up-to-date guides to the literature in urban studies. The following may nonetheless be useful.

• Handbook of Urban Studies / edited by Ronan Paddison. Thousand Oaks : Sage, 2001 [Regenstein and SSA HT109.H36 2001].

• Information Sources in Urban and Regional Planning : A Directory and Guide to Reference Materials / Edward E. Duensing. New Brunswick : Center fpr Urban Policy Research, 1994 [Regenstein Z5942.D870 1994].

Indexing and Abstracting Tools

Most (although not all) of the indexing and abstracting tools in urban studies are discipline-specific.

• Sage Urban Studies Abstracts. Contains abstracts of mainstream English-language literature on urban subjects. The on-line version goes back to 2001. Earlier years are only available in paper [HT51.H16 Regenstein Second-Floor Reading Room].

• GEOBASE. The major indexing and abstracting service in geography. Indexes periodical literature in geography and related fields back to ca. 1980. For earlier material, consult Geographical Abstracts [Z6003.G3 ... Regenstein Second-Floor Reading Room] (see note).

• Avery Index to Architecture Periodicals. Indexes material on city planning and the urban built environment as well as on architecture. Goes back to 1977. Earlier material is indexed in paper volumes [Z5945.A93 ... Regenstein stacks].

• PAIS International. Indexes material on public policy questions, including those related cities. Has at most very minimal abstracts. Coverage is 1972 to the present.

• Sociological Abstracts. The major indexing and abstracting service in sociology. Indexes periodical and some other literature back to ca. 1963. For earlier material consult the paper Sociological Abstracts [HM1.S57 Regenstein Second-Floor Reading Room].

• America: History and Life. Indexes historical material on the United States and Canada back to ca. 1954.

• Historical Abstracts. Indexes historical material for the entire world other than the United States and Canada back to 1954.

• FRANCIS. Major French indexing and abstracting service for the humanities and social sciences; indexes material back to 1984. Probably covers European literature more thoroughly than the English-language indexing and abstracting services. For material from before 1984, you must consult the appropriate Bulletin signalétique.

Retrospective Bibliographies

• CPL Bibliography. Chicago : CPL Bibliographies, 1956-1996 [Z5942.Z53 Regenstein stacks]. More than 1500 bibliographies of urban-studies materials. Good source of information for hard-to-find-out-about planning reports.

Factual Sources (Somewhat Arbitrary List)

• H-Urban. The Website of the major listserv in urban studies. Includes good list of urban-related Websites.

• State and Metropolitan Area Data Book. U.S. government data for the United States.

• Planning Pages. List of U.S. planning agencies' Websites.

• Global Urban Indicators. United Nations statistics. Comparable data for thousands of urban areas.