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Description
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Urbanization of the Earth: Urban geography is a lively and almostunlimited field of research. Supported by its neighbouring disciplines such asdemography, sociology, economics and technologies of construction, trafficmanagement and communications, it seeks to recognize trends and principles, andwith regard to the future, to facilitate structured action. Entitled"Urbanization of the Earth", this series provides a platform for criticallyinvestigating a crucial junction in the relationships between man and theEarth. Humans as individuals or society as a whole, have proved to be apowerful force for shaping the surface of the Earth, almost equalling naturalphenomena. Many more urban phenomena await study and analysis - generating agreat deal of material, at least for further studies within urban geography andthe observation of this lively interface between humans and their environment.Large investments in the real estate and tourism sector, as well as risingnumbers of tourists and immigrants, have led to a sustained boom in Dubai andLas Vegas. At the same time, and against the background of an urban governanceand the transfer of competences to private and semi-state actors in bothmetropolises, a brisk urban transformation has been embarked upon, with thecreation of countless entertainment, shopping, and artificial worlds. Thisdevelopment is primarily characterised by the theming of everyday life, butabove all an "Economy of Fascination". The casino and hotel landscapessimulating various scenes from Ancient Rome to modern New York, artificialislands in the shapes of palm trees or whole world maps as well as othersuperlatives in the form of themed shopping malls and sports arenas are themost visible results of these rapid changes. This paper develops guidelines fora research perspective called "Economy of Fascination" and turns to Dubai andLas Vegas to exemplify the approach. An analytical understanding first buildson general trends and development lines againstthe backdrop of urbangovernance, entertainment orientation, and commercialisation. They form thestarting point for an analysis of the mechanisms of attention and fascination,which are considered to be the main aspects of an "Economy of Fascination".
