Why do places differ from one another? Why do some places attract visitors and others investors? Why do some places repel? How are places consumed by those visiting? How does consumption affect local people and the environment?

John Urry has been discussing and writing on these and similar questions for the past fifteen years. In Consuming Places he gathers together his most significant contributions. Urry begins with an extensive review of the connections between society, time and space. He goes on to examine the concept of 'society', the nature of 'locality', the significance of 'economic restructuring', and the concept of the 'rural' in relationship to place.

The book then considers how places have been transformed by the development of service occupations and industries. Concepts of the service class and post-industrialism are theoretically and empirically discussed. Attention is devoted to the ways in which places are consumed and particular attention is given to the visual character of such consumption and its implications for places and people. The implications for nature and the environment are also explored in depth.

Finally, the author explores the changing nature of consumption and the tensions between commodification and collective enthusiasms in the context of the changing ways in which the countryside is consumed. This wide-ranging book will be required reading for students and academics in sociology, geography, leisure studies, urban and regional studies and cultural studies.