This is a working bibliography of book-length ethnographies of construction sites — not edited volumes, not journal articles, not sociology of the building industry written from the office. The selection criterion is method: the author spent a substantial period on at least one site, and the resulting book is structured around what the site taught them.
The list is organised first by region and then by publication year, oldest to newest. It is not exhaustive, and that is the point: missing entries should be added, and outdated framings should be flagged. Use the contact form to propose additions or corrections.
South Asia
Six titles from 1986 onward, focused on rural-to-urban migrant labour, wage withholding, and the social organisation of contracting chains. Three of the six are in Hindi or Bengali first editions; English translations are noted where they exist.
Latin America
Eight titles, weighted toward Brazilian and Mexican sites, two from the Andes. Several engage formally with the design-as-command argument that anchors a strand of the field.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Four titles, with strong emphasis on infrastructure megaprojects and the political economy of contracting. The most recent (2024) covers a port expansion and is the only one in the list that engages the carbon politics of cement directly.
Open call: we are looking for nominations from East and Southeast Asia, the Maghreb, and the post-Soviet space, where the list is currently thin. Send titles in.
