Given the increasing uncertainty due to catastrophic climate events, terrorist attacks, and economic crises, this book addresses planning for resilience by focusing on sharing knowledge among policy-makers, urban planners, emergency teams and citizens. Chapters look at the nature of contemporary risks, the widespread of resilience thinking and the gap between the theoretical conception and the practices. The book explores how resilience implies a change in planning practices, highlighting the need for flexibility in terms of procedures, and for dynamism in the knowledge systems and learning processes that are the main tools for interaction among different actors and scales. Given its breadth of coverage, the book offers a valuable resource for both academic readers (spatial planners, geographers, social scientists) and practitioners (policymakers, citizens' associations).

Rivers have often been the gateway to natural wilderness and the first element of a natural landscape that humans made their own. Some rivers have become the symbol of whole civilisations, such as the Nile or the Tiber to Egyptians and Romans respectively. More recently, pioneers exploring the continent of America have explored the new land from within rivers, whose names have become by extension the name of the land: 15 of the 50 states composing the United States of America are borrowed from rivers. No other natural feature has become embedded into human narratives as the river. Rivers are frequently featured prominently in natural landscapes by writers and artists, but they also turn up in unexpected places, such as the mythical Greek underworld or Dante's Inferno. Rivers made of stars (the Milky Way) have been recognised in the sky by the Inca, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese (the "Peaceful River of Heaven"), Hindu, Maori, Aboriginal Australians as well as other cultures. The flow of a river has prompted many reflexions of its similarity to time as well as human life and consciousness, becoming a recurring theme in culture and philosophical thought. In recent archaeological literature, rivers are often ignored from narratives, or seen as part of the natural landscape. Yet, rivers and streams have shaped most cities in the world and they should be inserted more frequently, if not systematically, in archaeological interpretations and narratives. The sea is very much in the minds of scholars, especially in Europe, but rivers are denied the same interest. It is hoped that this volume will generate some fresh interest.

The aim of this book is to provide a synthesis of the newest research in Geography concerning the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's). Although the world is strongly interconnected, the majority of the chapters in this volume focus on Europe or the work of European researchers. Each chapter of this book focusses on one of the 17 SDG's providing in-depth knowledge from a geographical perspective, fostering comprehensive research on these global targets to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change. The Sustainable Development Goals are part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To achieve them, it will be necessary for all stakeholders, including citizens (civil society, doctors, teachers ...), governments, private sector to collaborate.

The study of the Quaternary ice age has revolutionized ideas about Earth system change and the pace of landscape and ecosystem dynamics. The Ice Age: A Very Short Introduction looks at evidence from the continents, the oceans, and the ice core records, and the human stories behind it all. Jamie Woodward examines the remarkable environmental shifts that took place during the Great Ice Age of the Quaternary Period. He explores the evolution of ideas, evaluates the contributions of the leading players in the great debates, and presents some of the ingenious methods that have been used to retrieve information about the recent geological past.
In an era of warming climate, the study of the ice age past is now more important than ever. This book examines the wonders of the Quaternary ice age - to show how ice age landscapes and ecosystems were repeatedly and rapidly transformed as plants, animals, and humans reorganized their worlds.
About the Series:
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.

The 'Grossglockner', Austria's highest mountain at 3,789m, is one of the most important summits of the Eastern Alps - and not only because it is so important for alpine tourism. At the end of the 18th Century, it had been explored and nobody less than Arch Bishop Salm-Reiffenscheidt-Krautheim was the first to ascend in 1800. Today, with more than 5000 ascents per year, it is a very popular destination for climbers. But even for those who do not want to climb, the fascination of this mountain is hard to escape. There is no better way to investigate than from the 'Grossglockner' High Alpine roads. The road leads across both mountain passes Fuscher Toerl and Hochtor, crossing the main Alpes from Salzburg to Carinthia, with turnoffs to the Edelweiss peak and the Kaiser-Franz-Josef-height. The road as an adventure trip and its 12% ascent has to be well managed. Who would be more capable to report about all this than Stefan Bogner, the master of the automobile photo books? With fuel in his blood and a sensitive feel for history, but also with accelerator and brake, he provides a portrait of one of the most exciting and most visited Alpine roads. Text in English and German.