From the depths of the oceans to the highest reaches of the atmosphere, the human impact on the environment is significant and undeniable. These forms of global and local environmental change collectively appear to signal the arrival of a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene. This is a geological era defined not by natural environmental fluctuations or meteorite impacts, but by collective actions of humanity.

Environmental Transformations offers a concise and accessible introduction to the human practices and systems that sustain the Anthropocene. It combines accounts of the carbon cycle, global heat balances, entropy, hydrology, forest ecology and pedology, with theories of demography, war, industrial capitalism, urban development, state theory and behavioural psychology. This book charts the particular role of geography and geographers in studying environmental change and its human drivers. It provides a review of critical theories that can help to uncover the socio-economic and political factors that influence environmental change. It also explores key issues in contemporary environmental studies, such as resource use, water scarcity, climate change, industrial pollution and deforestation. These issues are ‘mapped’ through a series of geographical case studies to illustrate the particular value of geographical notions of space, place and scale, in uncovering the complex nature of environmental change in different socio-economic, political and cultural contexts. Finally, the book considers the different ways in which nations, communities and individuals around the world are adapting to environmental change in the twenty-first century.

Particular attention is given throughout to the uneven geographical opportunities that different communities have to adapt to environmental change and to the questions of social justice this situation raises. This book encourages students to engage in the scientific uncertainties that surround the study of environmental change, while also discussing both pessimistic and more optimistic views on the ability of humanity to address the environmental challenges of our current era.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction – Geography in the Anthropocene Section 1: Environmental Transformations Chapter 2: Resources – Oil and Water Chapter 3: Air – Science and the Atmosphere Chapter 4: Soil – The Political Ecology of Soil Degradation Chapter 5: Forests – Jungle Capitalism and the Corporate Environment Chapter 6: Cities – Sprawl and the Urban Planet Section 2: Living in the Anthropocene Chapter 7: Governing the Environment Chapter 8: Greening the Brain: Understanding and Changing Human Behaviour Chapter 9: Conclusions: Misanthropy, Adaptation and Safe Operating Spaces

For many, Africa is regarded as a place of mystery and negative images, where reports of natural disasters and civil strife dominate media attention, with relatively little publicity given to any of the continent's more positive attributes. Africa has at last begun to receive the depth of interest it has long deserved, in the shape of debates about trade, aid and debt, the 'Make Poverty History' campaign, and the UK's 'Commission on Africa'. But, behind the superficial media facade, Africa is a diverse, complex and dynamic place, with a rich history and a colonial engagement that, although short-lived, was fundamental in determining the long-term future of the continent. At the start of the second decade of the twenty-first century, when the world is engulfed in a major financial crisis, Africa has the dubious distinction of being the world's poorest continent. This book introduces and de-mystifies Africa's diversity and dynamism, and considers how its peoples and environments have interacted through time and space. The background and diversity of Africa's social, cultural, economic, political and environmental systems is examined, as well as key development issues which have affected Africa in the past and are likely to be significant in shaping the future of the continent. These include: the impact of HIV/AIDS; sources of conflict and post-conflict reconstruction; the state and governance; the nature of African economies in a global context and future development trajectories. Africa: Diversity and Development is a refreshing interdisciplinary text which enhances understanding of the background to Africa's current position and clarifies possible future scenarios. It is richly illustrated throughout with diagrams and plates, and contains a wealth of detailed case studies and current data.

Biological and Environmental Hazards, Risks, and Disasters, Second Edition provides an integrated look at major impacts to the Earth’s biosphere caused by diseases, algal blooms, insects, animals, species extinction, deforestation, land degradation, and comet and asteroid strikes, with important implications for humans. This second edition from Elsevier’s Hazards and Disasters Series incorporates perspectives from the natural and social sciences to offer in-depth coverage of threats from microscopic organisms to celestial objects and their potential impacts. Contributions from expert biological, health, ecological, environmental, wildlife, physical, and health scientists, readers will gain valuable insights on damages, causality, economic impacts, preparedness, and mitigation.

International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, Second Edition, Fourteen Volume Set embraces diversity by design and captures the ways in which humans share places and view differences based on gender, race, nationality, location and other factors-in other words, the things that make people and places different. Questions of, for example, politics, economics, race relations and migration are introduced and discussed through a geographical lens. This updated edition will assist readers in their research by providing factual information, historical perspectives, theoretical approaches, reviews of literature, and provocative topical discussions that will stimulate creative thinking.

In the popular imagination, the Caribbean islands represent tropical paradise. This image, which draws millions of tourists to the region annually, underlies the efforts of many environmentalists to protect Caribbean coral reefs, mangroves, and rainforests. However, a dark side to Caribbean environmentalism lies beyond the tourist's view in urban areas where the islands' poorer citizens suffer from exposure to garbage, untreated sewage, and air pollution. Concrete Jungles explores the reasons why these issues tend to be ignored, demonstrating how mainstream environmentalism reflects and reproduces class and race inequalities. Based on over a decade of research in Kingston, Jamaica and Willemstad, Curacao, Rivke Jaffe contrasts the environmentalism of largely middle-class professionals with the environmentalism of inner-city residents. The book combines a sophisticated discussion of the politics of difference with rich ethnographic detail, including vivid depictions of Caribbean ghettos and elite enclaves. Jaffe also extends her analysis beyond ethnographic research, seeking to understand the role of colonial history in shaping the current trends in pollution and urban space. A thorough analysis of the hidden inequalities of mainstream environmentalism, Concrete Jungles provides a political ecology of urban pollution with significant implications for the future of environmentalism.

Routledge Library Editions: Development will re-issue works which address economic, political and social aspects of development. Published over more than four decades these books trace the emergence of development as one of the most important contemporary issues and one of the key areas of study for modern social science. The books cover the most important themes within development and include studies of Latin America, Africa and Asia. Authors include Sir Alexander Cairncross, W. Arthur Lewis, Lord Peter Bauer and Cristobal Kay. An extensive collection of previously hard to access or out of print books, this set presents an unrivalled opportunity to build up a wealth of material in the field of development studies, with a particular focus upon economic and political concerns. The volumes in the collection offer both a global overview of the history of development in the twentieth century, and a huge variety of case studies on the development of individual nations. For institutional purchases for e-book sets please contact [email protected] (customers in the UK, Europe and Rest of World)

Routledge Library Editions: Development will re-issue works which address economic, political and social aspects of development. Published over more than four decades these books trace the emergence of development as one of the most important contemporary issues and one of the key areas of study for modern social science. The books cover the most important themes within development and include studies of Latin America, Africa and Asia. Authors include Sir Alexander Cairncross, W. Arthur Lewis, Lord Peter Bauer and Cristobal Kay. An extensive collection of previously hard to access or out of print books, this set presents an unrivalled opportunity to build up a wealth of material in the field of development studies, with a particular focus upon economic and political concerns. The volumes in the collection offer both a global overview of the history of development in the twentieth century, and a huge variety of case studies on the development of individual nations. For institutional purchases for e-book sets please contact [email protected] (customers in the UK, Europe and Rest of World)

Routledge Library Editions: Development will re-issue works which address economic, political and social aspects of development. Published over more than four decades these books trace the emergence of development as one of the most important contemporary issues and one of the key areas of study for modern social science. The books cover the most important themes within development and include studies of Latin America, Africa and Asia. Authors include Sir Alexander Cairncross, W. Arthur Lewis, Lord Peter Bauer and Cristobal Kay. An extensive collection of previously hard to access or out of print books, this set presents an unrivalled opportunity to build up a wealth of material in the field of development studies, with a particular focus upon economic and political concerns. The volumes in the collection offer both a global overview of the history of development in the twentieth century, and a huge variety of case studies on the development of individual nations. For institutional purchases for e-book sets please contact [email protected] (customers in the UK, Europe and Rest of World)

Routledge Library Editions: Development will re-issue works which address economic, political and social aspects of development. Published over more than four decades these books trace the emergence of development as one of the most important contemporary issues and one of the key areas of study for modern social science. The books cover the most important themes within development and include studies of Latin America, Africa and Asia. Authors include Sir Alexander Cairncross, W. Arthur Lewis, Lord Peter Bauer and Cristobal Kay. An extensive collection of previously hard to access or out of print books, this set presents an unrivalled opportunity to build up a wealth of material in the field of development studies, with a particular focus upon economic and political concerns. The volumes in the collection offer both a global overview of the history of development in the twentieth century, and a huge variety of case studies on the development of individual nations. For institutional purchases for e-book sets please contact [email protected] (customers in the UK, Europe and Rest of World)

Routledge Library Editions: Development will re-issue works which address economic, political and social aspects of development. Published over more than four decades these books trace the emergence of development as one of the most important contemporary issues and one of the key areas of study for modern social science. The books cover the most important themes within development and include studies of Latin America, Africa and Asia. Authors include Sir Alexander Cairncross, W. Arthur Lewis, Lord Peter Bauer and Cristobal Kay. An extensive collection of previously hard to access or out of print books, this set presents an unrivalled opportunity to build up a wealth of material in the field of development studies, with a particular focus upon economic and political concerns. The volumes in the collection offer both a global overview of the history of development in the twentieth century, and a huge variety of case studies on the development of individual nations. For institutional purchases for e-book sets please contact [email protected] (customers in the UK, Europe and Rest of World)

Migration began with our origin as the human species and continues today. Each chapter of world history features distinct types of migration. The earliest migrations spread humans across the globe. Over the centuries, as our cultures, societies, and technologies evolved in different material environments, migrants conflicted, merged, and cohabited with each other, creating, entering, and leaving various city-states, kingdoms, empires, and nations. During the early modern period, migrations reconnected the continents, including through colonization and forced migrations of subject peoples, while political concepts like "citizen" and "alien" developed. In recent history, migrations changed their character as nation-states and transnational unions sought in new ways to control the peoples who migrated across their borders. This volume will explore the process of migration chronologically and also at several levels, from the illuminating example of the migration of a individual community, to larger patterns of the collective movements of major ethnic groups, to the more abstract study of the processes of emigration, migration, and immigration. This book will concentrate on substantial migrations covering long distances and involving large numbers of people. It will intentionally balance evidence from the now diverse people's of the world, for example, by highlighting an exemplary migration for each of the six chapters that highlights different trajectories and by keeping issues of gender and socio-economic class salient wherever appropriate. Further, as a major theme, the volume will consider how technology, the environment, and various polities have historically shaped human migration. Exciting new scholarship in the several fields inherent in this topic make it a particularly valuable and timely project. Each chapter will contain short individual examples, maps, illustrations, and brief quotations from diverse types of primary documents, all integrated with each other and analyzed engagingly in the text.

Based on fieldwork in Malaysia, this book provides a critical examination of the country's main urban region. The study first provides a theoretical reworking of geographies of modernity and details the emergence of a globally-oriented, 'high-tech' stage of national development. The Multimedia Super Corridor is framed in terms of a political vision of a 'fully developed' Malaysia before the author traces an imagined trajectory through surrounding landscapes in the late 1990s. As the first book length giving an academic analysis of the development of Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Area and the construction of the Multimedia Super Corridor, this work offers a situated, contextual account which will appeal to all those with research interests in Asian Urban Studies and Asian Sociology.

A comprehensive new introduction to Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand human and cultural geography. The authors integrate key themes of globalisation, difference and inequality into this student friendly book. Each chapter follows a strong pedagogical framework designed to enhance students' ability to understand the material.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This insightful Advanced Introduction explores the key attributes of cities, identifying their five basic characteristics; innate complexity, the agglomeration of activities, inter-city connectivities, the projection of power, and relations to states. Peter J. Taylor gives a broad and engaging overview of how these characteristics work and relate to each other, supplemented by ten short city insights which offer readers specific examples of cities and themes. Key features include: analysis of cities as the creative nodes of societies discussion of both contemporary and historical cities exploration of the different spaces created by cities and states identification of the demands of cities in relation to climate change. This Advanced Introduction will be a valuable guide for scholars and advanced students of urban studies, cities, urban geography, urban sociology, and social and cultural geography.

The Festival Cities of Edinburgh and Adelaide examines how these cities' world-famous arts events have shaped and been shaped by their long-term interaction with their urban environments. While the Edinburgh International Festival and Adelaide Festival are long-established, prestigious events that champion artistic excellence, they are also accompanied by the two largest open-access fringe festivals in the world. It is this simultaneous staging of multiple events within Edinburgh's Summer Festivals and Adelaide's Mad March that generates the visibility and festive atmosphere popularly associated with both places. Drawing on perspectives from theatre studies and cultural geography, this book interrogates how the Festival City, as a place myth, has developed in the very different local contexts of Edinburgh and Adelaide, and how it is challenged by groups competing for the right to use and define public space. Each chapter examines a recent performative event in which festival debates and controversies spilled out beyond the festival space to activate the public sphere by intersecting with broader concerns and audiences. This book forges an interdisciplinary, comparative framework for festival studies to interrogate how festivals are embedded in the social and political fabric of cities and to assess the cultural impact of the festivalisation phenomenon.

Offering an overview of current issues around design, marketing and management of experiences from the tourist perspective, this comprehensive Handbook critically reviews the key debates and developments within the field. Empirical chapters by international contributors explore a range of perspectives, challenges, opportunities for future research and best managerial practices. Conceptual and practical in its approach, the Handbook focuses on the tourist experience from a managerial approach, covering key aspects such as motivations, sensory stimuli, brand experiences and storytelling. Responsible management approaches to tourism experiences including sustainable behaviours, accessible experiences and diversity are thoroughly analysed and worldwide case examples are used to provide an in-depth illustration. This insightful Handbook will be a critical read for scholars and students of tourism management with a specific interest in tourism experiences, design and marketing. Its practical considerations will also be beneficial for industry practitioners in planning, management and marketing in tourism contexts.

Drawing on the concept of the 'politics of compassion', this Handbook interrogates the political, geopolitical, social and anthropological processes which produce and govern borders and give rise to contemporary border violence. Chapters map different aspects of structural violence and mobilities in some of the world's most contentious border zones, highlighting the forms and practices that connect with labour exploitation, legal exclusion and a severe absence of human rights. International interdisciplinary contributors, including renowned sociologist Saskia Sassen, draw attention to the forms and spaces of resistance available to migrants and activists, contemplating how advocates attempt to provide protection and human security to those subjected to border violence. Offering empirical analyses of critical border spaces, the book covers extensively the US-Mexico border region and border zones around the Mediterranean. Border issues in South, Central and North America, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, the Middle East, Central Africa and East and Central Asia are also discussed. The Handbook thus provides a truly transnational approach to borders and migration, demonstrating the dynamic but asymmetric relationship between the social structure of border enforcement and the human agency of migrants and global activists. Combining theoretical insights into structural violence and human rights with key case studies of border zones, this comprehensive Handbook is crucial reading for scholars and researchers of social and political science investigating human migration, the humanitarian, border control and human rights. Its practical insights will also benefit policy-makers involved in borders and migration, as well as advocates and NGOs working with migrants and refugees to create secure environments.

From an award-winning science journalist comes Nomad Century, an urgent investigation of environmental migration--the most underreported, seismic consequence of our climate crisis that will force us to change where--and how--we live. "The MOST IMPORTANT BOOK I imagine I'll ever read."--Mary Roach "An IMPORTANT and PROVOCATIVE start to a crucial conversation." --Bill McKibben "We are facing a species emergency. We can survive, but to do so will require a planned and deliberate migration of a kind humanity has never before undertaken. This is the biggest human crisis you've never heard of." Drought-hit regions bleeding those for whom a rural life has become untenable. Coastlines diminishing year on year. Wildfires and hurricanes leaving widening swaths of destruction. The culprit, most of us accept, is climate change, but not enough of us are confronting one of its biggest, and most present, consequences: a total reshaping of the earth's human geography. As Gaia Vince points out early in Nomad Century, global migration has doubled in the past decade, on track to see literal billions displaced in the coming decades. What exactly is happening, Vince asks? And how will this new great migration reshape us all? In this deeply-reported clarion call, Vince draws on a career of environmental reporting and over two years of travel to the front lines of climate migration across the globe, to tell us how the changes already in play will transform our food, our cities, our politics, and much more. Her findings are answers we all need, now more than ever.

Featuring an international, multidisciplinary set of contributors, this thought-provoking book reimagines established narratives of the Anthropocene to allow differences in regions and contexts to be taken seriously, emphasising the importance of localised and situated knowledge. Envisaging a narrative of change that renders visible the complex transformations taking place across the globe, this book outlines new and radical ways to address the current environmental crisis in a more sustainable and context-specific manner. It presents empirical studies from various contexts, highlighting the potentiality of non-Western knowledge, concepts and categories as well as recognising the entanglement of humans with other beings and ecosystems. In particular, it offers critical engagement with the debates around the Anthropocene by challenging the dominant techno-rational agenda that often prevails in socio-political and academic discussions. This book will be crucial reading for researchers and post-graduate students working in fields from human geography and tourism studies to law, public policy and administration, philosophy, politics and organisation studies who are dealing with intersecting issues of environment, sustainability, indigenous rights, space and ethics. It will also be helpful for policy makers and research consultants in leveraging localised solutions to the current ecological crisis.

Breaking into the Russian market has always been a challenging task, particularly for Western organisations, and personal networks play a crucial role in achieving this. However, personal networks that exist in Russian business remain a mystery. The aim of this book is to address the role of informal relations and trust in Russian society and business. Our findings provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between Russian business and personal relations, thus helping foreign practitioners and investors to enter the Russian market and develop strong business-stakeholder relationships. With the intention not to criticise or dress up the image of Russia but to provide coherent analysis and discussion on how things work in Russia or describe "the rules of the relationships game", this book discussed ten personal networks existing in Russian society and business, nature and structure of relations, local social norms and codes, trust development process, knowledge and information sharing, entry and exit rules, and provides practical suggestions. This book is essential for anybody intending to do business in Russia and particularly suitable for practitioners, investors, researchers and business students.

In this synthetic, interdisciplinary work, Neil Brenner develops a new interpretation of the transformation of statehood under contemporary globalizing capitalism. Whereas most analysts of the emergent, post-Westphalian world order have focused on supranational and national institutional realignments, 'New State Spaces' shows that strategic subnational spaces, such as cities and city-regions, represent essential arenas in which states are being transformed. Brenner traces the transformation of urban governance in western Europe during the last four decades and, on this basis, argues that inherited geographies of state power are being fundamentally rescaled. Through a combination of theory construction, historical analysis and cross-national case studies of urban policy change, 'New State Spaces' provides an innovative analysis of the new formations of state power that are currently emerging. This is a mature and sophisticated analysis by a major young scholar

Compelling and engaging, this Handbook on Shrinking Cities addresses the fundamentals of shrinkage, exploring its causal factors, the ways in which planning strategies and policies are steered, and innovative solutions for revitalising shrinking cities. It analyses the multidimensional phenomena involved in processes of shrinkage, where cities experience a dramatic decline in their economic and social bases. Offering a timely response to the endurance of decline in cities across the globe, contributions from top scholars showcase a wide range of perspectives on the ongoing challenges of shrinkage. Chapters cover topics of 'governance', 'greening' and 'right-sizing', and 'regrowth', laying the relevant groundwork for the Handbook's proposals for dealing with shrinkage in the age of COVID-19 and beyond. Leading experts in the fields of urban and regional development contribute novel ideas pertinent to the future of shrinking cities, considering factors such as economic prosperity, liveability, social stability, and innovation, ultimately representing a paradigmatic shift from growth-centred planning to the notion of 'shrinking sustainably'. In suggesting strategies to reverse decline and generate newer, more robust development, this prescient Handbook will prove beneficial to scholars of human geography and urban planning. The wide range of case studies will also make this a vital read for planning practitioners.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Analysing the causes and effects of widespread gentrification, this Advanced Introduction provides an innovative insight into the global debate instigated by this process. Examining the impact of gentrification on lower income groups and other issues, Chris Hamnett discusses research into the socio-economic causes and effects of gentrification in a variety of cities worldwide. Key features include: A detailed examination of both contemporary and historical sources Exploration of the history, geography and development of gentrification and some of its more recent forms Chapters covering a selection of central topics including urban displacement and social class change. Composed of succinct but highly informative chapters, this engaging Advanced Introduction will prove to be an essential read for urban geography, urban studies and planning students as well as scholars with a particular interest in urban sociology and social policy.