"Old maps lead you to strange and unexpected places, and none does so more ineluctably than the subject of this book: the giant, beguiling Waldseemuller world map of 1507." So begins this remarkable story of the map that gave America its name.
For millennia Europeans believed that the world consisted of three parts: Europe, Africa, and Asia. They drew the three continents in countless shapes and sizes on their maps, but occasionally they hinted at the existence of a "fourth part of the world," a mysterious, inaccessible place, separated from the rest by a vast expanse of ocean. It was a land of myth--until 1507, that is, when Martin Waldseemuller and Matthias Ringmann, two obscure scholars working in the mountains of eastern France, made it real. Columbus had died the year before convinced that he had sailed to Asia, but Waldseemuller and Ringmann, after reading about the Atlantic discoveries of Columbus's contemporary Amerigo Vespucci, came to a startling conclusion: Vespucci had reached the fourth part of the world. To celebrate his achievement, Waldseemuller and Ringmann printed a huge map, for the first time showing the New World surrounded by water and distinct from Asia, and in Vespucci's honor they gave this New World a name: America.
"
The Fourth Part of the World "is the story behind that map, a thrilling saga of geographical and intellectual exploration, full of outsize thinkers and voyages. Taking a kaleidoscopic approach, Toby Lester traces the origins of our modern worldview. His narrative sweeps across continents and centuries, zeroing in on different portions of the map to reveal strands of ancient legend, Biblical prophecy, classical learning, medieval exploration, imperial ambitions, and more. In Lester's telling the map comes alive: Marco Polo and the early Christian missionaries trek across Central Asia and China; Europe's early humanists travel to monastic libraries to recover ancient texts; Portuguese merchants round up the first West African slaves; Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci make their epic voyages of discovery; and finally, vitally, Nicholas Copernicus makes an appearance, deducing from the new geography shown on the Waldseemuller map that the earth could not lie at the center of the cosmos. The map literally altered humanity's worldview.
One thousand copies of the map were printed, yet only one remains. Discovered accidentally in 1901 in the library of a German castle it was bought in 2003 for the unprecedented sum of $10 million by the Library of Congress, where it is now on permanent public display. Lavishly illustrated with rare maps and diagrams, "The Fourth Part of the World "is the story of that map: the dazzling story of the geographical and intellectual journeys that have helped us decipher our world.

This ground-breaking Handbook presents a state-of-the-art exploration of entropy, complexity, and spatial dynamics from fundamental theoretical, empirical and methodological perspectives. It considers how foundational theories can contribute to new advances, including novel modeling and empirical insights at different sectoral, spatial, and temporal scales. With the help of leading experts worldwide, the Handbook examines how and to what extent entropic and non-entropic forces and processes in complex spatial socio-economic systems shape and are shaped by their structure and dynamics. Moreover, considering current concerns that big data and related data-driven methods may signal an end to theory, this Handbook is intended to investigate the potential and possibilities for complexity science to engage, revitalize, and advance theory in spatial economics. Overall, this Handbook reaches beyond qualitative generalizations, contributing to the identification of fundamental structural and dynamic properties of the complex space-economy. Drawing upon diverse foundations and perspectives, the Handbook on Entropy, Complexity and Spatial Dynamics: A Rebirth of Theory? will be an essential resource for researchers and students of many fields and disciplines, including economics, urban planning and geography, regional science, information science, physics, and biology.

This Handbook of Cities and Networks provides a cutting-edge overview of research on how economic, social and transportation networks affect processes both in and between cities. Exploring the ways in which cities connect and intertwine, it offers a varied set of collaborations, highlighting different theoretical, historical and methodological perspectives. International contributions assess the state of the field of network analysis, presenting interdisciplinary insights that draw on theory from geography, economics, sociology, history, archaeology and psychology, and outlining methodological tools that include ethnographic, qualitative and quantitative approaches. Illustrating a framework for integrating the diversity of urban networks, the Handbook demonstrates that by exploring urban networks with different combinations of levels and scales, new insights and opportunities can emerge. Featuring focused studies on specific regions and cities, this state-of-the-art Handbook is essential reading for scholars and researchers of urban studies and regional science, particularly those focusing on the transformation of cities as connected spaces through intracity and intercity networks. Its core theoretical insights will also benefit graduate students in urban studies and network analysis.

A political scientist and an urban architect explore China's odyssey to become an ecological civilization and transform its massive, unsustainable, urbanization process into one that creates hundreds of eco-cities. The resulting From Eco-Cities to Sustainable City-Regions is the first book-length study combining analysis of politics and power, urban design and planning issues derived from the co-authors' interdisciplinary research, and on-site fieldwork from their political science and architectural area specialties. Begun in 1986, little-known policy actions have taken shape in the building of 285 eco-cities--and growing. What are the driving forces of these innovative developments? How is China going about converting its teeming urban areas into replicable and showcase cities? Can these new policy initiatives overcome the damage done to its air, waterways, and land, while significantly reducing public health dangers to its inhabitants? In searching for means for the People s Republic of China to take the next step from eco-cities to sustainable city-regions, the co-authors assess the potential success of China's present course and offer key recommendations for Chinese political leaders, urban planners, and citizen stakeholders to make the transition to a sustainable future for its people and the rest of the world. The primary market for this book will be eco-researchers, Asian studies scholars and teachers, eco- and urban architects, environmental and urban policy professionals, and advanced undergraduates in environmental and sustainability studies or sciences programs. The interdisciplinary reach and critical framework of analysis will appeal to a wide variety of scholars interested in Chinese ecological strides and seeking a critical assessment of its potential.

Infrastructure systems provide the services we all rely upon for our day-to-day lives. Through new conceptual work and fresh empirical analysis, this book investigates how financialisation engages with city governance and infrastructure provision, identifying its wider and longer-term implications for urban and regional development, politics and policy. Proposing a more people-oriented approach to answering the question of 'What kind of urban infrastructure, and for whom?', this book addresses the struggles of national and local governments to fund, finance and govern urban infrastructure. It develops new insights to explain the socially and spatially uneven mixing of managerial, entrepreneurial and financialised city governance in austerity and limited decentralisation across England. As urban infrastructure fixes for the London global city-region risk undermining national 'rebalancing' efforts in the UK, city statecraft in the rest of the country is having uneasily to combine speculation, risk-taking and prospective venturing with co-ordination, planning and regulation. This book will be of interest to researchers and scholars in the fields of business and management, economics, geography, planning, and political science. Its conclusions will be valuable to policymakers and practitioners in both the public and private sectors seeking insights into the intersections of financialisation, decentralisation and austerity in the UK, Europe and globally.

Written in a comprehensive yet accessible style, Urban Violence, Resilience and Security investigates the diverse nature of urban violence within Latin America, Asia and Africa. It further analyzes how regular and irregular governing mechanisms can provide human security, despite the presence of chronic violence. The empirically rich and conceptually grounded contributions of established and emerging scholars evaluate the current state and future trajectory of urban development. They also question common explanations of the drivers of violence in urban areas and also provide measured recommendations for improved policy and future governance. Chapters thoroughly examine the opportunities and hazards of focusing on resilience as the only method to improve security and identify governance and policy practices that can move beyond the rhetoric of resilience to evaluate diverse approaches to attaining human security in urban areas of the Global South. This invigorating book will be an excellent resource for academic researchers interested in urban dynamics in the Global South as well as scholars embarking on geography, human security, political science and policy studies. Based on a set of original case studies, policymakers will also benefit from the questions and challenges to the conventional approaches to urban planning and governance that it raises.

This Handbook is a state-of-the-art analysis of proximity relations, offering insights into its history alongside up-to-date scientific advances and emerging questions. Its broad scope - from industrial and innovation approaches through to society issues of living and working at a distance, territorial development and environmental topics - will ensure an in-depth focus point for researchers in economics as well as geography, organizational studies, planning and sociology. Split into four distinctly thematic parts, the Handbook explores the precise definition of proximity relationships and their diversity, including the role they play in social and economic interactions as well as examining the origins and evolution of such relationships. It further presents a detailed overview of the main methods of analysis, highlighting the link between proximity relationships and exchange of information while explaining how exchanges at a distance rely on links of organized proximity, something that plays an increasing role in our societies. This engaging Handbook will provide an excellent update for scientists and researchers on the recent developments in the analysis of proximity relations as well as students looking for precise and detailed information on the main characteristics of proximity relations, regional and spatial analysis, and the major analytical tools.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. Setting out a new, path-breaking research agenda for global rural development, this timely book offers an innovative and embedded rural social science capable of both understanding and enacting progress towards diverse and sustainable pathways. It relocates rural development at the heart of global trends associated with widespread but uneven urbanisation, climate change and severe resource depletion, rising population growth, density and inequality, and global political, economic and health crises. Chapters collapse traditional binary notions of development as north-south, rural-urban, global-local and traditional modern, embracing a revised conceptualisation of uneven development as a process dependent upon multiple theoretical and conceptual frameworks. It offers potential routes for substantive, interlinked research agendas, including new ruralities, governance, land rights, agro-ecology, financialisation, power relations, family farming, and the role of markets. Scholars of geography, planning, rural sociology and rural-urban studies looking for a broader understanding of the topic will find this book essential. It will also be beneficial for those engaged in rural development policy and practice.

Using a geographic lens to examine the adoption and dissemination of, and attention to 'fake news', this timely and important book explores how misinformation in the digital age calls attention to the multiple geographic dimensions of online fictions, conspiracy theories and political disinformation. Chapters delve into how social and digital media have rescaled and disrupted relations of trust and authority in the (mis)information age. The book draws on quantitative data and qualitative cases to shed light on the geographies of misinformation, covering urban legends, political rumors, information weaponization, and Climategate, as well as trade and financial fictions. The book explores in depth climate change misinformation, conspiracy theories and other critical contemporary events such as Pizzagate, Russian-led overseas political interference campaigns, and Cambridge Analytica. Geography and environmental studies scholars will benefit from the analysis of the denial of global climate change and geographic lens the book uses. It will also be an important read for practitioners and policy makers looking for a helpful reference summarizing interdisciplinary work on misinformation in accessible prose.

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.

Covering a wide range of current issues, this comprehensive Handbook explores the links between tourism as a dynamic tertiary industry and China as the world's most influential tourism market and destination. From China outbound tourism, Chinese outbound tourists and the growth of smart tourism to the development of sectors such as the hotel market, theme parks and cruise tourism, contributors provide the latest indigenous knowledge otherwise unavailable to the global tourism research community. This essential reference allows readers to develop a fine-grained understanding of the current state of the art of research on tourism and China, all the more crucial given the fast speed of China's development and transformation and innovative industry practices in tourism. Vital reading for academics and researchers in need of the latest knowledge on Chinese tourism, this distinctive Handbook also offers a wealth of insight for students studying Chinese tourism, business and hospitality management. Industry practitioners in business management and marketing will also benefit from its insights into a flourishing international market. Contributors include: J. Bao, M.J. Bauman, P. Benckendorff, G. Brown, S. Cai, G. Chen, M. Cheng, J. Fountain, H. Gao, H. Gu, Q. Gu, M. Huang, S. Huang, Y. Jiang, B. Li, M. Li, X. Li, Z. Liang, X. Luo, Z. Mai, Y. Qin, Y. Rao, B.W. Ritchie, M.M. Su, J. Sun, X. Sun, J. Wang, B. Weiler, J. Wen, H.A. Williams, Y. Yang, J. Yin, J. Yuan, B. Zhai, S. Zhao, D. Zheng, L. Zhong, Y. Zhu, Y. Zou, B. Zuo

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. Highlighting the power of multi-dimensional demography, this Advanced Introduction addresses the most consequential changes in our societies and economies using quantitative approaches. It defines three demographic theories with predictive power - demographic metabolism, transition and dividend - and repositions the discipline at the heart of social science. Key features include: Discussion of alternative demographic scenarios in the context of sustainable development Introduction of national human resource management as the population policy for the 21st century An outline of how the significant demographic theories discussed form the building blocks of a Unified Demographic Theory An argument for cognitive changes as the primary driver of demographic transition rather than changing economic conditions, demonstrated by the impact of changing educational attainment structures. This Advanced Introduction is a must-read for demographers around the globe for its concise summary of the concepts, theories and power of multi-dimensional demography, as well as students of demography at all levels. It will also be useful to academics in other social sciences, including human geography, development studies and sociology scholars interested in what state-of-the-art demography has to offer their fields.

Offering a fresh perspective, this timely book analyzes the socio-cultural and physical production of planned capital cities through the theoretical lens of feminism. Dorina Pojani evaluates the historical, spatial and symbolic manifestations of new capital cities, as well as the everyday experiences of those living there, to shed light on planning processes, outcomes and contemporary planning issues. Chapters explore seven geographically, culturally and temporally diverse capital cities across Australia, India, Brazil, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Myanmar and South Korea. Pojani argues that new capital cities have embodied patriarchal systems to govern their respective polities which has magnified problems in these cities. The book highlights how in new capitals, notions such as the state, the nation, urbanism, religion, the economy and even nature have been conceived of or treated in patriarchal terms, to the detriment of women and other disadvantaged groups. This book will be an invigorating read for urban studies and planning scholars. The information about the processes of new city formation will also be of great use to urban planners.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. This timely Research Agenda highlights how slow violence, unlike other forms of conflict and direct, physical violence, is difficult to see and measure. It explores ways in which geographers study, analyze and draw attention to forms of harm and violence that have often not been at the forefront of public awareness, including slow violence affecting children, women, Indigenous peoples, and the environment. Demonstrating a range of research methods and theoretical perspectives, this Research Agenda looks at the topic of slow violence through qualitative fieldwork, document analysis, geospatial technologies and cartographic analysis and representation. Key case studies consider slow violence in the form of social injustice, environmental alteration, and harmful human-environment interactions. The chapters also highlight how physical infrastructure, social and legal practices, places that have experienced armed conflict, and groups of people being labeled or marginalised can foster forms of slow violence. Scholars and students of human geography, particularly those looking at decolonization, environmental and social justice and different geographic methods for research, will find this book to be a beneficial read. It will also be useful for those studying structural harm and indirect violence more widely.

Invigorating and timely, this book provides a thorough overview of the geographies of cosmopolitanism, an ethical and political philosophy that views humanity as one community. Barney Warf charts the origins and developments of this line of thought, exploring how it has changed over time, acquiring many variations along the way. Offering a comprehensive account of the theory and practice of cosmopolitanism at multiple spatial scales, chapters note how and why cosmopolitans reject the nation-state and nationalism and view borders as artificial. The book addresses the intersections between cosmopolitanism and geography, including care-giving and relational space. It examines key contemporary issues, including globalization, negotiating the post-Westphalian political order, the United Nations, global citizenship, immigration, refugees and sanctuary cities. Particular focus is also given to cosmopolitanism in everyday life, including education, tourism, consumption and veganism. Analysing cosmopolitanism in an interdisciplinary manner, Geographies of Cosmopolitanism will be an interesting read for sociology, human geography and political science scholars. It will also appeal to philosophy and social science students more broadly who are keen to understand this approach to social justice and human rights.

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. The Advanced Introduction to Marxism and Human Geography explores the fundamental aspects of Marx's conceptualization of capital and of capitalist development, including value theory, the class relation, accumulation and the development of the capitalist division of labor. Kevin Cox goes beyond simplistic analysis to further engage with key concepts, and how their relationships with one another can illuminate the human geography of the world. Key features include: Comparative insights into human geography and Marx's theory A detailed discussion of capitalism and Marxism, covering topics such as capitalist geography, the capitalist city and urbanization A focus on core concepts of the field as well as looking more broadly at Marxist approaches to topics such as geopolitics and difference and uneven development. This engaging work will be valuable reading for students and scholars of human geography and Marxist geography.

Using case studies from the UK and Europe, Chris Couch examines the nature and achievements of the expanded towns programmes that emerged in the mid-20th century to accommodate population growth and overspill from densely populated urban areas. Thought-provoking insights into lessons to be learnt are provided, alongside arguments for further planned expansion of smaller towns today. This timely book investigates how development pressures caused by rapidly growing populations, have led to some disregard for health and housing standards, and how a fresh look at the relationship between urban form and public health is necessary, particularly in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. The author raises the importance of strong planning and public land acquisition, concluding with a strong case for a new programme of planned expansion in smaller towns. Written in an accessible style, this book is an excellent resource for students and researchers in urban planning, geography and history as well as housing policy, estate management and the built environment. Practitioners and policy makers within town planning and urban development would also find this an invaluable read.