This book provides a systematic description and analysis of the development of national environmental policies in seventeen countries in terms of capacity building. It covers a broad spectrum of different types of countries, ranging from advanced industrial, newly industrializing and transition countries to developing countries, representing all continents. This allows the reader to draw conclusions about the chances of an effective global environmental policy, the interrelationship between economic and environmental development as well as the importance of globalization, new forms of governance, and democratization for sustainable development. The editors deliver a broad cross-national survey covering altogether thirty countries and focussing on the diffusion of environmental innovations, the globalization of environmental policy, and the worldwide convergence of basic environmental policy patterns.

This book is about our appreciation for order and meaningfulness. It offers a new theory of that feeling inspired by Durkheim and Marx, then derives other theories to answer a range of questions: why we like to make ourselves orderly (in Chapter Three s theory of identity and commitment), why create shared orders of meaning (in Chapter Four s theory of culture); how we create those orders collaboratively through conversation (Chapter Five), and also through narrative, symbolic, and ritualistic formats (Chapter Six), and how orders of meaning are created in response to social structural position (Chapter Seven). In the end, this book shows how our sense of order both integrates and segregates us into productive associations with one another. And so, Explaining Culture is able to explain two patterns common to all growth: expansion and centralization. We see how our desire for novelty disperses us for resources, and that for familiarity draws us together to create meaningful order from them. Indeed, this book may offer a new approach to answering one of the most basic questions in both social and natural science: the question of how organic systems like society are created and maintained. Explaining Culture is an important new step in answering our most basic questions about culture, social interaction, and the emergence of order. The unique contribution of this work is in identifying the determinants of meaningfulness, and the ways we make the world meaningful by ordering it. Our valuing of order is rarely mentioned in sociology, but this book shows how it is the key influence in how we order ourselves and each other.

The first book of its kind when originally published in 1972, this book discusses techniques, types of maps and atlases, case histories illustrations of both disease incidence and distribution of medical services, and some examples of theoretical models linked with practical work. It shows the importance of medical geography as a research tool in preparing and collecting data concerning the incidence of disease. In the light of the recent Ebola outbreak, this book is of continued relevance, with some of the chapters focussing on Malawi, Zambia, Ghana and other African countries.

Community indicators projects are plentiful. These projects capture the quality of life in towns, cities, counties, metropolitan regions, and larger geographic regions. Community quality-of-life (QOL) indicators are increasingly being integrated into overallplanningandotherpublicpolicyactivities.Thecommunityindicatorsproject reports are used not only in monitoring and evaluation applications but also in the context of increasing citizen participation in guiding communities towards achieving desired goals. This is the fourth book in a series covering best practices in community QOL indicators. Each volume presents individual cases (chapters) of communities at the local or regional levels that have designed and implemented community indi- tors programs. In Volume IV, we present nine chapters from a variety of contexts: cities such as the City of Phoenix (Arizona, USA), Jacksonville (Florida, USA), and Bristol (UK), suburban communities areas such as Long Island (New York, USA) and Sydney (Australia), larger regions such as Vancouver (Canada), and townships such as Sobantu (South Africa).

Originally published between 1972 and 1996 the 19 diverse volumes in this set cover key areas of human geography such as: transport, development, health, defence, the media, recreation & leisure, politics, poverty and wealth. Written by international authors including Jacquelin Burgess, John Gold, Robin Haynes, Keith Hoggart, Andrew Kirby, Paul Knox, Nurit Kliot and Stanley Waterman, specific volumes focus on Scotland, the UK, Western Europe, Tanzania and the USA.

Hardbound. The theory and practice of measuring consumer demand for environmental quality is comprehensively and practically reviewed in this book. It was perceived that there was a significant need for a book that was both theoretically rigorous yet could address the question of how to actually measure this demand. The volume is divided into two sections. The first section develops theoretical tools and covers the principal methods for measuring demand for environmental goods. The second part of the book is concerned with implementing theory for specific classes of environmental effects.

The Unique Nature of Frontier Cities and their Development Challenge Harvey Lithwick and Yehuda Grad us The advent of government downsizing, and globalization has led to enormous com petitive pressures as well as the opening of new opportunities. How cities in remote frontier areas might cope with what for them might appear to be a devastating challenge is the subject of this book. Our concern is with frontier cities in particular. In our earlier study, Frontiers in Regional Development (Rowman and Littlefield, 1996), we examined the distinction between frontiers and peripheries. The terms are often used interchangeably, but we believe that in fact, both in scholarly works and in popular usage, very different connotations are conveyed by these concepts. Frontiers evoke a strong positive image, of sparsely settled territories, offering challenges, adventure, unspoiled natural land scapes, and a different, and for many an attractive life style. Frontiers are lands of opportunity. Peripheries conjure up negative images, of inaccessibility, inadequate services and political and economic marginality. They are places to escape from, rather than frontiers, which is were people escape to. Peripheries are places of and for losers."

First published in 1991, this title provides a comprehensive and objective account of the basis of 'green' arguments and their social and political implications. By the beginning of the 1990s, environmental awareness had become widespread, popular, and fashionable throughout the West, adopted by politicians, manufacturers and advertising agencies. The book sets out to explain why and how the 'green wave' developed, and examines the forces still shaping green politics and policies at an international level. With important implications across the fields of Sociology, Development Studies and Environment and Sustainability, this reissue will be valuable to a broad student and research readership.

This book explores how digital platforms in the realm of tourism and hospitality have shaped social and material worlds. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork with hosts and guests, the book analyses the impacts of platforms on the scale of the city, the home, and the everyday life of individuals. The book first situates platforms within the broader history of digital developments in tourism and questions what is essentially new about these socio-technical formations? The following chapters demonstrate how platforms have affected urban housing, challenged the tourism sector, and transformed understandings of hospitality and home. This is illustrated through a case-study of Airbnb's development and impact in Sofia, Bulgaria. The final chapters of the book reflect on the political dimensions of datafication processes and digital systems of measurement that underpin the platform's workings, showing how the platform economies of tourism benefit their users in highly uneven ways.

How do we research and represent mobile experiences: of being in place momentarily, of passing through? This book explores the movement of bodies through space, examining perceived limitations and considering methodological responses, technologies and strategies designed to inform our understanding of people's experience of movement through space.

"Governing Health and Consumption" critically explores the urban governance of healthy lifestyles and the contemporary problematizations of the obesity, sedentarism and alcohol "epidemics." Using both US and UK case studies to shed light on the complex socio-spatial dynamics of responsibilities for health, Clare Herrick argues for an engagement with the construct of "sensible" behavior at a time of its rising political salience. This book will appeal to sociologists, geographers, anthropologists, and anyone concerned with the governance of health and lifestyle.

Planning is particularly important in Eastern Europe since most spatial change and economic planning are the products of centralised decision-making, which in turn is the product of a systematic socio-political ideology. Planning is therefore an important key to understanding society, economy and spatial change in Eastern Europe. This book, which was first published in 1987, provides a comprehensive overview of planning in Eastern Europe. Each chapter discusses the nature of planning in the country in question and the changes which have taken place since 1945, and examines regional, economic, land-use, environmental protection and urban design policies and their achievements in the post- 1945 period. Introductory chapters discuss the physical, economic and political background of the area and a conclusion considers overall successes and failures and discusses likely future developments. This book is ideal for students of geography.

Social geography has been one of the most important growth areas within the field of geography in recent decades. It has brought within geographical analysis a wide range of new topics, such as ethnic segregation, crime and environment and inner city problems. First published in 1986, this edited collection surveys the field of social geography. Using key international case studies from across Europe, North America, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, authors discuss the different trends, leading figures and issues of concern in social geography throughout the world. This is a comprehensive and accessible study that will be of particular interest to students of social and human geography, urban and environmental planning.

This book examines immigration to small cities throughout Canada. It explores the distinct challenges brought about by the influx of people to urban communities which typically have less than 100,000 residents. The essays are organized into four main sections: partnerships, resources, and capacities; identities, belonging, and social networks; health, politics, and diversity, and Francophone minority communities. Taken together, they provide a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary perspective on the contemporary realities of immigration to small urban locations. Readers will discover how different groups of migrants, immigrants, and Francophone minorities confront systemic discrimination; how settlement agencies and organizations develop unique strategies for negotiating limited resources and embracing opportunities brought about by changing demographics; and how small cities work hard to develop inclusive communities and respond to social exclusions. In addition, each essay includes a case study that highlights the topic under discussion in a particular city or region, from Brandon, Manitoba to the Thompson-Nicola Region in British Columbia, from Peterborough, Ontario to the Niagara Region. As a complement to metropolitan-based works on immigration in Canada, this collection offers an important dimension in migration studies that will be of interest to academics, researchers, as well as policymakers and practitioners working on immigrant integration and settlement.

This book examines and clarifies key aspects of regional branding with the special focus of inter-regional brands. Today regions are in strong competition for companies, tourists and most of all talent. In order to differentiate one region from another, regional developers, politicians and planners increasingly focus on establishing the region as a brand. This is by no means easy, since places are complex systems of geographical abstractions in which each place is understood in relation and contrast to other geographical entities. In doing so, regions not only differentiate, but also cooperate (within one country or between countries), building so-called Inter-Regional Brands with an even higher degree of complexity. Accordingly this volume, provides a theoretically well informed but practically oriented overview of this phenomenon - including numerous cases and best practices. As such, it will strongly appeal to both academics and practitioners in the field.

The Pedestrian and the City provides an overview and insight into the development, politics and policies on walking and pedestrians: it includes the evolution of pedestrian-friendly housing estates in the 19th century up to the present day. Key issues addressed include the struggle of pedestrianization in town centers, the attempts to create independent pedestrian footpaths and the popularity of traffic calming as a powerful policy for reducing pedestrian accidents.

Hass-Klau also covers the wider aspects of urban and transport planning, especially public transport, since these are important for promoting a pedestrian-friendly environment. The book includes pedestrian-friendly policies and guidelines from a number of European countries and includes case studies from the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, the US and Canada, with further examples from ten additional countries. It also contains a unique collection of original photographs; including before and after photos of newly introduced pedestrian-friendly transport policies.

As the pedestrian environment has become ever more crucial for the future of our cities, the book will be invaluable to students and practicing planners, geographers, transport engineers and local government officers. "

The books in this set, originally published between 1968 and 1992 introduce the reader to the many lines of thought in the literature on economic geography and tie these various aspects together within the concept of the economy. As well as providing a comprehensive overview of the Western European economy since the Second World War, and including specific studies and assessments of the Dutch and Italian economies, these volumes examine the economic factors that have shaped cities and patterns of urbanization.

This book provides a fresh analysis of the demography, health and well-being of a major African city. It brings a range of disciplinary approaches to bear on the pressing topics of urban poverty, urban health inequalities and urban growth. The approach is primarily spatial and includes the integration of environmental information from satellites and other geospatial sources with social science and health survey data. The authors Ghanaians and outsiders, have worked to understand the urban dynamics in this burgeoning West African metropolis, with an emphasis on urban disparities in health and living standards. Few cities in the global South have been examined from so many different perspectives. Our analysis employs a wide range of GIScience methods, including analysis of remotely sensed imagery and spatial statistical analysis, applied to a wide range of data, including census, survey and health clinic data, all of which are supplemented by field work, including systematic social observation, focus groups, and key informant interviews. This book aims to explain and highlight the mix of methods, and the important findings that have been emerging from this research, with the goal of providing guidance and inspiration for others doing similar work in cities of other developing nations.

Exploring Social Geography, first published in 1984, offers a challenging yet comprehensive introduction to the wealth of empirical research and theoretical debate that has developed in response to the advent of a social approach to the subject. The argument emphasises the essentially spatial structure of social interaction, and includes a succinct discussion of geographical research on segregation and interaction, which has combined numerical analyses and qualitative ethnographic field research. A distinctive view of social geography is adopted, inspired by the Chicago school of North American pragmatism, but also incorporating the formal sociological theories of Simmel and Weber. Exploring Social Geography will be of value to students of urban geography in particular. However, it will also indicate a wide-ranging and distinctive perspective for all students of the social sciences with a special interest in debates concerning urban, ethnic, racial, anthropological and theoretical issues.

This book reviews the main energy sources, production problems and energy perspectives in Germany and Mexico. It surveys the status of traditional and alternative energy sources, including fossil fuels, nuclear, hydraulic, eolic, solar, and hydrogen cells. The book emphasizes the search for answers to such questions as What are the main problems of industries based on fossil fuels, and What is the present status of hydraulic and nuclear energy?

In The Oxford Handbook of the Politics of International Migration, leading migration experts Marc Rosenblum and Daniel Tichenor gather together 29 field specialists in an authoritative volume on the issue. Integrating the perspectives of the wide variety of fields that hold a stake in the study of migration-political science, sociology, economics, anthropology-this book presents an unprecedented interdisciplinary look at an issue that defines the modern era: the large-scale movement of people across international borders. The volume begins with three chapters analyzing the origins and causes of migration, including both source and destination states. The second section then asks: what are the consequences of migration at both ends of the migration chain? Chapters in this section consider economics, the effects of migration on parties and political participation, and social and cultural effects. A third group of chapters focuses on immigration policy. These include primers on the history and dimensions of migration policy, as well as examinations of the effects of public opinion, interest groups, and international relations on policymaking. The volume then considers aspects of the immigrant experience: segmented assimilation among Asian Americans, histories of U.S. immigrant incorporation and of race and migration, transnationalism, and gendered aspects of migration. Finally, five chapters examine contemporary issues, including transborder crime and terrorism, migration and organized labor, international regionalism, normative debates about citizenship and immigration, and the recent history of U.S. immigration policymaking. Covering the major questions and challenges related to the issue, The Oxford Handbook of the Politics of International Migration is a comprehensive resource for students, scholars, and policy experts alike.

Drawing on case-studies from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia, International Migration and Sending Countries demonstrates how sending countries are emerging as complex and significant actors in migration politics. It shows how a more nuanced understanding of sending countries' policies towards their emigrants and diasporas is relevant for both academic and public policy debates on issues of migration control and development.