This book presents emerging perspectives on disaster resilience and human settlements in the larger context of the Anthropocene. The chapters explore urban and rural perspectives focusing on the current and emerging perspectives on disaster resilience through a holistic approach, involving scientists, humanists, planners, policymakers, and professionals in the global debate.

This festschrift honours Prof. Rana P.B. Singh who has dedicated his life to teaching and conducting research on cultural geography with a 'dweller Indian perspective'. The book focuses on the cultural geographies of India, and to an extent that of South Asia. It is a rich collection of 23 essays on the themes apprised by him, covering landscapes, religion, heritage, pilgrimage and tourism, and human settlements.

This book explores significant aspects of the New Urban Agenda in the Asia-Pacific region, and presents, from different contexts and perspectives, innovative interventions afoot for transforming the governance of 21st-century cities in two key areas: (i) urban planning and policy; and (ii) service delivery and social inclusion. Representing institutions across a wide geography, academic researchers and development practitioners from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America have authored the chapters that lend the volume its distinctly diverse topical foci. Based on a wide range of cases and intriguing experiences, this collection is a uniquely valuable resource for everyone interested in the present and future of cities and urban regions in Asia-Pacific.

This book explores significant aspects of the New Urban Agenda in the Asia-Pacific region, and presents, from different contexts and perspectives, innovative interventions afoot for transforming the governance of 21st-century cities in two key areas: (i) urban planning and policy; and (ii) service delivery and social inclusion. Representing institutions across a wide geography, academic researchers and development practitioners from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America have authored the chapters that lend the volume its distinctly diverse topical foci. Based on a wide range of cases and intriguing experiences, this collection is a uniquely valuable resource for everyone interested in the present and future of cities and urban regions in Asia-Pacific.

The "brown agenda," or urban environmental issues, became an important part of the international policy agenda following the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. Urban environmental issues continue to remain a major challenge in the cities of developing countries. The World Bank strengthened its focus on urban environmental management with the adoption of this brown agenda as part of the Bank's urban livability program. 'Urban Environment and Infrastructure' reviews the World Bank's activities to improve urban environmental quality. It sets out the Bank's expanded brown agenda and emphasizes the crucial importance of infrastructure and environmental interventions in order to improve livability in cities in developing countries. The World Bank has more than US$12 billion worth of active commitments aimed at improving urban environmental quality. While the Bank's investments are directed at much needed basic environmental services especially for the urban poor, the challenge of improving urban environment or livability in large cities needs further attention. Increasing climate variability, its impacts, especially sea-level rise, and urban impacts of natural disasters are becoming more and more part of the daily challenges facing cities in the developing world, seventy percent of which are located on the coasts. The volume provides pragmatic recommendations on how to deal with the challenge of this expanded brown agenda.