This book is about politics and planning outside of cities, where urban political economy and planning theories do not account for the resilience of places that are no longer rural and where local communities work hard to keep from ever becoming urban. By examining exurbia as a type of place that is no longer simply rural or only tied to the economies of global resources (e.g., mining, forestry, and agriculture), we explore how changing landscapes are planned and designed not to be urban, that is, to look, function, and feel different from cities and suburbs in spite of new home development and real estate speculation. The book's authors contend that exurbia is defined by the persistence of rural economies, the conservation of rural character, and protection of natural ecological systems, all of which are critical components of the contentious local politics that seek to limit growth. Comparative political ecology is used as an organizing concept throughout the book to describe the nature of exurban areas in the U.S. and Australia, although exurbs are common to many countries. The essays each describe distinctive case studies, with each chapter using the key concepts of competing rural capitalisms and uneven environmental management to describe the politics of exurban change. This systematic analysis makes the processes of exurban change easier to see and understand. Based on these case studies, seven characteristics of exurban places are identified: rural character, access, local economic change, ideologies of nature, changes in land management, coalition-building, and land-use planning. This book will be of interest to those who study planning, conservation, and land development issues, especially in areas of high natural amenity or environmental value. There is no political ecology book quite like this-neither one solely focused on cases from the developed world (in this case the United States and Australia), nor one that specifically harnesses different case studies from multiple areas to develop a central organizing perspective of landscape change.

This book is about politics and planning outside of cities, where urban political economy and planning theories do not account for the resilience of places that are no longer rural and where local communities work hard to keep from ever becoming urban. By examining exurbia as a type of place that is no longer simply rural or only tied to the economies of global resources (e.g., mining, forestry, and agriculture), we explore how changing landscapes are planned and designed not to be urban, that is, to look, function, and feel different from cities and suburbs in spite of new home development and real estate speculation. The book's authors contend that exurbia is defined by the persistence of rural economies, the conservation of rural character, and protection of natural ecological systems, all of which are critical components of the contentious local politics that seek to limit growth. Comparative political ecology is used as an organizing concept throughout the book to describe the nature of exurban areas in the U.S. and Australia, although exurbs are common to many countries. The essays each describe distinctive case studies, with each chapter using the key concepts of competing rural capitalisms and uneven environmental management to describe the politics of exurban change. This systematic analysis makes the processes of exurban change easier to see and understand. Based on these case studies, seven characteristics of exurban places are identified: rural character, access, local economic change, ideologies of nature, changes in land management, coalition-building, and land-use planning. This book will be of interest to those who study planning, conservation, and land development issues, especially in areas of high natural amenity or environmental value. There is no political ecology book quite like this-neither one solely focused on cases from the developed world (in this case the United States and Australia), nor one that specifically harnesses different case studies from multiple areas to develop a central organizing perspective of landscape change.

It's been three months and six days since I walked out of the Nyiathan mansion and into this life. I wasn't always this person. I was kind, caring...good. Those days are gone. I've accepted it now, dealt with the demons. I know now that I can never be the man I once was. Instead, I've become that which the humans fear, a demon in my own right. I can feel the power of the magic in my bones, the darkness of it strong enough to take all of my light and swallow it whole. I close my eyes and push away the devil who threatens to consume me. For now. It is only a matter of time before the old Sam is lost. But until then, I will fight.

In daylight, the world seems like a happy place. Children play. Wives water their gardens. Husbands work on cars. The sun keeps evil at bay. At night, however, the demons come out to play. An unseen enemy hunts its victims under a cloak of shadows, targeting the weak and unfortunate, preying on the lost and forgotten. Masters of manipulation, the Sieks plant the seeds of sinful thoughts into the minds of humans and push them to do the unthinkable: murder, rape, suicide. The most unforgiveable acts. Without a protector, the human race would quickly lose a battle it didn't even know it was fighting. Kaida is Nyiathan, a refined warrior born to fight the very evils that plague the human world, to destroy the monsters living in their midst. Forced to hide behind a human facade during the day, she bides her time until the sun goes down and she can transform into the guardian that thrives beneath the surface of her disguise. When the Nyiathans discover that a human named Sam is being hunted by the Sieks, Kaida is nominated to act as his protector until his safety is secured. But as the story unfolds, the Nyiathans begin to realize that there is more to Sam than meets the eye. And when a formidable opponent from her past returns, Kaida must gather the strength to face him - even if it kills her."