Urban communities / city life Books

Book SynopsisAn essential and engaging read for everyone who wants to better understand the challenges facing our cities, towns and our nation, starting with the places we call home (Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class)The neighborhoods we live in impact our lives in so many ways: they determine who we know, what resources and opportunities we have access to, the quality of schools our kids go to, our sense of security and belonging, and even how long we live.Yet too many of us live in neighborhoods plagued by rising crime, school violence, family disintegration, addiction, alienation, and despair. Even the wealthiest neighborhoods are not immune; while poverty exacerbates these challenges, they exist in zip codes rich and poor, rural and urban, and everything in between.In Fragile Neighborhoods, fragile states expert Seth D. Kaplan offers a bold new vision for addressing social decline in America, one zip code at a time. By rev

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on urban development processes and the dynamics of changing city centres with the context of the emergence of urban entrepreneurialism as a driving force in delivering urban development.Table of ContentsPreface. Introduction. Part 1. The Governance and Policy Context 1. Urban Governance and the Enterpreneurial City 2. The City Centre as a Focus for Policy Concern. Part 2. The Local Framework 3. Manchester's Governance and Emerging Policy Framework 4. Mobilising Regeneration Capacity 5. From Masterplan to Implementation Framework. Part 3. Delivering the Vision 6. Managing Programme Delivery 7. Commercial Competitiveness 8. Creating Urban Quality Within the Core 9. Urban Consumption And Cultural Vitality 10. Enhancing City Centre Access and Mobility. Part 4. New Opportunities and Challenges 11. Continuing City Centre Competitiveness. Bibliography. Appendix 1. Individual Interviews. Appendix 2. Focus Group Meetings Appendix 3. Index.

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Book SynopsisPreviously published as a special issue of Policy Studies, this volume demonstrates the vitality of the field of urban politics and presents future challenges for urban political research in the years ahead.If it does not already, the population of cities will very soon make up more than half the global population. As the global urban population continues to expand, the challenges facing urban politics grow with it. How do we understand the relationship between politics and urban policy? What are the political challenges facing citizens and politicians in a radically unequal developing country like South Africa? How are patterns of urban governance institutionalised? How might we understand the changing relationship between hierarchies, markets and networks? And is it possible to develop a genuinely comparative urban politics in countries as different as Canada, South Africa and Bangladesh? Drawing together the work of new and established scholars from the UK,Table of ContentsEditorial: The Case for Urban Politics. Rethinking the Policy – Politics Connection. Patterns of Politics in Canada’s Immigrant-Receiving Cities and Suburbs: How Immigrant Settlement Patterns Shape the Municipal Role in Multiculturalism Policy. Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed…: How Institutions Change (and Stay the Same) in Local Governance. Local Governance and the Dialectics of Hierarchy, Market and Network. Globalisation/Commodification or Deglobalisation/Decommodification in Urban South Africa. Neoliberalism and Local Governance – Cross-National Perspectives and Speculations

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Book SynopsisSome thirty years ago the small Metropolitan County of Grotton found itself bathed in the bright glare of publicity as The Grotton Papers lifted the lid on the inner workings of the six planning departments of this hitherto little remarked corner of England.The intervening years have seen Grotton's County Council aim at the admirable and mostly achievable target of becoming average with moderate prospects of remaining average in the Government rankings, and the struggles of the District Councils to come to terms with planning in the late twentieth â let alone twenty-first â century are once again under the spotlight.The original authors of The Grotton Papers have come together once more to offer an experienced and surprisingly unjaundiced look at the way the British planning system works. Their comprehensive survey allows real lessons to be learnt from what Grotton has â and just as importantly hasn't â done since they were last in town.Grotton Revisited is without doubt the finest (and indeed the only) satirical book on this vitally important subject. It is suitable for planners of all ages and abilities, and will be essential reading for anyone who has ever had contact with the planning system, or thinks they may know someone who has. First class entertainment and education for professionals and general readers alike.Published in association with the RTPI.Trade Review"Loved it , I almost had to be resuscitated – Grotton Revisited will immediately become the standard text on Planning Practice in every planning school in the UK and far beyond. The fact that it will cause every planning student in the land to abandon their courses, for alternative vocations in investment banking or alternative therapies, is unfortunate"– Professor Sir Peter Hall, Bartlett Professor of Planning and Regeneration, University College London, UK"This book makes you laugh with the planning system, not at it! A timely reminder of the importance of planning in all our lives and the problems which always accompany attempts at perfection" – John Gummer, Conservative MP for Suffolk Coastal and former Secretary of State for the Environment, UK"It gave me a great deal of pleasure to review my acquaintance with your area’s crumbling infrastructure, decaying terraces, and blighted Country Park" – Nick Raynsford, Labour MP for Greenwich and Woolwich and Former Minister for Planning, UK"Grotton Revisited exposes with a biting satire and razor-sharp wit the inadequacies and inefficiencies of the planning system, and lays bare the dull, clumsy, two-dimensional box-ticking that underpins so much of the system... This is a wonderfully funny book... hopefully it will also act as a catalyst for reform" – Norman Baker, Lib Dem MP for Lewes, UK"Like a spoof April 1 general election poster (courtesy of The Guardian in 2010) which briefly fooled too many serious people, this classic satire-cum-parody-meets-real-life will - sadly - touch a raw nerve, as anyone dealing with officialdom, and its increasingly unfathomable language in the 90s and Noughties will attest!... A fabulous read!" – Peter Hetherington, former Guardian Regional Affairs Editor and TCPA Vice President"The funny thing is, it's no joke." – Michael Hebbert, University of Manchester, UK"It is an extremely funny book, but close enough to the reality of planning practice to be unsettling. It will certainly make you laugh, but it will be a rather nervous sort of laughter." – Australian Planner"Loved it , I almost had to be resuscitated – Grotton Revisited will immediately become the standard text on Planning Practice in every planning school in the UK and far beyond. The fact that it will cause every planning student in the land to abandon their courses, for alternative vocations in investment banking or alternative therapies, is unfortunate"– Professor Sir Peter Hall, Bartlett Professor of Planning and Regeneration, University College London, UK"This book makes you laugh with the planning system, not at it! A timely reminder of the importance of planning in all our lives and the problems which always accompany attempts at perfection" – John Gummer, Conservative MP for Suffolk Coastal and former Secretary of State for the Environment, UK"It gave me a great deal of pleasure to review my acquaintance with your area’s crumbling infrastructure, decaying terraces, and blighted Country Park" – Nick Raynsford, Labour MP for Greenwich and Woolwich and Former Minister for Planning, UK"Grotton Revisited exposes with a biting satire and razor-sharp wit the inadequacies and inefficiencies of the planning system, and lays bare the dull, clumsy, two-dimensional box-ticking that underpins so much of the system... This is a wonderfully funny book... hopefully it will also act as a catalyst for reform" – Norman Baker, Lib Dem MP for Lewes, UK"Like a spoof April 1 general election poster (courtesy of The Guardian in 2010) which briefly fooled too many serious people, this classic satire-cum-parody-meets-real-life will - sadly - touch a raw nerve, as anyone dealing with officialdom, and its increasingly unfathomable language in the 90s and Noughties will attest!... A fabulous read!" – Peter Hetherington, former Guardian Regional Affairs Editor and TCPA Vice President"The funny thing is, it's no joke." – Michael Hebbert, University of Manchester, UKTable of ContentsMessage from the President of the Royal Town Planning Institute 1. Planning in Crisis 2. The County of Grotton and the Five Districts of Which it is Comprised 3. The Development Plan in Crisis 4. Development Management in Crisis: A Case Study from Dunromin 5. Regeneration in Crisis 6. The Countryside in Crisis 7. Transport in Crisis 8. The Environment in Crisis, or What’s Posterity Ever Done for Me? 9. Management in Crisis The Grotton Advertiser: a Special Supplement to mark the 31st Anniversary of the 1979 "Planning in Crisis" Conference Appendices 10. Notes for delegates to the "Planning in Crisis" Conference 2010 11. An Invitation to the Secretary of State to address the Conference 12. An Important Decision relating to a Planning Appeal 13. An Extract from the Grotton Design Guide 14. An Appeal on Behalf of the Patrick Abercrombie Home for Distressed Planners by Alexander Quibble CB. Index

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Book SynopsisThis book analyses the debates and contradictions in the government’s sub-national policy for economic development and regeneration. It highlights the implications for local economic development agents, particularly those with a concern for social justice.This book was published as a special issue of Local Economy.Table of ContentsPreface: Local Economic Development in the Credit Crunch Ines Newman VIEWPOINT 1. Regions, Economies and Planning in England after the Sub-national Review Tim Marshall 2. The Future of Economic Development after the Sub-national Review Greg Clark FEATURES 3. Introduction: The Future of Local Economic Development Ines Newman 4. Labouring and Learning towards Competitiveness: The Future of Local Labour Markets after Harker, Leitch and Freud Alex Nunn and Steve Johnson 5. The Soft Spaces of Local Economic Development Graham Haughton and Phil Allmendinger 6. A New Policy for Britain’s Cities: Choices, Challenges, Contradictions Ivan Turok 7. Reflexive Local and Regional Economic Development and International Policy Transfer Graham Haughton and Rachel Naylor IN PERSPECTIVE 8. Reflections of a Torontonian in Sheffield Ian Bromley 9. Sub-regional Economic Development – Consolidation and Culture John Berry 10. Building an Economic Development and Regeneration Future for Lincolnshire County Council Ivan Annibal 11. A Personal View on How the Role of the RDA Regeneration Practitioner will Change as a Result of SNR Tom Warburton

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Book SynopsisA striking consequence of contemporary globalization has been an increase in the importance and prestige of cities. Whereas only a generation or so ago cities were commonly viewed as problems', the sites of society's ills, today they are more readily seen as solutions', places where twenty-first century dilemmas can most successfully be resolved. Hence, argue the editors of this new four-volume collection from Routledge, while globalization is generally viewed as eroding the influence of states, cities have come to the fore as the new spatial frame of the future. The old modern international organization of states as a worldwide mosaic of borders is being challenged by transnational spaces of flows organized through city nodes in global networks.As serious work on and around the subject flourishes as never before, Global Cities answers the need for an authoritative reference work to map and make sense of a vast body of literature and a continuing explosion in researc

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Book SynopsisCan the British plan? Sometimes it seems unlikely. Across the world we see grand designs and visionary projects: new airport terminals, nuclear power stations, high-speed railways, and glittering buildings. It all seems an unattainable goal on Britain's small and crowded island; and yet perhaps this is too pessimistic. For the British have always planned, and much of what they have today is the result of past plans, successfully implemented. Ranging widely, from London's squares and the new city of Milton Keynes, to High Speed One', the motorways, and the secret first electronic computers, Ian Wray's remarkable book puts successful infrastructure plans under the microscope. Who made these plans and what made them stick? How does this reflect the defining characteristics of British government? And what does that say about the individuals who drew them up and saw them through? In so doing the book casts refreshing new light on how big decisions have actually been made, rTrade Review‘A hugely ambitious and equally entertaining treatise that offers considerable insight into the the practice of planning in Britian’Town Planning Review‘A rich, lively and interesting foray into the history and culture of planning in Britain… an engaging, diverse overview… always asking what makes British planning unique’Planning Perspectives‘An excellent book demonstrating the status of planning in the UK… designed to make the reader reflect on their own interpretations. The case studies are interesting stories in their own right’Journal of Urban Affairs‘Ian Wray’s superb historical review of some major British achievements and the way they were planned provides an excellent context for considering how to improve the process…Academy of Urbanism Journal‘The stories which Wray tells are fascinating’Journal of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation‘Highly readable... I recommend that (Ministers) read Wray’s excellent book to understand that good planning seems to mean giving local institutions and the innovative individuals that serve them the space to put their plans into effect’Town and Country PlanningTable of ContentsForeword by the Right Honourable the Lord Heseltine CH, Part I: Context, 1. Manoeuvre Well Executed? On Rational Plans and British Plans, Part II: Case Studies, 2. Landlords and Objectors: London’s Roads and Squares, 3. The Making of an English Landscape: Capability Brown and the New Aesthetic, 4. Urban Pastoral: The Building of Birkenhead Park, 5. The Uses of Disorder: Bletchley Park and the World’s First Computer, 6. The Cambridge Paradox: Phenomenal Growth; Planned Restraint, 7. Driving Ambitions: Engineering the British Motorways, 8. The City as Chessboard: Constructing the New City of Milton Keynes, 9. The Dream of Caligula: The Channel Tunnel and Its Rail Link, 10. The Pedaller’s Tale: Pioneering the National Cycle Network, Part III: Explanations and Implications, 11. Common Threads: Drawing Together the Case Studies, 12. Who’s in Charge? The British Government Machine, 13. How Britain Works: Pluralism, Autonomy and Individualism, 14. British Futures, British Plans: Conclusions and Implications

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Book SynopsisOne of our great urbanists and one of our great public health experts join forces to reckon with how cities are changing in the face of existential threats the pandemic has only acceleratedCities can make us sick. That?s always been true?diseases spread more easily when more people are close to one another. And cities have been demonized as breeding grounds for vice and crime from Sodom and Gomorrah on. But cities have flourished nonetheless because they are humanity?s greatest invention, indispensable engines for creativity, innovation, wealth, and civilization itself. But cities now stand at a crossroads. During the global COVID crisis, cities grew silent; the normal forms of socializing ground to a halt. How permanent are these changes? Advances in technology mean that many people can opt out of city life as never before. Will they? Are we on the brink of a post-urban world? City life will survive, but individual cities face terrible risks, argue Edward Glaeser and David Cutler, and a wave of urban failure would be absolutely disastrous. In terms of intimacy and inspiration, nothing can replace what cities offer. But great cities have always demanded great management, and our current crisis has exposed fearful gaps in our capacity for good governance. In America, Glaeser and Cutler argue, deep inequities in health care and education are a particular blight on the future of our cities; solving them will be the difference between our collective good health and a downward spiral to a much darker place.

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Book SynopsisThis heavily illustrated and innovative study is founded upon personal documents, town council minutes, legal cases, inventories, travellers' tales, plans and drawings relating to some 30 Scots burghs of the Georgian period. It establishes a distinctive and much-needed history for the development of Georgian Scots burghs.

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Book SynopsisThese 200 abstracts, in English, Arabic and Turkish, showcase scholarship that examines cities as built (architecture and urban infrastructure) and lived (urban social life and culture) environments.Table of ContentsAbstracts in English; Table of Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Abstracts; Index of Names; Index of Places; Index of Authors; Index of Keywords.

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Book SynopsisThe development of defensive strategies encompassing the fortification and privatization of the city has attracted significant attention during recent years, and has become particularly relevant in the aftermath of September 11th. Dealing with issues of risk, security and the spatial restructuring of contemporary western cities, this book examines how the perceived risk of terrorist attack led to changes in the physical form and institutional infrastructure of the city of London during the 1990s when the city was a prime terrorist target. The book analyses how the various formal and informal strategies adopted in the City attempted to reduce both the physical and financial risk of terrorism. This was undertaken through a series of place-specific security initiatives and risk management policies which led to increased fortification, a substantial rise in terrorism insurance premiums, and, changing institutional relations at a variety of spatial scales. It also argues that the security Trade Review’Global terrorism has moved cities into the front-line of a battle with no boundaries and no visible enemies. This carefully researched book, with its focus on the activities of the Provisional IRA in London, provides valuable insight into the threat posed by terrorists and the responses available to the state. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the future of the world’s major cities.’ John R. Gold, Oxford Brookes University, UK ’...essential reading for anyone seeking [to] grapple with the place of cities within today's never-ending states of emergency.’ Professor Stephen Graham, Newcastle University, UK ’There can be few security professionals who do not have the threat of terrorism on their list of risk factors. This book is therefore recommended without hesitation to anyone who has an interest in learning more about the impact of terrorism on the urban environment...you should take the time to read this book.’ Professional Security ’Innovative, interesting, indispensable ­ invest in a copy!’ Habitat ’...the work of Coaffee is most appreciated. The book gives a rich insight into many aspects of the London case...the book of Coaffee is rational in its analysis...’ disP ’This is an innovative book...brings together issues for those studying the built environment who may not have had cause nor reason in the past to study security related issues. This book would be just as relevant to a student in sociology, planning or modern history - such [are] the wide-ranging issues that it addresses...a well-written and researched book...anyone involved in urban planning, land use, design or management should purchase this book.’ CEBE Projects and Initiatives ’...excellent...the author’s examination of the London Corporation’s role in developing the Ring of Steel through the brokering of deals between Government and the insurance industry is a stark and timely example of risk society and its consequences.’ Journal of ContTable of ContentsContents: Part I: Transforming Cities in the Age of Terrorism: Introduction: terrorism, risk and the City; Urban restructuring and the development of defensive landscapes; Controlling the security discourse in the postmodern City; Risk society and the global terrorist threat. Part II: The City of London's Response: Constructing and reinforcing the ring of steel; Distributing the financial risk of terrorism; Framing, legitimating and negotiating the City's response to terrorist risk. Part III: Terrorism, Risk and the Future City: Beating the bombers: a decade of counter terrorism in the City of London; Terrorism and future urbanism; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisEnno Maessen is Lecturer in History at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He has (co-)authored articles and reviews in Patterns of Prejudice, Middle Eastern Studies, The Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association, Journal of World History, and International Journal for History, Culture and Modernity.Trade ReviewAn original and fresh look at the urban history of Istanbul and particularly of Beyoglu. * YILLIK: Annual of Istanbul Studies *“Maessen’s original work shows how an allegedly cosmopolitan urban environment becomes a new, contested laboratory for the social and cultural production of space. Memories of late Ottoman pluralism and refractions of the Cold War, nation-building ethos and minorities’ right to the city: all embedded in a landscape whose legitimate “owners” are still being questioned.” * Paolo Girardelli, Bogaziçi University, Turkey *"Enno Maessen provides a welcome addition to the growing literature on post-1945 urban history. In introducing us to the clubs, cinemas and international schools of a cosmopolitan Istanbul district he also sheds fresh light on European identities on the margins of the continent." * Moritz Föllmer, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Istanbul and Beyoglu in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries 2. Bosphorus Germans and the Teutonia Club 3. Yesilçam Street or Turkish Hollywood: Novel Cultural Industries in Beyoglu 4. A Francophone National Institution: Galatasaray High School 5. Beacon of Britishness: the English High School for Girls 6. The Pivot of German Cultural Diplomacy in Turkey: The German High School Conclusion and Epilogue

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