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Rural Transition and Transport in China (Population, Regional Development and Transport)
by Pengjun Zhao Haoyu HuThis book examines the rural transition and transportation in China. It covers demographic change, settlement transformation, and infrastructure development in rural areas, as well as changes in transportation expenditures, travel behavior, and accessibility of basic public services among rural Chinese residents. The book contributes to the new body of knowledge from an international perspective in three ways. First, it explores the changes in travel behavior of rural residents and related factors. Second, it provides new evidence on the relationship between rural social transformation and transportation infrastructure development. Third, it discusses the impact of transportation investments on rural poverty reduction. The book enhances our understanding of the changes in travel behavior of rural residents. In particular, the results of the multi-source big data analysis will provide new evidence on the link between social transformation and changes in travel behavior in rural China. It also helps planners and politicians to develop policies aimed at improving quality of life, rural poverty, and the efficiency of transportation investments in rural areas. The book is of great interest to scholars interested in rural transformation and development, sustainable transport, regional planning, and environmental policy and is relevant to China and other developing countries.
Rural-Urban Dynamics: Livelihoods, mobility and markets in African and Asian frontiers (Routledge Studies in Human Geography)
by Jytte Agergaard Niels Fold Katherine GoughIt has increasingly been recognised that rural and urban areas are inextricably interlinked. This book adopts a fresh approach to the issue of rural-urban dynamics through a study of the changing nature of livelihoods, mobility and markets in ten study sites across four countries of Africa and Asia. Building on detailed fieldwork conducted in Ghana, Tanzania, Vietnam and Thailand, the authors explore how settlements and livelihoods are being transformed as long-term inhabitants and recent migrants embrace new economic activities many of which are linked to global markets. The book is structured around the concept of ‘frontier’ which is conceptualized as being a dynamic space where the forces of economic, demographic and social change are brought to bear. The study sites include agricultural frontiers (coffee, cocoa, pineapples and fresh fruit), handicraft and manufacturing frontiers, and mining frontiers (gold and diamonds). In all of the cases, global value chain dynamics have played a pivotal role in shaping local livelihoods. Some settlements are developing into new urban centres whilst others are suffering from a boom and bust experience due to the unreliability of export markets. The similarities and differences between the frontier settlements are drawn out by comparing frontiers of similar types and by highlighting the theoretical and policy implications of the findings from all the frontier types. The originality of the book lies in its combination of conceptual clarity, methodological coherence and empirical richness. By combining detailed empirical findings with theoretical insight from debates on livelihoods, global value chains, mobility patterns, settlement dynamics and rural-urban relations, the book sheds new light on these issues within an overall framework of development trajectories in Africa and Asia. Given scholars’ and international agencies’ current interest in the spatial dimensions of economic development, this contribution is particularly timely with its fresh geographical approach to development issues; this book is a pertinent and authoritative read for anyone researching or learning in the field of development.
Rural-Urban Interaction in the Developing World (Routledge Perspectives on Development)
by Kenny LynchSustaining the rural and urban populations of the developing world has been identified as a key global challenge for the twenty-first century. Rural-Urban Interaction in the Developing World is an introduction to the relationships between rural and urban places in the developing world and shows that not all their aspects are as obvious as migration from country to city. There is now a growing realization that rural-urban relations are far more complex. Using a wealth of student-friendly features including boxed case studies, discussion questions and annotated guides to further reading, this innovative book places rural-urban interactions within a broader context, thus promoting a clearer understanding of the opportunities, as well as the challenges, that rural-urban interactions represent.
The Rural-Urban Interface: An Interdisciplinary Research Approach to Urbanisation Processes Around the Indian Megacity Bengaluru (The Urban Book Series)
by Ellen Hoffmann Andreas Buerkert Stephan von Cramon-Taubadel Kotrakere Basegowda Umesh Prasannakumar Pethandlahalli Shivaraj Prem José VazhacharickalBengaluru is one of the fastest growing megacities in India. As such, it provides an in-situ laboratory for studying rural-urban transitions. While urbanization is most evident in the changing landscape with increasing built-up areas, it comes along with changes in ecosystem functions, new economic opportunities, changes in social organization and individual attitudes and behavior. All of these processes are interlinked and mutually depend on each other. This book attempts to integrate studies from a wide scope of disciplinary perspectives and at different spatial scales under the framework of complex social-ecological systems.Agriculture is the prime example of a system in which humans interact with their biophysical environment, and the production systems in the rural-urban interface are profoundly affected by urbanisation. Intensification and diversification of agriculture are immediate responses to urban pressures and demands, and are linked as much to resource (over-)use as to commercialisation. Yet, little is known about the spatial patterns of agricultural transformation in areas of urban sprawl.The focus of the contributions here is explicitly on the interface, in-between the rural and urban systems. It thus differs from the urban-centered perspective of city planners as well as from the rural predominance in most of the agricultural research. In the present volume this focus is implemented by analysing samples along a spatial gradient representing different stages of urbanization. Ongoing time series analyses and a panel study will complement the spatial approach by a temporal dimension.
Rural-Urban Linkages for Sustainable Development (The Dynamics of Economic Space)
by Edited by Armin Kratzer and Jutta KisterThis book critically examines different forms of urban-rural links for sustainable development in different countries. As intertwined processes of globalization, digitalization, environmental challenges and the search for sustainable development continue, rural and urban areas around the world become increasingly interconnected and interdependent. This book contributes to understanding the role of this growing interconnectedness from an economic geographical perspective. It does so by theoretically and empirically addressing the various existing linkages, such as food networks, value chains, and regional governance at local, regional, national and international levels. In doing so, contributions extend and contrast existing approaches dealing with urban and rural areas separately by considering the interplay between these two as well as their consequences for sustainability transition pathways. This edited volume adds to the academic and policy debate by bringing together a variety of concepts and themes in order to shift the research and policy agenda away from simple dichotomy to different notions of rural-urban linkages. Offering multidisciplinary insights into rural-urban linkages, the book will be of interest to decision-makers, practitioners and researchers in the fields of economic geography, regional planning, food studies and economics.
Rush Hour: Navigating Our Global Traffic Jam (Orca Footprints #23)
by Erin SilverTraffic. It's not only frustrating, it's hurting the planet. Emissions from cars, buses, trucks and planes are one of the leading causes of pollution in North America. Today there are more cars clogging the roads than ever before. In Rush Hour, learn how traffic got so bad and some of the innovative ways it's being managed around the world. Discover what technological advances like talking cars and electric buses will mean for the future of traffic. Even though they can't drive yet, kids need to take control of the wheel. From walking to school, to carpooling with friends or petitioning the government, the next generation of drivers has to think differently about traffic and understand what they can do now to help protect the environment. And it starts with changing our habits, one less car ride at a time. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
Rush to Burn: Solving America's Garbage Crisis?
by Newsday Inc.One day in March 1987, a barge from Islip, Long Island was evicted from Morehead City, North Carolina, after trying to unload the mountains of trash on its decks. More than five months from the time it began its trip, the unwelcome barge, and it's 3,186 tons of commercial garbage, became the cornerstone of an astonishing news investigation that revealed a country unable to cope with its mounting garbage crisis. Newsday reporters were the first to locate the barge, the Mobro 4000 as it drifted aimlessly off the shore of Long Island. They were also first to explore and explain the problems and issues that barge had come to symbolize. The results of their investigation are presented in this book. Winner of the Worth Bingham Award, the Page One Award for Crusading Journalism, and the New York State Associated Press Award for In-Depth Reporting, Rush to Burn explains the reasons why we, as a throw-away society, are suffocating in our own trash. It also explains why communities, in desperation, are turning to incineration, the riskiest form of garbage disposal yet developed.
Russia and the West: Environmental Co-operation and Conflict (Environmental Politics)
by Geir HønnelandHønneland assesses current environmental discourses and applies this analysis to look at the relations between Russia and the West with regards to environment problems. It includes three in-depth case-studies on environmental problems, living marine resources, nuclear safety and air pollution.
Russian Arctic Seas
by Nataly MarchenkoFor safe operations in the Arctic, it is critical to understand the natural conditions and to learn from the experiences of ice pilots who have worked there. In the context of planning the PetroArctic project, accounts of seagoing activities in the Russian Arctic Seas that ersulted in accidents have been gathered and are now made available in this bilingual (Russian-English) volume. Here especially, the physical environment and navigation issues for the Kara, Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi seas are described. Fully half of the book describes accidents induced by heavy ice conditions since 1900: 94 accidents are carefully reported and classified. Among these, the accidents involve shipwrecks, forced drift (ice jet as special case), overwintering, and various types of vessel damage. Most accounts include details such as distinguishing features, behavior of the crew, photos, and maps, which reveal ice conditions, date, location, and vessels involved (for each of four seas). The book will be useful to scientists, industrial planners and a wide audience interested in the Arctic Seas.
Russian Borderlands in Change: North Caucasian Youth and the Politics of Bordering and Citizenship (Border Regions Series)
by Tiina SotkasiiraWhile moving across borders has been made easier for some in Russia in recent years, for others, physical as well as socio-cultural borders are proving to be more and more difficult to cross. Tackling the differences between the ways in which official discourses construct borders and the ways people who live there experience them in their everyday lives, this book uses innovative theoretical approaches and empirical work with young North Caucasian migrants to explore issues of identity, citizenship, exclusion and belonging. The Chechen war, terrorist attacks and confrontations between Caucasian migrants and local residents have served as touchstones for intense public debates about who belongs in Russian society and who does not. Young people of North Caucasian origin are experiencing the effects of such debates as they learn to negotiate and maintain their identities in an environment in which they are defined as a threat to national security whilst simultaneously being pressured to align with core civic values of the state. This book reflects on the notion that the cultural borders, which define civic liberties and people’s right to belong, are increasingly being defined within society, and not by the external borders of states.
Russian Climate Politics: When Science Meets Policy
by Elana Wilson RoweCovering the period c. 1200-c. 2000, this book provides an innovative investigation of entrepreneurship in a long-run historical perspective, presenting new insights into the personal characteristics of successful business people and deepening our understanding of the roots of industrialization and economic growth.
Russian Climate Politics: When Science Meets Policy
by Elana Wilson RoweRussia remains among the top-5 greenhouse gas emitters in the world and thus an important player in the field of international climate politics. To gain a deeper understanding of how Russian climate politics is formed, the changing and somewhat unexpected role scientists and scientific knowledge play in shaping Russian policymaking is explored.
The Russian Cold: Histories of Ice, Frost, and Snow (Environment in History: International Perspectives #22)
by Julia Herzberg, Andreas Renner, and Ingrid SchierleCold has long been a fixture of Russian identity both within and beyond the borders of Russia and the Soviet Union, even as the ongoing effects of climate change complicate its meaning and cultural salience. The Russian Cold assembles fascinating new contributions from a variety of scholarly traditions, offering new perspectives on how to understand this mainstay of Russian culture and history. In chapters encompassing such diverse topics as polar exploration, the Eastern Front in World War II, and the iconography of hockey, it explores the multiplicity and ambiguity of “cold” in the Russian context and demonstrates the value of environmental-historical research for enriching national and imperial histories.
The Russian Cold: Histories of Ice, Frost, and Snow (Environment in History: International Perspectives #22)
by Julia Herzberg, Andreas Renner Ingrid SchierleCold has long been a fixture of Russian identity both within and beyond the borders of Russia and the Soviet Union, even as the ongoing effects of climate change complicate its meaning and cultural salience. The Russian Cold assembles fascinating new contributions from a variety of scholarly traditions, offering new perspectives on how to understand this mainstay of Russian culture and history. In chapters encompassing such diverse topics as polar exploration, the Eastern Front in World War II, and the iconography of hockey, it explores the multiplicity and ambiguity of “cold” in the Russian context and demonstrates the value of environmental-historical research for enriching national and imperial histories.
Russian Oil Enterprises in Europe: Investments and Regional Influence
by Tomáš Vlček Martin JirušekThis book analyzes motivation, investments, and influence of the Russian Federation and Russian companies in the European oil sector, specifically, the Southeastern Europe. The main idea of the book is to highlight economic and political logic of the Russian activities in the oil sector as well as to provide a brief analysis of the situation in the natural gas sector. The findings help to understand the general code of conduct of Russian energy companies and their potential ties to their homeland government. This project will appeal to academics, researchers, graduate students, field professionals, and everyone who is interested in Russian and European geopolitics.
Rust Belt Arcana: Tarot and Natural History in the Exurban Wilds
by Matt Stansberry David WilsonAn insightful take on the Tarot through the lens of the industrial Midwest, and a beautiful piece of nature writing in its own right. What can the Tarot tell us about the flora and fauna of the industrial Midwest? In what ways might this ancient practice connect us to the Rust Belt today? Rust Belt Arcana uses the Tarot&’s time-tested structure to answer these questions, juxtaposing the characteristics of the cards with the creatures and plants that surround us every day. The twenty-two idiosyncratic essays here—one for every card in the Major Arcana—bridge biology, natural history, and the human condition. They tell stories of abundance and loss, and they remind us of the Rust Belt&’s persistent remnant wilderness, a landscape often dismissed as unremarkable. A magical book both for Tarot enthusiasts and for those who are seeking to see beauty in a beleaguered landscape and define their remarkable place within it. &“Original and insightful. A vivid exploration of the beauty and brokenness of life&’s community. Stansberry&’s writing reveals the many surprising ecological, psychological, and cultural connections among human and beyond-human lives.&” —David George Haskell, Pulitzer finalist for The Forest Unseen &“A surprising, delightful book, filled with original insights about the rich diversity of nature in the Midwest. Highly recommended!&” —Kenn Kaufman, author of Kingbird Highway &“The essays in Rust Belt Arcana are like meditations from a parallel world —a magical place of nature which persists against all odds alongside the cities and subdivisions and highway interchanges of the Great Lakes region.&” —David Beach, GreenCityBlueLake Institute, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
S.O.S. Alternatives to Capitalism
by Richard SwiftWith capitalism vulnerable and out-of-step in the wake of financial crises this book investigates the alternatives that are on offer-including socialism, anarchism, and deep ecology.<P><P> It picks its way through the pockets of resistant thinking and emerges with paths to changing the world that rest less on rigid ideology imposed from above than on practical transformation from below.Richard Swift is former editor of New Internationalist magazine and author of the No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy. In 2011, he won the Daniel Singer Millenium Prize for an original essay which helps further socialist ideas.
Sabkha Ecosystems: Volume VI: Asia/Pacific (Tasks for Vegetation Science #49)
by Benno Böer M. Ajmal Khan Miguel Clüsener-Godt Bilquees Gul Abdul HameedThis book is the sixth and final volume in the Tasks for Vegetation Science book series, and it concludes the most comprehensive scientific documentation dealing with hypersaline ecosystems of the world.
Sabkha Ecosystems: Cash Crop Halophyte and Biodiversity Conservation
by Bilquees Gul Miguel Clüsener-Godt Thabit Zahran Abdessalaam Münir Öztürk Benno Böer M. Ajmal KhanSustainable development is the key for the survival in 21st century. The natural resources are finite and cannot be used with impunity because we are the custodian of these resources and have responsibility to pass these to the next generation. This monumental task requires several major commitments and most important of them is to arrest population explosion which has already reached seven billion. Natural resources like air to breath, food to eat, and water to drink, and fossil fuel to maintain this life style are being overexploited. Unrestrained consuming culture will accelerate undesired situation. This situation will have more dire consequences in resource limited ecosystems like dry lands. Given the severe scarcity of water, ever increasing population and soil salinization out of the box solutions for the provision of food and clean energy is required to spare meager fresh water resources for conventional agriculture. This volume contains a number of articles dealing with halophyte ecology, bio-geography, ecophysiology, hyper-saline soils, biofuels, biosaline agriculture, biosaline landscaping, climate change mitigation, and biodiversity. It also contains the communication of innovative ideas, such as the research into floating mangroves, seagrass terraces, as well as a World Halophyte Garden containing all known salt-tolerant plant species. It is hoped that the information provided will not only advance vegetation science, but that it will truly generate more interdisciplinarity, networking, awareness, and inspire farmers, and agricultural and landscaping stakeholders to seriously engage in halophyte cash crop production in coastal hyper-saline areas.
Sabkha Ecosystems Volume V: The Americas
by Siegmar-W. Breckle Bilquees Gul Miguel Clüsener-Godt Münir Ȫzturk Benno Boër M. Ajmal Ajmal KhanThis book is a part of the Sabkha Ecosystems series which was designed to provide information on sabkha ecosystems of different regions and to add to the collective knowledge available about saline ecosystems. The comprehensive coverage assists the reader gaining a thorough understanding of sabkha geology, hydrology, geomorphology, zoology, botany, ecology and ecosystem functioning, as well as sabkha conservation, utilization and development. Volume I focused on The Arabian Peninsula and Adjacent Countries, volume II was based on describing saline ecosystems of West and Central Asia , volume III referred to Africa and Southern Europe, while volume IV focused on Cash Crop Halophyte and Biodiversity Conservation. The present volume V focuses on Americans.
The Sacred Balance
by David Suzuki Adrienne Mason Amanda McconnellIn this extensively revised and enlarged edition of his best-selling book, David Suzuki reflects on the increasingly radical changes in nature and science - from global warming to the science behind mother/baby interactions - and examines what they mean for humankind's place in the world. The book begins by presenting the concept of people as creatures of the Earth who depend on its gifts of air, water, soil, and sun energy. The author explains how people are genetically programmed to crave the company of other species, and how people suffer enormously when they fail to live in harmony with them. Suzuki analyzes those deep spiritual needs, rooted in nature, that are a crucial component of a loving world. Drawing on his own experiences and those of others who have put their beliefs into action, The Sacred Balance is a powerful, passionate book with concrete suggestions for creating an ecologically sustainable, satisfying, and fair future by rediscovering and addressing humanity's basic needs.
Sacred Economics: Money, Gift, and Society in the Age of Transition
by Charles EisensteinSacred Economics traces the history of money from ancient gift economies to modern capitalism, revealing how the money system has contributed to alienation, competition, and scarcity, destroyed community, and necessitated endless growth. Today, these trends have reached their extreme--but in the wake of their collapse, we may find great opportunity to transition to a more connected, ecological, and sustainable way of being. This book is about how the money system will have to change--and is already changing--to embody this transition. A broadly integrated synthesis of theory, policy, and practice, Sacred Economics explores avant-garde concepts of the New Economics, including negative-interest currencies, local currencies, resource-based economics, gift economies, and the restoration of the commons. Author Charles Eisenstein also considers the personal dimensions of this transition, speaking to those concerned with "right livelihood" and how to live according to their ideals in a world seemingly ruled by money. Tapping into a rich lineage of conventional and unconventional economic thought, Sacred Economics presents a vision that is original yet commonsense, radical yet gentle, and increasingly relevant as the crises of our civilization deepen.About the Imprint: EVOLVER EDITIONS promotes a new counterculture that recognizes humanity's visionary potential and takes tangible, pragmatic steps to realize it. EVOLVER EDITIONS explores the dynamics of personal, collective, and global change from a wide range of perspectives. EVOLVER EDITIONS is an imprint of North Atlantic Books and is produced in collaboration with Evolver, LLC.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Sacred Economics, Revised: Money, Gift & Society in the Age of Transition
by Charles EisensteinExpanded and updated, Charles Eisenstein's classic treatise on capitalism, currency, and the gift economy.This revised version traces the history of money, from ancient gift economies to modern capitalism, and includes new material on cryptocurrencies and emerging research that has come out since the book's original publication. CharlesEisenstein shows how capitalism contributes to alienation, competition, and scarcity; destroys community; and necessitates endless growth at the cost of social and environmental devastation. Today, these trends have reached their extreme--and their collapse presents a golden opportunity to transition to a more connected, ecological, and sustainable way of being.Eisenstein describes the deeper narratives beneath our economic system, and how we can reimagine it to align with a new story. Applying a broadly integrated synthesis of theory, policy, and practice, he explores avant-garde concepts of the New Economics, including negative-interest currencies, local economies, gift economics, cryptocurrencies, and the restoration of the commons. Tapping into a rich lineage of conventional and unconventional economic thought, Eisenstein presents a vision that is original yet commonsense, radical yet gentle, and increasingly relevant as the crises of our civilization deepen.
Sacred Forests of Asia: Spiritual Ecology and the Politics of Nature Conservation (The Earthscan Forest Library)
by Chris Coggins Bixia ChenPresenting a thorough examination of the sacred forests of Asia, this volume engages with dynamic new scholarly dialogues on the nature of sacred space, place, landscape, and ecology in the context of the sharply contested ideas of the Anthropocene. Given the vast geographic range of sacred groves in Asia, this volume discusses the diversity of associated cosmologies, ecologies, traditional local resource management practices, and environmental governance systems developed during the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial periods. Adopting theoretical perspectives from political ecology, the book views ecology and polity as constitutive elements interacting within local, regional, and global networks. Readers will find the very first systematic comparative analysis of sacred forests that include the karchall mabhuy of the Katu people of Central Vietnam, the leuweng kolot of the Baduy people of West Java, the fengshui forests of southern China, the groves to the goddess Sarna Mata worshiped by the Oraon people of Jharkhand India, the mauelsoop and bibosoop of Korea, and many more. Comprising in-depth, field-based case studies, each chapter shows how the forest’s sacrality must not be conceptually delinked from its roles in common property regimes, resource security, spiritual matters of ultimate concern, and cultural identity. This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of indigenous studies, environmental anthropology, political ecology, geography, religion and heritage, nature conservation, environmental protection, and Asian studies.
Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change
by Larry Dossey Sherri MitchellA narrative of Indigenous wisdom that provides a road map for the spirit and a compass of compassion for humanity Drawing from ancestral knowledge, as well as her experience as an attorney and activist, Sherri Mitchell addresses some of the most crucial issues of our day, such as environmental protection and human rights. Sharing the gifts she has received from elders around the world, Mitchell urges us to decolonize our language and our stories. For those seeking change, this book offers a set of cultural values that will preserve our collective survival for future generations.