Theory, Policy, Practice

By Gillian Bristow

Since the early 1990s, governments and development agencies have become increasingly preoccupied with the pursuit of regional competitiveness. However, there is considerable confusion around what exactly regional competitiveness means, how it might be achieved, whether and how it can be measured, and whether it is a meaningful and appropriate goal for regional economies. The central aim of this book is to provide a comprehensive and critical account of these debates with reference to theory, policy and practice, and thus to explore the meaning and value of the concept of regional competitiveness.

The book is structured into three parts. Part one introduces the concept of regional competitiveness by tracing its origins and exploring its different meanings in regional economic development. This will critically engage with political economy approaches to understanding the nature and dominance of the competitiveness discourse. Part two interrogates the pursuit of regional competitiveness in policy and practice. This critically evaluates the degree to which the pursuit of competitiveness is encouraging convergence in policy agendas in regions through an examination of key determinants of policy sameness and difference, notably benchmarking and devolved governance. Part three explores the limitations to regional competitiveness and explores whether and how its predominance in the policy discourse might be challenged by alternative agendas such as sustainable development and wellbeing. This focuses on the developing qualitative character of regional development.

This volume critically engages with the theory and policy of regional competitiveness, thus providing the first integrated critique of the concept for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as academics interested in regional development and policy. It will unpack the concept of regional competitiveness and explain its usefulness, limitations and policy appeal, as well as examining its sustainability in the light of evolving governance structures and the imperatives of broadening regional development agendas.

ISBN: 9780415471596

Published March 10 2010 by Routledge.

A Reader

By Japonica Brown-Saracino

Uniquely well suited for teaching, this innovative text-reader strengthens students’ critical thinking skills, sparks classroom discussion, and also provides a comprehensive and accessible understanding of gentrification.

ISBN: 9780415801645

Published March 09 2010 by Routledge.

Ethnic and Regional Dimensions

Edited by Dennis B. McGilvray, Michele R. Gamburd

The Indian Ocean Tsunami, which devastated 70 percent of Sri Lanka’s coastline and killed an estimated 35,000 people, was remarkable both for the magnitude of the disaster and for the unprecedented scale of the relief and recovery operations mounted by national and international agencies. The reconstruction process was soon hampered by political patronage, by the competing efforts of hundreds of foreign humanitarian organizations, and by the ongoing civil war.

The book is framed within this larger political and social context, offering descriptions and comparisons between two regions (southwest vs. eastern coast) and four ethnic communities (Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and Burghers) to illustrate how disaster relief unfolded in a culturally pluralistic political landscape. Approaching the issue from four disciplinary perspectives - anthropology, demography, political science, and disaster studies - chapters by experts in the field analyse regional and ethnic patterns of post-tsunami reconstruction according to different sectors of Sri Lankan society. Demonstrating the key importance of comprehending the local cultural contexts of disaster recovery processes, the book is a timely and useful contribution to the existing literature.

ISBN: 9780415778770

Published March 09 2010 by Routledge.

Settling Accounts and Developing Alternatives

Edited by Elizabeth Silva, Alan Warde

Cultural Analysis and Bourdieu’s Legacy explores the achievements and limitations of a Bourdieusian approach to cultural analysis through original contributions from distinguished international scholars.

This edited collection offers sustained critical engagement, substantiated by new empirical work. It presents concrete evidence of different approaches to the interpretation of culture in Britain, France and the USA. Discussions are situated in relation to current debates about cultural analysis, in particular the vibrant and extensive disputes concerning the applicability of Bourdieu’s concepts and methods. Subsequently, implications for the future of research work in cultural analysis, including into theory and methods, are drawn. The contributing authors offer key interpretations of the work of Bordieu, arguments for alternative approaches to cultural analysis, and critical applications of his concepts in empirical analysis.

This book is essential reading for graduate students of sociology, cultural studies, social anthropology or cultural geography, providing great insight into the work of one of the most eminent contemporary scholars in the field of cultural analysis.

ISBN: 9780415495356

Published March 05 2010 by Routledge.

Evidence from Europe

Edited by Franco Malerba

This book examines entrepreneurship from three interrelated perspectives. Firstly, it links entrepreneurship to innovation and to the generation, transformation and use of knowledge. Secondly, it inserts entrepreneurship in innovation systems of various types- national, sectoral and local. Thirdly, it views entrepreneurship not as a single event but as a process that evolves in time, from the pre-entry experience, to the entrepreneurial act, to the evolution of the entrepreneur and the new company.

With chapters from a range of international contributors, the book answers questions such as; what are the main dimensions of knowledge intensive entrepreneurship? What are the factors affecting its emergence, evolution and performance? How important is knowledge intensive entrepreneurship for European growth and competitiveness? Is the situation of Central and Eastern Europe, engaged in a process of major economic and institutional transformation, similar or different from the one of Western Europe?

ISBN: 9780415557917

Published March 05 2010 by Routledge.

Edited by George Vosselman, Hans-Gerd Maas

Written by a team of international experts, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the major applications of airborne and terrestrial laser scanning. It focuses on principles and methods and presents an integrated treatment of airborne and terrestrial laser scanning technology. After consideration of the technology and processing methods, the book turns to applications, such as engineering, forestry, cultural heritage, extraction of 3D building models, and mobile mapping. This book brings together the various facets of the subject in a coherent text that will be relevant for advanced students, academics and practitioners.

ISBN: 9781439827987

Published March 05 2010 by CRC Press.

By Anders Hansen

Communication about ‘the environment’ in and through a broad array of news, advertising, art and entertainment media is one of the major sources of public and political understanding of definitions, issues and problems associated with the environment. Environment, Media and Communication examines the social, cultural and political roles of the media as a public arena for images, representations, definitions and controversy regarding the environment.

The book starts by discussing and outlining a framework for analyzing media and communication roles in the emergence of the environment and environmental problems as issues for public and political concern. It proceeds to examine who and what drives the public agenda on environmental issues, addressing questions about how governments, scientists, experts, pressure groups and other stakeholders have sought to use traditional as well as newer media for promoting their definitions of the key issues. The media are not merely an open public arena or stage, but rather themselves a key gate-keeper and influence in the process of communicating about the environment: the role of news values, organizational arrangements and professional practices, are thus examined next. Recognizing the importance of wider popular culture narratives to public understanding and communication about the environment and nature, the book proceeds with a discussion of the messages and moral tales communicated about the environment, science and nature in a range of media, including film and advertising media. It shows how this wider context provides important clues to understanding the successes and failures of selected environmental issues or campaigns. The book finishes with an examination of the key approaches and models used for understanding how the media influence and interact with public opinion and political decision-making on environmental issues.

Offering a comprehensive introduction to theoretical approaches and models for the study of media and communication roles regarding the environment, and drawing on empirical research evidence and examples from Europe, America, Australia and Asia, the book will be of interest to students in media/communication studies, geography, environmental studies, political science and sociology as wll as to environmental professionals and activists.

ISBN: 9780415425759

Published March 04 2010 by Routledge.

Revised 2nd Edition

By Andrew Sayer

ISBN: 9780415582476

Published March 03 2010 by Routledge.

By Stefanie Dühr, Claire Colomb, Vincent Nadin

There is a strong international dimension to spatial planning. European integration strengthens interconnections, development and decision-making across national and regional borders. EU policies in areas such as environment, transport, agriculture or regional policy have far-reaching effects on spatial development patterns and planning procedures.

Planners in the EU are now routinely engaged in cooperation across national borders to share and devise effective ways of intervening in the way our cities, towns and rural areas develop. In short, the EU has become an important framework for planning practice, research and teaching. Spatial planning in Europe is being ‘Europeanised’, with corresponding changes for the role of planners.

Written for students, academics, practitioners and researchers of spatial planning and related disciplines, this book is essential reading for everybody interested in engaging with the European dimension of spatial planning and territorial governance. It explores:

• spatial development trends and their influence on planning
• the nature, institutions and actors of the European Union from a planning perspective
• the history of spatial planning at the transnational scale
• the planning tools, perspectives, visions and programmes supporting European cooperation on spatial planning
• the territorial impacts of the Community’s sector policies
• the outcomes of European spatial planning in practice

ISBN: 9780415467735

Published February 25 2010 by Routledge.

The War On "Illegals" and the Remaking of the U.S. – Mexico Boundary

By Joseph Nevins

This is a major revision and update of Nevins’ earlier classic and is an ideal text for use with undergraduate students in a wide variety of courses on immigration, transnational issues, and the politics of race, inclusion and exclusion. Not only has the author brought his subject completely up to date, but as a "case" of increasing economic integration and liberalization along with growing immigration control, the US. / Mexico Border and its history is put in a wider global context of similar development s elsewhere.

ISBN: 9780415996938

Published February 22 2010 by Routledge.