Something of The Book

PDF EPUB Library of e-Books

Seeing Like a City

2016-12-12
Seeing Like a City

Author: Ash Amin

Publisher: Polity

ISBN: 0745664261

Category: Social Science

Page: 0

View: 735

Download BOOK »
Seeing like a city means recognizing that cities are living things made up of a tangle of networks, built up from the agency of countless actors. Cities must not be considered as expressions of larger paradigms or sites of human effort and organization alone. Within their density, size and sprawl can be found a world of symbols, bodies, buildings, technologies and infrastructures. It is the machine-like combination, interaction and confrontation of these different elements that make a city. Such a view locates urban outcomes and influences in the character of these networks, which together power urban life, allocating resources, shaping social opportunities, maintaining order and simply enabling life. More than the silent stage on which other powers perform, such networks represent the essence of the city. They also form an important political project, a politics of small interventions with large effects. The increasing evidence for an Anthropocene bears out the way in which humanity has stamped its footprint on the planet by constructing urban forms that act as systems for directing life in ways that create both immense power and immense constraint.

Seeing Like a City

2017-05-23
Seeing Like a City

Author: Ash Amin

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

ISBN: 9781509515608

Category: Social Science

Page: 216

View: 597

Download BOOK »
Seeing like a city means recognizing that cities are living things made up of a tangle of networks, built up from the agency of countless actors. Cities must not be considered as expressions of larger paradigms or sites of human effort and organization alone. Within their density, size and sprawl can be found a world of symbols, bodies, buildings, technologies and infrastructures. It is the machine-like combination, interaction and confrontation of these different elements that make a city. Such a view locates urban outcomes and influences in the character of these networks, which together power urban life, allocating resources, shaping social opportunities, maintaining order and simply enabling life. More than the silent stage on which other powers perform, such networks represent the essence of the city. They also form an important political project, a politics of small interventions with large effects. The increasing evidence for an Anthropocene bears out the way in which humanity has stamped its footprint on the planet by constructing urban forms that act as systems for directing life in ways that create both immense power and immense constraint.

Politics of Urbanism

2013-07-03
Politics of Urbanism

Author: Warren Magnusson

Publisher: Routledge

ISBN: 9781136671715

Category: Political Science

Page: 200

View: 797

Download BOOK »
To see like a city, rather than seeing like a state, is the key to understanding modern politics. In this book, Magnusson draws from theorists such as Weber, Wirth, Hayek, Jacobs, Sennett, and Foucault to articulate some of the ideas that we need to make sense of the city as a form of political order. Locally and globally, the city exists by virtue of complicated patterns of government and self-government, prompted by proximate diversity. A multiplicity of authorities in different registers is typical. Sovereignty, although often claimed, is infinitely deferred. What emerges by virtue of self-organization is not susceptible to control by any central authority, and so we are impelled to engage politically in a world that does not match our expectations of sovereignty. How then are we are to engage realistically and creatively? We have to begin from where we are if we are to understand the possibilities. Building on traditions of political and urban theory in order to advance a new interpretation of the role of cities/urbanism in contemporary political life, this work will be of great interest to scholars of political theory and urban theory, international relations theory and international relations.

What Happened to My American Dream?

2007-04
What Happened to My American Dream?

Author: Stefan Adam

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

ISBN: 1425746373

Category: Self-Help

Page: 228

View: 507

Download BOOK »
For millions of people seeking better lives, the ideal we call "The American Dream" continues to be the ultimate goal. At an early age, author Stefan Adam longed for freedom in America, far away from the crushing rule of communism in his native Romania. After years of struggle and sacrifice, Stefan realized his dream of coming to America and building that dream. This true story unfolds, through good times and bad, with insightful observation of American society and a never-ending desire to understand what makes it great...its people, culture and politics. The story begins on the shores of Romania's Black Sea where 12-year-old Stefan first dreams of finding freedom and a better life in America, far away from the dark clutches of communism. Years later, that dream blossoms, along with Stefan's love for his high school sweetheart and future wife, Michaela. Together they embark on a journey to make their American Dream come true, and after years of hard work that dream comes into a full blossom. Readers who come along for the ride will experience the wonder and awe of discovering America through their eyes. But as time goes by, the promise of that dream begins to fade. Could it be that corporate greed and political arrogance were eroding the foundation on which this great nation was built? Is this another Roman Empire...a great civilization doomed to fall under the weight of its own power, greed and corruption? Their struggles exemplify what it means to fight for freedoms that are so often taken for granted and never to give up hope because, in the end, it is not just the story of Stefan and Michaela's American Dream. It's everyone's American Dream to nurture and protect. What Happened To My American Dream? is a very personal story of hopes and dreams and what happens when those dreams are threatened. Told in a straightforward, conversational style, is a touching tale that anyone who has ever longed for a better life will easily relate to. It is written by an ordinary citizen who came to this country under extraordinary circumstances. What Happened To My American Dream? serves as a reminder that safeguarding the American Dream is the responsibility of everyone who has the privilege of calling this great country home.