URBAN AND REGIONAL ECONOMICS

All over Europe post Second World War large-scale housing estates face physical, economic, social and cultural problems. This book presents the key findings of a major EU-funded research programme into the restructuring of twenty-nine large-scale housing estates in Northern, Western, Southern and Eastern Europe. While existing literature focuses on the negative aspects of large-scale housing estates, this book starts from the premise that the estates can be transformed into attractive places to live and focuses on the possibilities of sustainability and renewal through social, physical and policy action.

Since the 1950s, Hungarian-French architect, painter, writer, and decorator Yona Friedman (b, 1923) has worked on conceptual plans for urban housing alternatives and third world building development. He came to prominence in 1958 for his manifesto, l'Architecture Mobile, and later for his Ville Spatiale (Spatial Town) -- a housing system built off the ground based on a three-dimensional grid. His integrated socio-economic conception of architecture addressed both housing solutions for existing metropolitan areas and also for urbanizing third world cities. Friedman was also commissioned by UNESCO to design visual instructions for unskilled laborers to build structures solidly and efficiently with simple materials and techniques. This is the first monograph on his work.

Totnes is the UK's first Transition Initiative. By this we mean a community in a process of imagining and creating a future that addresses the twin challenges of diminishing oil and gas supplies and climate change, and creates the kind of community that we would all want to be part of. The challenges presented to us today by global warming and peak oil (and gas) are perhaps the greatest that humanity has faced. This time brings a great opportunity for rethinking the way we live and making conscious choices about what kind of community and world we would like to live in. Change is coming whether we like it or not - and a planned response to the change will leave us in a much stronger position than if we wait until change is upon us.

Transition Towns: curso ensina a transformar cidades Débora Spitzcovsky - 06/04/2010 Share Entre os dias 9 e 11 de abril, o movimento Transition Towns - que defende uma mudança sustentável nas cidades, baseada no fortalecimento do comércio local e na independência do petróleo e da importação dos alimentos - promoverá o curso "Treinamento para a transição".  A intenção é apresentar as principais ideias do movimento para aqueles que não conhecem, mas querem aderir à causa, além de fortalecer as parcerias nos projetos que já estão sendo feitos por membros do Transition Towns.  Atualmente, o movimento possui mais de 8 mil iniciativas, de curto e longo prazo, em cidades e bairros de 14 países ao redor do mundo, que buscam quebrar a dependência do petróleo, a partir de novos modelos de economia, comida, habitação e energia. Com os cursos, o Transition Towns pretende aumentar ainda mais o número de adeptos ao movimento, contribuindo para o combate a duas grandes questões atuais: as mudanças climáticas e o pico do petróleo.  Os interessados em participar podem se inscrever pelo telefone (11) 3052-1363.  Curso Transition Towns: treinamento para a transição Data: 9 de abril, das 19h às 22h; 10 de abril, das 9h às 18h; 11 de abril, das 9h às 12h Valor: R$ 300 e R$ 200 para membros do Instituto Cris Local: Espaço Zym Endereço: Rua Tonelero, nº 1248, Alto da Lapa - São Paulo/SP Mais informações e inscrições pelo telefone (11) 3052-1363 

La petite exploitation paysanne appartient-elle aujourd'hui à un passé révolu ? Elle peut sembler condamnée par la Politique agricole commune (PAC), qui implique seuils de rentabilité et restructurations. Au regard de l'historien, la réalité est plus complexe : non seulement la petite exploitation subsiste, mais son insertion dans une économie locale pluriactive la rend sinon invulnérable, du moins capable de résistance et porteuse de dynamisme. L'auteur conduit une réflexion qui oppose logique économique de la rentabilité et logique sociale du développement local. Sous cet angle, la petite exploitation a encore un avenir.

When Thomas Jefferson took the oath of office for the presidency in 1801, America had just passed through twelve critical years, years dominated by some of the towering figures of our history and by the challenge of having to do everything for the first time. Washington, Hamilton, Madison, Adams, and Jefferson himself each had a share in shaping that remarkable era--an era that is brilliantly captured in The Age of Federalism. Written by esteemed historians Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick, The Age of Federalism gives us a reflective, deeply informed analytical survey of this extraordinary period. Ranging over the widest variety of concerns--political, cultural, economic, diplomatic, and military--the authors provide a sweeping historical account, keeping always in view not only the problems the new nation faced but also the particular individuals who tried to solve them. As they move through the Federalist era, they draw subtly perceptive character sketches not only of the great figures--Washington and Jefferson, Talleyrand and Napoleon Bonaparte--but also of lesser ones, such as George Hammond, Britain's frustrated minister to the United States, James McHenry, Adams's hapless Secretary of War, the pre-Chief Justice version of John Marshall, and others. They weave these lively profiles into an analysis of the central controversies of the day, turning such intricate issues as the public debt into fascinating depictions of opposing political strategies and contending economic philosophies. Each dispute bears in some way on the broader story of the emerging nation. The authors show, for instance, the consequences the fight over Hamilton's financial system had for the locating of the nation's permanent capital, and how it widened an ideological gulf between Hamilton and the Virginians, Madison and Jefferson, that became unbridgeable. The statesmen of the founding generation, the authors believe, did "a surprising number of things right." But Elkins and McKitrick also

Federal states around the globe seem to exist precariously, and politicians and academics everywhere look to Canada as a model of federalism. Yet our system of organization and governance is also under strain. Quebec nationalism, First Nations' claims, the regionalization of party politics, and the uneven and shifting delivery of essential services have all altered the face of federal politics. Federalism explains how Canada came to be a federation, what the current challenges to the federal system are, and how we could fortify it. Jennifer Smith argues that a reformed federalism could be part of the solution to the state of Canadian democracy. She examines the origins of Canadian federalism and its special characteristics, then analyzes these features against the democratic benchmarks of responsiveness, inclusiveness, and participation. Finding that Canadian federalism falls short in each area, Smith recommends changes ranging from virtual regionalism to a Council of the Federation that includes Aboriginal representatives. This revealing account of Canadian federalism is crucial reading for students and scholars of Canadian politics, politicians and policy makers, and those who care about the health of Canadian democracy.

In this timely book, Peterson examines which level of government should be responsible for the specific programs and recommends that more responsibility should be placed in the hands of the states and other localities.

"In the past twenty years social housing in Britain has been substantially restructured through the transfer of former council stock to housing association ownership. This report, published in association with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, looks at the domination of new social landlords and the changes in management style and approach they have adopted. The report's findings show that the transfer process has resulted in the adoption of a more customer-focused approach to housing management, and innovations in landlords' organizational structures and staff management practices have promoted openness and innovation."

This book is aimed at students on town planning and related courses, as well as practitioners who want to locate their practice within the broadening activity of town planning. It is written by practising town planners and academics with practice experience, and the chapters include many case studies which make connections for the reader between theory and practice. The book does not aim to be comprehensive, but to lay out the terrain in the key areas. It is a gateway to the exciting and varied world of town planning, which should stimulate the reader to want to find out more. It should heighten the appreciation of practice in all its forms and widen the horizons of the world of the professional town planner.

An evaluation of the most enduring privatisation of the Thatcher era … Written in an accessible style, this is a key reference for students and researchers in housing and planning; geography; and social policy. The book analyses the operation and impact of the right to buy policy (RTB). It includes a critique of the Housing Act and the 2001 Housing (Scotland) Act. The enactment of these changes under a Labour government affirms the continuance of the RTB. The authors take stock of its profound effect on housing policy, reversing the growth in social housing developed over the twentieth century, transforming the nation's tenure structure and revolutionising the UK housing system. The Right to Buy: analysis and evaluation of a housing policy begins with an examination of the policy background to the establishment of the RTB and the main features of the legislation. This is followed by chapters that review its take-up and the pattern of sales and their impact on social housing; a chapter examining the financial aspects of the RTB from the viewpoints of tenants, local authorities and central government; one looking at the impact of the RTB via subsequent re-sales on the open market and on the private rented sector; and a chapter drawing on the information already reviewed to consider the potential of the RTB to create sustainable and diverse communities. In the final chapters the international experience of parallel policies are considered and the future take-up of the RTB is assessed in the light of recent reforms together with alternatives.

This major new textbook on UK housing policy covers contemporary issues, policies and management across the whole range of housing tenures set in a historical and comparative context. It addresses the evolution of policy and practice with a central focus on five key themes: institutional and governance arrangements; economic and demographic change; the loss of identity of housing policy; the interlinked issues of inequality and standards and the interests served or involved in the processes and outcomes of housing policy.

Taking a policy analysis approach to housing and drawing from the burgeoning comparative literature, this textbook provides a systematic re-evaluation of the nature of British housing that challenges the orthodox "home-owning society" view whereby Britain is seen as marking a norm. Building up from basic concepts in policy analysis, the book reinterprets the UK housing system in a manner which is sensitive to the specific historical and cultural origins and development of British policy and society. As such, the text offers both an important and cutting-edge evaluation of British housing and a case study in applied social policy analysis.

Written by a well-known group of researchers in a lively and accessible style, this timely new book provides a broad-ranging assessment of key policy developments in early twenty-first century Britain as they relate to both private and public sector housing spheres

Propriedade Urbana Privada & Direitos Sociais