Reclaiming Urban Wasteland

Land Reclamation and Restoration Strategies for Sustainable Development: Geospatial Technology Based Approach, Volume Ten covers spatial mapping, modeling and risk assessment in land hazards issues and sustainable management. Each section in the book explores state-of-art techniques using commercial, open source and statistical software for mapping and modeling, along with case studies that illustrate modern image processing techniques and computational algorithms. A special focus is given on recent trends in data mining techniques. This book will be of particular interest to students, researchers and professionals in the fields of earth science, applied geography, and those in the environmental sciences. Demonstrates a geoinformatics approach to data mining techniques, data analysis, modeling, risk assessment, visualization, and management strategies in different aspects of land use, hazards and reclamation Covers land contamination problems, including effects on agriculture, forestry, and coastal and wetland areas Suggests specific techniques of remediation Explores state-of-art techniques based on commercial, open source, and statistical software for mapping and modeling using modern image processing techniques and computational algorithm

This book presents a novel and systematic social theory of soil, and is representative of the rising interest in 'the material' in social sciences. Bringing together new modes of 'critical description' with speculative practices and methods of inquiry, it contributes to the exploration of current transformations in socioecologies, as well as in political and artistic practices, in order to address global ecological change. The chapters in this edited volume challenge scholars to attend more carefully to the ways in which they think about soil, both materially and theoretically. Contributors address a range of topics, including new ways of thinking about the politics of caring for soils; the ecological and symbiotic relations between soils; how the productive capacities and contested governance of soils are deployed as matters of political concern; and indigenous ways of knowing and being with soil.

Faced with the growing demand for nature in cities, informal greenspaces are gaining the interest of various stakeholders - residents, associations, public authorities - as well as scientists. This book provides a cross-sectorial overview of the advantages and disadvantages of urban wastelands in meeting this social demand of urban nature, spanning from the social sciences and urban planning to ecology and soil sciences. It shows the potential of urban wastelands with respect to city dwellers’ well-being, environmental education, urban biodiversity and urban green networks as well as concerns regarding urban wastelands’ in relation to conflicts, and urban marketing. The authors provide a global insight through case studies in nine countries, mainly located in Europe, Asia and America, thus offering a broad perspective.

This book is intended to meet the academic requirements of the subject 'Environmental Studies' for undergraduate students in Indian and overseas universities. The contents have been prepared keeping in mind the widest possible variations in the background of the users. The entire UGC syllabus and supplementary materials are in the nine chapters. Chapter 1 describes the multidisciplinary nature of environmental studies. Chapter 2 and 3 comprehensively elaborate the forest, water, minerals, food, energy and land resources. Chapter 4 explains various aspects of biodiversity. Chapter 5 discusses the science of ecology and concepts of ecosystem. Chapter 6 is an exhaustive description of environmental pollution, its sources, effects and control measures. The sustainable development has been discussed in Chapter 7. Issues on environment and health, human rights, AIDS, women & child welfare and role of IT industry have been addressed in great length in Chapter 8. Key features of this book include authentic, simple to the point and latest account of each and every topic besides well sketched illustrations and various case studies. The book also contains glossary of terms which can be of particular use to students with little or no science background, and appendices and abbreviations commonly used in describing environmental studies

American moviegoers have long turned to the Hollywood Western for reassurance in times of crisis. During the genre's heyday, the films of John Ford, Howard Hawks and Henry Hathaway reflected a grand patriotism that resonated with audiences at the end of World War II. The tried-and-true Western was questioned by Ford and George Stevens during the Cold War, and in the 1960s directors like Sam Peckinpah and George Roy Hill retooled the genre as a commentary on American ethics during the Vietnam War. Between the mid-1970s and early 1990s, the Western faded from view--until the Gulf War, when Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves (1990) and Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992) brought it back, with moral complexities. Since 9/11, the Western has seen a resurgence, blending its patriotic narrative with criticism of America's place in the global community. Exploring such films as True Grit (2010) and Brokeback Mountain (2005), along with television series like Deadwood and Firefly, this collection of new essays explores how the Western today captures the dichotomy of our times and remains important to the American psyche.

Offering an original discussion of the gentrification phenomenon in Europe, this book provides new theoretical insights into classical works on the subject. Using a thorough analysis of the diversity of the forms, places and actors of gentrification in an attempt to isolate its ‘DNA’, the book addresses the place of social groups in cities, their competition over the appropriation of space, the infrastructure unequally offered to them by economic and political actors and the stakes of everyday social relationships.