Building on the success of its second edition; the third edition of the Sustainable Urban Development Reader provides a generous selection of classic and contemporary readings giving a broad introduction to this topic. It begins by tracing the roots of the sustainable development concept in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; before presenting readings on a number of dimensions of the sustainability concept.Topics covered include land use and urban design; transportation; ecological planning and restoration; energy and materials use; economic development; social and environmental justice; and green architecture and building. All sections have a concise editorial introduction that places the selection in context and suggests further reading. Additional sections cover tools for sustainable development; international sustainable development; visions of sustainable community and case studies from around the world. The book also includes educational exercises for individuals; university classes; or community groups; and an extensive list of recommended readings.The anthology remains unique in presenting a broad array of classic and contemporary readings in this field; each with a concise introduction placing it within the context of this evolving discourse. The Sustainable Urban Development Reader presents an authoritative overview of the field using original sources in a highly readable format for university classes in urban studies; environmental studies; the social sciences; and related fields. It also makes a wide range of sustainable urban planning-related material available to the public in a clear and accessible way; forming an indispensable resource for anyone interested in the future of urban environments.
#1776462 in eBooks 2014-10-05 2014-10-05File Name: B00O7HZG5G
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I love this bookBy K. EllisI first read Fiske in 1996 as a first year student studying "English". I doubt that type of degree would exist anymore but fiskes analysis of jeans is as insightful as ever. I experienced many lightbulb moments reading this book in its entirety. His explanation of the "producerly text" has reconciled my love of popular culture with my disappointment with the way it reproduces the dominant ideology.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. I find some of the theories very dated but good information for a historical perspectiveBy Seattle GirlI find some of the theories very dated but good information for a historical perspective.This book was not in the greatest condition - even though it was new. There was a sticky substance on part of the cover and the cover was bent which makes a difference when trying to resell. I wish I had bought the Kindle version. Half of the book is a forward.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good Theoretical Grounding for Cultural HistoriansBy RDDJohn Fiskersquo;s "Understanding Popular Culture" serves primarily as a companion to his reader; "Reading the Popular". Fiske examines the different facets of popular culture using commodities such as denim jeans; Madonna; the television show Dallas; and more. Fiske argues; ldquo;Popular culture is deeply contradictory in societies where power is unequally distributed along axes of class; gender; race; and the other categories that we use to make sense of our social differences. Popular culture is the culture of the subordinated and disempowered and thus always bears within it signs of power relations; traces of the forces of domination and subordination that are central to our social system and therefore to our social experience. Equally; it shows signs of resisting or evading these forces: popular culture contradicts itselfrdquo; (pg. 4-5).Fiske continues; ldquo;Popular culture always is part of power relations; it always bears traces of the constant struggle between domination and subordination; between power and various forms of resistance to it or evasions of it; between military strategy and guerrilla tacticsrdquo; (pg. 19). His approach ldquo;sees popular culture as potentially; and often actually; progressive (though not radical); and it is essentially optimistic; for it finds in the vigor and vitality of the people evidence both of the possibility of social change and of the motivation to drive itrdquo; (pg. 21). Fiske writes; ldquo;All popular culture is a process of struggle; of struggle over the meanings of social experience; of onersquo;s personhood and its relations to the social order and of the texts and commodities of that orderrdquo; (pg. 28). He further argues; ldquo;The politics of popular culture is that of everyday liferdquo; (pg. 56).Examining popular texts; Fiske argues; ldquo;The social experience that determines the relevances that connect the textual to the social and that drive this popular productivity is beyond textual control; in a way that is different from the more specifically textual competence and experience of the writerly reader of the avant-garde textrdquo; (pg. 104). He believes that critically-derided texts offer useful insight. Of tabloid fodder; Fiske writes; ldquo;The popularity of such sensational publications is evidence of the extent of dissatisfaction in a society; particularly among those who feel powerless to change their situation; and the fact that there are more of them; and that they are more visible; in the United States than in; for example; Australia or the United Kingdom may say something about the exclusiveness of American ideology and the harshness with which it treats those it excludesrdquo; (pg. 117). More generally; he writes; ldquo;In popular culture; texts as objects are merely commodities; and as such they are often minimally crafted (to keep production costs down); incomplete; and insufficient unless and until they are incorporated into the everyday lives of the peoplerdquo; (pg. 123). To this end; ldquo;A popular text; to be popular; must have points of relevance to a variety of readers in a variety of social contexts; and so must be polysemic in itself; and any one reading of it must be conditional; for it must be determined by the social conditions of its readingrdquo; (pg. 141).Fiske concludes; ldquo;Popular culture not only maintains social differences; it maintains their oppositionality; and peoplersquo;s awareness of it. It can thus empower them to the extent that; under the appropriate social conditions; they are able to act; particularly at the micropolitical level; and by such action to increase their sociocultural space; to effect a (micro)redistribution of power in their favorrdquo; (pg. 161). Finally; ldquo;Popular culture always entails a set of negotiations between the center and the circumference; between the relatively unified allegiances of the power-bloc and the diversified formations of the people; between singular texts and multiple readingsrdquo; (pg. 171).
