First published in 1999, this volume features 13 contributors with expertise in social science and environmental research who have brought together comparative 12 articles which study the connection between humanity and nature, focusing on comparisons between the Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. They are among the most homogeneous and hence most comparable societies in Europe. The articles reflect the need for environmental and political change recognised by social sc...

Informed Cities looks at the knowledge brokerage processes between cities and higher education institutions, and in particular evaluates governance mechanisms for monitoring local sustainability and the role of research within this.The first part of the book provides an analysis of tools for governing sustainable cities and develops a typology of existing tools. It then considers approaches to monitor local sustainability on a European level, focusing on a number of key to...

Urban governance and sustainability are rapidly becoming key issues around the world. Currently three billion people - half the population of the planet - live in cities, and by 2050 a full two-thirds of the world's population will be housed in ever larger and increasingly densely populated urban areas. The economic, social and environmental challenges posed by urbanization on such a large scale and at such a rapid pace are staggering for local, regional and national governments working to...

�This is a very welcome volume, and it will reach a large audience and readership among those involved in these issues from a truly multidisciplinary perspective; in essence, a much needed book!�Erik Bonsdorff, professor of marine biology at �bo Akademi University, Finland�This timely volume provides a thorough account of how the highly advanced industrial societies seek to govern and manage the Baltic Sea. The way they proceed, and the degree to which they succeed, provide ...

Regions and cities are the natural loci where knowledge is created, and where it can be easily turned into a commercial product. Regions are territories where, under certain socio-economic conditions, a strong sense of belonging and mutual trust develops the ability to transform information and inventions into innovation and productivity increases, through cooperative or market interaction. Especially in contexts characterised by a plurality of agents — such as cities or industrial distric...

Sustainability assessment is now emerging as a more transparent, comprehensive, integrated and far-sighted approach to decision making. Its basic demand is that all significant undertakings must make a positive contribution to sustainability. To apply this test, decision makers need criteria based on the core requirements of sustainability and the particularities of the context. As well, they need appropriately designed public processes; guidance on the weighing of alternatives, trade-offs...

Addresses issues relevant to an understanding of the innovation journeys on which public organizations have embarked. If public innovation is defined as a necessary condition for establishing meaningful interactions between the government and society what are the relevant issues that may explain successful processes and forms of public innovation?

Urban regeneration is a key focus for public policy throughout Europe. This book examines social sustainability and analyses its meaning. The authors offer a comprehensive European perspective to identify best practices in sustainable urban regeneration in five major cities in Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, and the UK. This authoritative overview of the scholarly literature makes the book essential reading for researchers and post-graduate students in sustainable development, real est...

This third annual volume of the International Place Branding Yearbook looks at the case for applying brand and marketing strategies to the economic, social, political and cultural development of cities, towns and regions around the world to help them compete in the global, national and local markets. It focuses on sustainability and smart growth.

In 2011, the first edition of Campus Confidential sparked a lively debate about what is really going on inside our colleges and universities. The media and readers alike welcomed this readable, honest book. University authorities didn't. They took the authors to task for spilling the beans. In this second edition, Ken S. Coates and Bill Morrison pick up where they left off, adding new and up-to-date information for students and their parents to consider.Among the questions...

Inequality is not just about the size of our wallets. It is a socio-cultural order which, for most of us, reduces our capabilities to function as human beings, our health, our dignity, our sense of self, as well as our resources to act and participate in the world. This book shows that inequality is literally a killing field, with millions of people dying premature deaths because of it. These lethal effects of inequality operate not only in the poor world, but also, and increasingly, in ri...

Cultural policy is changing. Traditionally, cultural policies have been concerned with providing financial support for the arts, for cultural heritage and for institutions such as museums and galleries. In recent years, around the world, interest has grown in the creative industries as a source of innovation and economic dynamism. This book argues that an understanding of the nature of both the economic and the cultural value created by the cultural sector is essential to good policy-makin...