The study of urbanisation processes in an ancient city also defines aspects of social, political and religious features of a society. While the impulse to urbanise issued from the politico-religious and cultural background of the society in question, the act and very form of urbanising is mostly connected with a selected territory and its morphology. This article attempts to reconstitute the urban plan of a major medieval capital of Iran, Rayy, during the Seljūq period. Thanks to satellite views, photos (...) from the 1950s, the Pascal Coste plan and a newly discovered drawing by him, as well as several surveys conducted since 2005, a plausible map of the medieval Seljuq city can be attempted. (shrink)

The Urbanization of Capital. This article analyses the creation of capitalist urban space during the socalled « Keynesian », or « Fordist », epoch and the transition from this epoch to the era of so-called « post-Fordism » which we are currently experiencing. The production of a spatial fix which is specific to each phase of development is, for capitalism, both a means of managing its internal contradictions, thus ensuring its survival, and of displacing these contradictions onto a new terrain. (...) This terrain is the result notably of the tensions and constraints inherent in the spatial fix inherited from the previous period and remodelled by the constant transformation of the mode of production. The Keynesian urban space, constituted by cities oriented towards demand, and moulded by the joint intervention of state planning and credit-based finance, is succeeded by the post-Fordist city, which is reshaped by intensified interurban and interregional competition, and by the exacerbation of the polarisation of, and separation between, social classes. The reproduction of social relations by and through space poses new problems, at the same time that it opens new possibilities, for class struggles and alternative socialist projects. (shrink)

The present paper takes a critical posthumanist lens to study the consequences of rapid urbanisation of the Chinese landscape as presented in the short story ‘Good Hunting’, by Ken Liu. One of the main characters in the story is Yan, a huli jing (fox-spirit), whose ability to switch between her fox and human forms is severely impaired by the loss of remnant nature in China, and the subsequent erosion of the qi from the soil. It is not just the (...) natural landscape that undergoes a transformation during urbanisation – the remnants of nature do not remain untouched by this process. Beings like Yan, who continue to inhabit the place that used to be their home, do not remain the same that they were pre-urbanisation. The city changes them, moulds them in ways hitherto inconceivable, and they undergo this transmogrification of their bodies and their self in order to survive. The article draws out the historical relationship between urban spaces and (post)human bodies, with a specific focus on the Chinese body, drawing parallels between the ideals associated with the city and juxtaposing them with what it means to be posthuman. The paper also interrogates Yan’s status as a liminal entity before and after Hong Kong’s transformation, and her use of liminality as a survival strategy. (shrink)

En tant qu’acteur important dans la gouvernance rurale, les organisations économiques collectives jouent un rôle primordial dans le processus d’urbanisation rurale et constituent un point de vue important pour comprendre l’évolution des relations entre zones urbaines et zones rurales en Chine. En même temps, ces organisations constituent le noyau de la communauté locale, qui représente les individus sur la base d’une même appartenance ethnique, par proximité locale ou par proximité de valeurs communes, voire par proximité économique. Ainsi, les individus (...) partagent une forme de cohésion solidaire, fondée affectivement. Toutefois, au fur et à mesure du développement économique et social, le système, la notion et la nature de l’économique s’évoluent et les valeurs des individus changent, tandis que ces organisations s’adaptent mal au changement économique et social, ce qui provoque la controverse de la société chinoise rurale au cours de la modernisation de la Chine. S’appuyant sur une recherche de terrain et l’analyse des données du village de Liede à Guangzhou, cet article porte sur le processus d’intégration urbaine-rurale du village urbain et explore l’intégration du village urbain dans la ville à travers l’organisation économique collective de Liede, notamment Liede Economic Development Co., Ltd. Dans ce processus, il existe des contradictions entre le rôle du village et le rôle des organisations économiques collectives. Les organisations collectives ont des fonctions économiques, mais elles assument toujours aussi des coûts importants concernant des fonctions publiques telles que la sécurité sociale. On verra que la réforme de la « séparation politique et économique » après la période de l’économie planifiée des années 1980 n’a pas eu d’effet au niveau local. L’évolution du rôle des organisations économiques reflète la mutation de l’économie chinoise, c’est-à-dire, le passage de l’économie communiste à l’économie de marché. Toutefois, l’engagement solidaire existe toujours dans l’économie collective et celle-ci essaie de limiter la cupidité et soutenir l’intérêt commun au lieu de le marginaliser, ce qui constitue un caractère spécifique de l’économie collective en Chine. Classification JEL : A23, B25, H32. (shrink)

This article offers a philosophical and ontological analysis of how environmental values are embodied in urban governance practices, using the examples of Copenhagen, Shenzhen and Kaunas. The initial hypothesis holds that sustainable development requires not only regulatory instruments but also the deep cultural integration of values. The study applies qualitative comparative analysis, hermeneutic examination of strategic documents, and phenomenological reduction. The findings show that in Copenhagen, values are integrated into everyday practices; in Shenzhen, they are reduced to digital metrics; in (...) Kaunas, they are enacted through local initiatives. The conclusions highlight the importance of ethical infrastructures and cultural sensitivity in managing sustainable urban development. (shrink)

Modern ecological risks associated with the anthropological crisis of nature, leading to the paradoxes of the ecological state of humanity, are analyzed. It is substantiated that the unlimited use of natural resources causes a misbalance between human actions and the riches of nature. The question of the necessity of exploring the man-nature relation in the context of humanistic revolution is raised; it allows us to perceive the relation to nature as caring which includes such existential elements as agreement, tolerance, respect, (...) and care. We are discussing an alternative view of the relationship between man and nature in anthropologies of exploitation and violence. It is necessary to realize the value of nature precisely in its ontological intentionality and not because it is valuable solely in terms of utilitarianism and pragmatism. It is determined that over-technological human activity has led to catastrophic changes in large natural areas, destruction of natural water resources, and global warming, which threatens the biosphere and may lead to fundamental changes in the state of nature. The assumption is made that it is impossible to exclude the situation on the existence of the threat of catastrophe between man and nature; at that, the human search for the options of communication and preservation of nature and man, and their anthropological characteristics becomes expedient. (shrink)

Contemporary policymakers, as their predecessors, continue to view nomadic people as a weak minority, and their way of life and raising livestock as a backward and inefficient paradigm. Wherever nomads are not the dominant group, the trend to settle them continues even today as in the past. This book describes the changes forced upon formerly nomadic groups and how they still attempt to maintain their traditional, social, and cultural practices in their new settings. The book deals with the several modes (...) of livelihood of these communities, including entrepreneurship, and demonstrates the impact of investment-oriented urbanization policies leading to eviction from ancestral lands, and hurdles for nomadic mobility, ultimately threatening their survival. The book illustrates how some groups like the Borana and the Maasai practice livelihood diversity and raise productive livestock, and how other groups migrate to urban centers in search of employment and remit money to family members left in the rural areas. The book aims to raise awareness among the research community, especially those who work on regional and demographic labor policies. It helps in understanding why society needs to help build business and livelihood strategies without harming the values of nomadic groups. (shrink)

Industrialisation, urbanisation and economic development have produced unprecedented improvements in human health. They have also produced unprecedented exploitation of Earth’s life support systems, moving the planet into a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene—one defined by human influence on natural systems. The health sector has been complicit in this influence. Bioethics, too, must acknowledge its role—the environmental threats that will shape human health in this century represent a ‘perfect moral storm’ challenging the ethical theories of the last. The US conservationist (...) Aldo Leopold saw this gathering storm more clearly than many, and in his Land Ethic describes the beginnings of a route to safe passage. Its starting point is a reinterpretation of the ethical relationship between humanity and the ‘land community’, the ecosystems we live within and depend upon; moving us from ‘conqueror’ to ‘plain member and citizen’ of that community. The justice of the Land Ethic questions many presuppositions implicit to discussions of the topic in biomedical ethics. By valuing the community in itself—in a way irreducible to the welfare of its members—it steps away from the individualism axiomatic in contemporary bioethics. Viewing ourselves as citizens of the land community also extends the moral horizons of healthcare from a solely human focus. Taking into account the ‘stability’ of the community requires intergenerational justice. The resulting vision of justice in healthcare—one that takes climate and environmental justice seriously—could offer health workers an ethic fit for the future. (shrink)

L’urbanisation entraîne des mutations importantes dans la vie sociale comme dans l’expérience individuelle. La mobilité, la liberté, la précarité : autant de traits dominants de la vie moderne. Ces facteurs doivent-ils être reçus comme autant de menaces pour la foi chrétienne? La cité contemporaine relèverait-elle plus de Babel que de Jérusalem? Quels sont les éléments positifs et négatifs que la théologie pastorale peut relever dans la foi d’un citadin? À quelles conversions concrètes l’action ecclésiale pourrait-elle consentir dans ce contexte (...) nouveau, pluriel et mouvant? (shrink)

Australia is a markedly urbanised society, even though many of its most compelling cultural images and narratives are anchored to rural environments and the people and animals that inhabit them. In a country that has always been prone to floods, fires and droughts, there is growing awareness that Australia’s natural resources are under stress due to mining, industrial agriculture, urban development and the effects of climate change. When such issues are debated in the political arena, environmental conservation is regularly pitted (...) against economic advancement in a very crude way, inhibiting cooperation. This essay discusses two art projects that engage meaningfully with the rural/urban divide in Australia: The Yeomans Project and Sugar vs the Reef?. Led by artists Lucas Ihlein, Ian Milliss and Kim Williams, these projects engage in practical and creative ways with rural food production and the individuals responsible for it. Specifically, they investigate innovative farming practices that have great potential to address environmental challenges but are rarely acknowledged in contemporary, city-centric culture. I will argue that by mingling different understandings of aesthetics, utility and ecology, these projects propose productive ways for the disparities between urban and rural Australia to be navigated. オーストラリアの文化的イメージの多くが、地方の環境およびそこに住む人々や動物に依拠しているのにも関わらず、この国は著しく都市化された社会である。つねに洪水や火事、干ばつを引き起こしやすいオーストラリア において、石炭採掘や産業的農業、都市開発や気候変動の影響によって自然資源に負荷がかかっているということに、多くの人が気付き始めている。このような問題が政治の領域において議論される際、環境保全はいつも粗 野な仕方で経済発展と対置され、両者の協働は禁じられている。本稿は、オーストラリアにおける地方／都市の分割に有意義な仕方で関わっている2つのアート・プロジェクトである、「ヨーマン・プロジェクト」と「サト ウ対サンゴ？」について論じる。ルーカス・イーライン、イアン・ミリス、キム・ウィリアムズの3人のアーティストによって組織されるこれらのプロジェクトは、実践的かつ創造的な仕方で、地方の食物生産とそれに対し て責任を負う人々に関与している。とりわけ、環境の危機に取り組むための大きな可能性を持ちながらも、現代の都市中心の文化においてはめったに注目されない、発明的な農業実践を彼らは調査している。私は、美学、有 用性、生態学についての多様な理解を混ぜ合わせながら、これらのプロジェクトを都市的オーストラリアとと地方的オーストラリアとのあいだの不均衡を扱うための生産的な方法として提示する。 This article is in Japanese. (shrink)

La modernización del agro chileno ha generado nuevos patrones de asentamiento y movilidad de la población tanto en ámbitos locales y regionales, como a nivel nacional. El tradicional modelo de desarrollo urbano-metropolitano, ha sido sustituido por un modelo de desarrollo agropolitano, el cual ya no se sustenta en el crecimiento y metropolización del país, sino en el crecimiento de un amplio abanico de ciudades agrarias. En este artículo se analiza la dinámica demográfica de estas ciudades agrarias. Proponemos el concepto de (...) agrópolis, el cual lo definimos como aquellos espacios en los que la actividad económica predominante está vinculada directamente al agro, ya sea como actividad primaria (agricultura), como actividad secundaria (agroindustria) o terciaria (comercio y servicios orientados a la agricultura y/o la agroindustria). Este concepto de agrópolis nos permite superar los vacíos de la dicotomía rural-urbana, proponiendo una oposición conceptual más amplia y compleja, entre lo que serían las agrópolis y las metrópolis. (shrink)

This article proposes a 'fusion of horizons' in constructing urban public theologies in South Africa. This is done through the introduction of five interrelated themes that have emerged from the on-going knowledge and idea production by a distinguishable counterpoint in contemporary scholarly, intellectual and activist engagement with the urban, in the authors' own South African context but also wider internationally. In advancing a praxis-agenda for urban public theology, the authors subsequently identify the following, albeit not exhaustive, themes: southern urbanisms and (...) the factor of unprecedented urban migration; 'right to the city' and urbanisation from below; a reclaiming of the commons; the making of 'good cities'; and actors of faith in relation to urban social life. (shrink)

This chapter presents the text of a lecture on the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain given at the British Academy's 2009 Keynes Lecture in Economics. This text suggests that the Industrial Revolution was Britain's response to the global economy that emerged after 1500 and that Britain's success in world trade resulted in one of the most urbanised economies in Europe with unusually high wages and cheap energy prices. The text here also highlights the contribution of Britain in the invention of (...) the steam engine and the cotton spinning machines and in scientific discoveries relating to atmospheric pressure. (shrink)

This article addresses the question whether skiing as a nature sport enables practitioners to develop a rapport with nature, or rather estranges and insulates them from their mountainous ambiance. To address this question, I analyse a recent skiing movie from a psychoanalytical perspective and from a neuro-scientific perspective. I conclude that Jean-Paul Sartre’s classical but egocentric account of his skiing experiences disavows the technicity involved in contemporary skiing as a sportive practice for the affluent masses, which actually represents an (...) class='Hi'>urbanisation of the sublime, symptomatic for the current era. (shrink)

Developing countries have recently experienced a burgeoning of small-scale individual entrepreneurs (SIEs) – who range from petty traders to personal service workers like small street vendors, barbers and owners of small shops – as a result of market-based reforms, rapid urbanisation, unemployment, landlessness and poverty. While SIEs form a major part of the informal workforce in developing countries and contribute significantly to economic growth, their potential is being undermined when they engage in irresponsible and deceptive business practices such as (...) overpricing, sale of underweight or substandard products, or attempts to hoard goods, to name a few. Despite the growing interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of small businesses in developing countries, the SIEs have received almost no attention. To address this void in the literature, we explore the reasons for the less than optimal level of social responsibility demonstrated by some SIEs in developing countries. We do so by drawing upon the existing literature to develop a comprehensive framework of social responsibility of SIEs highlighting their unique characteristics and the different contextual factors that they encounter in developing countries. Based on this framework, we then present a set of propositions specifying the influence of these contextual factors such as business environment, cultural traditions, socio-economic conditions, and both international and domestic pressures on the business practices of SIEs. The framework offers an explanation for the lack of responsible entrepreneurship of SIEs and has important implications for promoting sustainable business practices in developing countries where businesses are striving hard to survive and compete. (shrink)

What can the creation of artificial habitats to replace old-growth forests tell us about the process, value and future of design? This chapter takes a concrete and provocative example and uses it to rethink design as a gradual, ecological action. To illustrate this understanding, the chapter begins with a description of a proposal to provide artificial habitats for wild animals such as birds, bats and invertebrates. The controversial idea to replace rapidly disappearing old-growth trees with artificial structures puts in doubt (...) habitual assumptions about the clients, procedures and goals of design. This example is of relevance to all design because the need to provide artificial habitats to nonhumans will be increasingly common under the influence of such phenomena as global warming or urbanisation. … The invention of artificial structures in place of natural habitats is described in this chapter as an incitement that highlights the need for further research into values, participants and methods of design. This discussion concludes with a proposal for an attitude of modesty in the face of increasingly overwhelming volumes of information as well as in the presence of an even greater ignorance about the futures of nondeterministic, volatile and incompletely controllable natural systems. The dilemma of design in these conditions is in the tension between its remit to act and the uncertainty that inescapably underlies any creative endeavour. (shrink)

Boredom Studies is an increasingly rich and vital area of contemporary research that examines the experience of boredom as an importan - even quintessential - condition of modern life. This anthology of newly commissioned essays focuses on the historical and theoretical potential of this modern condition, connecting boredom studies with parallel discourses such as affect theory and highlighting possible avenues of future research. Spanning sociology, history, art, philosophy and cultural studies, the book considers boredom as a mass response to the (...) atrophy of experience characteristic of a highly mechanised and urbanised social life. (shrink)

Twenty years after the demise of apartheid, a typical South African city remains bifurcated. The mushrooming of squatter camps, mekhukhu, in our big cities, symptomises a history that defined the majority of South Africans as sojourners and vagabonds in their motherland. Destined to die in the rural reserves after the extraction of their labour and confined to 'locations' in-between the 'city' and the rural 'home', black experience in the post-1994 city continues to be a manifestation of a life disintegrated from (...) an integrated vision of ikhaya - household - and urban life in democratic South Africa. By critiquing the policies of the post-1994 government on urbanisation, the article argues that for inclusion in the city, the colonial and apartheid polis is not adequate redress to the black experience of urbanisation in South Africa. The quest for the transformation of a city in order for an integrated city in the post-1994 South Africa to be achieved is ostensibly the best starting point, this article argues. (shrink)

The dualism of nature/culture widely present within Western society at large is out of step with an increasingly urbanising world. Building on previous discussions of nature/culture duality, an integrative framework is presented that argues for the embracing of the ‘mundane nature’ found within human landscapes. As over half of the human population interacts with nature primarily within urban landscapes, increasing our awareness of such spaces is critical to understanding our ecological consciousness. The examples of a recent rooftop greening bylaw in (...) the city of Toronto and the social impacts of urban gardening are examined in this context. (shrink)

Food security is becoming an increasingly relevant topic in the Global North, especially in urban areas. Because such areas do not always have good access to nutritionally adequate food, the question of how to supply them is an urgent priority in order to maintain a healthy population. Urban and peri-urban agriculture, as sources of local fresh food, could play an important role. Whereas some scholars do not differentiate between peri-urban and urban agriculture, seeing them as a single entity, our hypothesis (...) is that they are distinct, and that this has important consequences for food security and other issues. This has knock-on effects for food system planning and has not yet been appropriately analysed. The objectives of this study are to provide a systematic understanding of urban and peri-urban agriculture in the Global North, showing their similarities and differences, and to analyse their impact on urban food security. To this end, an extensive literature review was conducted, resulting in the identification and comparison of their spatial, ecological and socio-economic characteristics. The findings are discussed in terms of their impact on food security in relation to the four levels of the food system: food production, processing, distribution and consumption. The results show that urban and peri-urban agriculture in the Global North indeed differ in most of their characteristics and consequently also in their ability to meet the food needs of urban inhabitants. While urban agriculture still meets food needs mainly at the household level, peri-urban agriculture can provide larger quantities and has broader distribution pathways, giving it a separate status in terms of food security. Nevertheless, both possess (unused) potential, making them valuable for urban food planning, and both face similar threats regarding urbanisation pressures, necessitating adequate planning measures. (shrink)

Processes of rapid and truncated agrarian change—driven through expanding urbanisation, infrastructure development, extractive industries, and commodity crops—are shaping the livelihood opportunities and aspirations of Indonesia’s rural youth. This study describes the everyday experiences of youth as they navigate the changing character of agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing livelihoods across gender, class, and generation. Drawing on qualitative field research conducted in the Maros District of South Sulawesi, we examine young people’s experiences of agrarian change in a landscape of entangled rural, coastal (...) and increasingly urbanised spaces. We find that young people aspire to secure, modern, and salary-based work, while continuing to seek and sustain intergenerational farming or aquaculture-based livelihoods. Youth take advantage of increased connectivity to diversify their incomes, yet their dependence on mobility also introduces new forms of gendered and class based precarity such as insecure working arrangements, disruption to education and violence (especially for young unskilled women and youth from financially insecure households). Our study highlights the persistent conditions of precarity that many young people encounter in both rural and urban settings, while challenging assumptions that youth are uninterested in rural futures. (shrink)

South Africa in which we are living is characterised by unparalleled social and political change and apparently enormous differences of option. However, there is one aspect of our society that most of us would probably agree about and that is the decline of morality in our cities. Apart from the economic and political crisis, and the erosion of the core competence to actually get things done in the municipalities, South Africa is an ailing society with disturbing pathologies in terms of (...) indiscipline, violence, rape, assault, fraud and a failure to accept personal accountability for the high levels of crime, corruption, xenophobic attacks, gender-based violence and disintegration of families. The main aim of this study is to outline the profile of moral decay in the South African urban community and to define the calling of the Church towards moral regeneration. The conclusion arrived at is that there are definite signs of moral degeneration over a wide sphere of human endeavour in South African urban community, and that the church has a particular role to play as a driving agent for moral renewal.Contribution: Whilst there are many postive things brought by urbanisation in our cities, however, moral decay in our South African cities is one of the biggest threats to South Africa’s hard earned, freedom and democracy and merits closer attention. This study in ethics joins the voices of those people who are propagating moral regeneration in our times. (shrink)

Against pacifist calls for peace at any price in Ukraine, Hans-Herbert Kögler argues that the west has a moral obligation to support Ukraine in its war against Russia. Kögler’s argument is well-made. However, he does not mention the war at all. This may be an oversight because while moral principles may be universal, in practice, the context defines how morals are applied. Drawing on Clausewitz’s concept of the Trinity, this response seeks to develop Kögler’s moral argument by examining the practical, (...) military implications of the war. It argues that because the war is heavily urbanised, the west’s moral commitment is likely to be very deep and long. (shrink)

The housing sector is currently under pressure: demographic shifts, urbanisation as well as the availability and costs of housing have led to increasing prices. Concerns are being raised that these rising housing costs could lead to intergenerational conflicts. While older generations often live in their privatelyowned dwellings, younger cohorts struggle to become homeowners, moving the field of housing into the spotlight of national debates. We analyse the importance of housing for Europeans using data from Eurobarometer. Results show that the (...) relevance of housing increased between 2008 and 2018. However, generational differences were found: while older and younger people see housing as an important topic at the country level, only the younger generation seems to be affected personally. Online Appendix. (shrink)

An often overlooked impact of urbanisation is a reduction in our ability to connect with nature in our daily lives. If people lose the ability to connect with nature we run the risk of creating a nature-disconnect, which is hypothesised to have an impact on our empathy for other species and our desire to help conservation efforts. Understanding how a sense of connection with nature can impact upon people's decisions to seek out nature in their daily lives is important (...) if we wish to encourage the practice of wildlife gardening as a tool to enhance both urban biodiversity and connectedness to nature. This study targeted members of wildlife gardening programmes (n=261) and members of the general public (n=417) and provides empirical evidence that connectedness to nature is a primitive belief, but also shows that a strong sense of connection with nature is not a prerequisite for engaging in wildlife gardening. (shrink)

In this paper, we are analysing the urban abandonment using a broad socio-economic and environmental framework complemented by four case studies pertaining to different situations Teufelsberg (Germany), Detroit (USA), Bhangarh Fort (India), and Lavasa (India). The abandonment in Western context has been well reported in scholarship, but a critical gap nevertheless exists in comprehending how the forces of rapid urbanisation, failure of government, and environmental limitations combine in the developing world to produce versions-of-the-urban-and-rural-decline. Attempting to fill this gap, the (...) prototype is questioning the causal mechanisms as well as the consequences of abandonment giving extra emphasis on the case of Lavasa as the example of a modern urban failure. Through the resilience theory, the study investigates how restructuring of the economy, environmental disasters both natural and caused by human beings and the issues of governance interact to achieve abandonment. It also considers the redevelopment strategies, which are deemed to be sustainable given the urban planning and engagement of the communities coupled with adaptive reuse activities, which may play a critical role in reducing the risks of abandonment, as well as promoting resilience in cities. The research conclusion is that a set of policy recommendations related to the enhancement of sustainable redevelopment has been developed and that future research directions have been proposed that could improve urban resilience, in particular in India and other developing countries. (shrink)

A portrait of Australian flying fox life in the Anthropocene illuminates startlingly familiar stories. These animals are participants in most of the major catastrophic events, as well as contestations about rescue, of contemporary life on Earth: warfare, man-made mass death, famine, urbanisation, emerging diseases, climate change, biosecurity, conservation, and local/international NGO aid. They are endangered, and are involved in all four of the major factors causing extinctions: habitat loss, overexploitation, introduced species, and extinction cascades. My account of flying foxes (...) in Australia rests on the understanding of species articulated both vigorously and eloquently by Donna Haraway : we and others are entangled in knots of species who are co-shaping each other in layers of reciprocating complexity. I seek to engage both the living, warm-blooded beings whose lives are threatened, and the excruciatingly dynamic deathscape that is surrounding them/us. Positioned, like much of life on Earth today, in zones of increasing conflict and terror, the lives and deaths of flying foxes tell us that in the Anthropocene there is no way out of entanglements within multispecies communities. Rather than seeking to erect more impenetrable barriers against others, relational ethics for living and dying in the Anthropocene urge us to assume ever greater mutuality and accountability as intradependent members of the suffering family of life on Earth. (shrink)

Older adults in Lithuania are among the least technologically skilled compared to other social groups in the country and older adults in other countries. In this paper, we aim to investigate socio-demographic factors that facilitate digital inclusion in old age in Lithuania. We employ quantitative research methods and the data of the European Social Survey. We determined six significant factors of digital inclusion in old age: age, education, place of residence, economic activity, health, and Internet access at home. Considering all (...) the factors of Internet use, we observe that older Internet users tend to be more privileged than non-users. They tend to be younger, have the highest education, live in urbanised areas, are employed, have access to the Internet at home, and have better health. Consequently, digital exclusion deepens the current cultural, social and economic exclusion of some older adults. (shrink)

In the context of burgeoning urbanisation in developing nations, improper solid waste management poses a dual threat by engendering environmental pollution and exacerbating public health risks. This research endeavours to scrutinise the knowledge, attitudes, and practices on solid waste management among households in Bharatpur Metropolis, Nepal. Employing a community-based cross-sectional study design, our investigation utilised a random sampling approach to enlist 385 households, utilising a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was executed via SPSS version 22, hinged on a summated scale (...) to gauge the levels of knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Additionally, the Chi-square test was used to determine the association between respondents’ demographic attributes and their corresponding levels of knowledge, attitudes, and practices. The distribution of knowledge levels shows that a very small number of respondents (4.42%) have average knowledge level, the subsequent majority (95.58%) have satisfactory knowledge level, and none are categorised as having poor knowledge. Attitude levels reveal that very few have poor attitudes (4.68%), the subsequent majority (95.32%) have satisfactory attitudes, and none have poor attitudes. In terms of practice level, 17.66% are categorised as poor practitioners, 82.34% demonstrate average practices, and none are categorised as satisfactory. These results highlight the prevalence of good knowledge and attitudes among the participants, with a significant majority displaying average practices in the Bharatpur Metropolis. Furthermore, data analysis indicated that respondents with a higher educational background exhibited high knowledge levels in solid waste management. Unexpectedly, the respondents with higher academic backgrounds found a low level of practice in solid waste management compared to the prescribed standards. The imperative for policy intervention is underscored, necessitating the formulation of targeted policies for solid waste management in the locale. Additionally, the findings of this research provide a valuable collection of insights for academicians, indicating that although they possess good knowledge and attitudes regarding solid waste management, their practices in urban settings are lacking. (shrink)

Stress has become an overheard word of modern life. Everyone experiences stress to some degree when one encounters a difficult situation. In recent decades, a transition can be seen in society and industries due to urbanisation and globalisation. Scientific-technological advancement in industries has changed employees’ working patterns and their way of living (Giorgi et al. in Front Psychol 8:2166, 2017). It would not be wrong to say that today's organisation is characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). According (...) to Selye (Nature 138:32, 1936), stress is a non-specific reaction in the body that affects both the mind and body. Due to the fast-paced lifestyle, people's stress levels have increased, hence, WHO has asserted stress as the “health epidemic of the twenty-first century” (Fink, in Stress: concepts, cognition, emotion, and behavior. Elsevier Inc., pp. 3–11, 2016). Today, occupational stress has become a common and costly affair as workers affected by stress show poor performance at work, increased absenteeism and staff turnover (Godin et al. in BMC Public Health, 5:67; Bhagat et al. in Organisational stress and coping in seven national contexts: a cross-cultural investigation, in Keita. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, pp. 93–105, 1994; Burke in Cross Cult Manag 17(1):5, 2010). Long-term exposure to occupational stress can lead to physical risks such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, increased heart rates, and mental problems (Michie in J Occup Environ Med 59(1):67–72, 2002). The current paper is a literature review with the primary objective of identifying occupational stressors among working female employees and studying the relationship between occupational stress and workplace ethics. (shrink)

A recent investigation into the development of world urbanisation conducted by the Population Division of the UN 1 notes that 55% of the world’s population today are living in urban areas, and this...

This chapter delves into the historical aspects of several technological revolutions and their transforming impact on society. It surveys significant technological advancements in human history, from the hunting-gathering society to the agricultural society to the digital revolution-driven Information Age. It explores the technological revolutions driving socio-economic, cultural, political, and environmental transformations. The last revolution, the Industrial Revolution, for instance, brought about the mechanisation of the production of goods and services, urbanisation, and the modern factory system, drastically altering the economic (...) and social dimensions of societies and social interactions. The present technological revolution, the digital and information age, characterised by the advent of computers, the Internet, and digital technologies, ushered in a new era of connectivity, information access, and communication and has had a huge impact on several sectors of economies and social life from multiple dimensions. (shrink)

This paper contextualises the analysis of hegemony from a spatial perspective. For this, it opens with a discussion of planetary urbanisation and the production of space as a spatial fix of capitalism - which posits space as a key instrument for the exercise of contemporary hegemony. The discursive analysis of the rejection of two plans for a new national park by Alpine communities in Italian-speaking Switzerland allows us to contextualise ‘the rural’ as a political force that is still present (...) and influential. Communities that recognise themselves as rural do not have hegemonic ambitions, but can contribute to the emergence or decline of other actors who wish to strive for hegemony instead. In this sense, the paper concludes that in a capitalist society increasingly marked by planetary urbanisation, it is crucial in the analysis of hegemony to fully consider rural actors as well and not invisibilise their motivations – as these can significantly alter the existing hegemonic balance. (shrink)

Cet article porte un regard sur les temporalités et les territorialités nocturnes des pratiques et des usages quotidiens à l’île de la Réunion. Peu d’études en sciences sociales ont jusqu’alors réussi à s’extraire des grandes métropoles du Nord pour décentrer leur regard et s’intéresser aux nuits des espaces urbains tropicaux. Dans cette perspective, l’une des tâches de fond consiste à étudier la place de l’obscurité dans le vécu et l’imaginaire des populations réunionnaises, gageant qu’une meilleure connaissance et compréhension des territorialités (...) nocturnes pourrait aider à consolider les démarches de protection de l’environnement nocturne dans le quotidien de l’aménagement des territoires. L’île a vu depuis plusieurs décennies ses campagnes se transformer profondément, pour certaines très marquées par l’exode, pour d’autres avalées dans un processus d’urbanisation non maîtrisé. C’est dans ce contexte que notre équipe a commencé à installer, en partenariat avec le Parc national de... (shrink)

The world faces social and Environment(al) crises together with an increasing risk of Extreme events (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)2012). These include economic crises, population Growth, Climate change, WaterScarcity and Pollution, FoodFood and Agricultural Organization (FAO)2000, 2016), Soil depletion, erosion and desertification, Urbanisation with slum Development, rural-urban and international Migration, physical and Structural violence, Gender, race and ethnic Discrimination, youth Unemployment, social and GenderInequality, and an increasing Loss of Ecosystem (services). The Interaction of these multiple crises may result (...) in extreme Outcomes, especially for Vulnerable people living in Risky places, and may reduce their human, Gender and Environmental security. (shrink)

The post-colonial has often functioned as a code word for a form of French post-theory. In more recent efforts to reconstruct linkages between metropolitan Marxism and counter-colonialism, the post-colonial refers to an open-ended research field for investigating the present weight of colonial histories. But even in these reformulations, post-colonial research presents formidable challenges to Euro-American urban Marxism. In this context, this paper redirects Henri Lefebvre’s work to analyse post-colonial situations. It traces in particular the notion of ‘colonisation’ as it develops (...) from his critique of everyday life to his work on the state. We argue that Lefebvre’s notion of ‘colonisation’ presents a promising opening to understanding the ‘colonial’ aspects of urbanisation today. Still, for this promise to be realised, Lefebvre’s notion must be refracted through dialectical-humanist counter-colonial traditions. (shrink)

In Mexico during the 1960s, population Growth, rapid and uncontrolled Urbanisation, and the stagnation of agricultural Production with an increase of imported basic Food, resulted in a severe Crisis in the agricultural sector. Furthermore, land reform had come to an end. There was no land available for distribution, and political unrest had further limited regional redistributions of land. Landlords and small plots of land forced young people to leave the rural area. The land under cultivation was parceled into such (...) small plots that it had become unproductive. Smallholdings had been highly dependent on governmental support, which further reduced the yields, and 30 to 40 per cent was lost in storage. To change this situation, the Government decided to reinforce the agricultural sector by supporting intensive production, concentrating loans, and stressing technical innovation (extensionismo), especially in irrigation and storage infrastructure, so from 1970 to 1976 it promoted a collective ejido. The Government aimed to change the subsistence production into a market-orientated system. With this support, the Government also tried to neutralise political tensions, criminality and violence, especially in the region of Guerrero, where a guerrilla movement called “The Army of the Poor” [El Ejército de los Pobres] existed. (shrink)

A new field of biomedical ethics is opening up, concerning what should be done to reduce the direct and indirect impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on human health. Some of these impacts could be described as ‘direct’, in the form of fatalities and illnesses due to the increasingly frequent heatwaves in many countries of recent years, ascribable to anthropogenic climate change. Other impacts are mediated through the air pollution that results from emissions from vehicles in the form of a cocktail (...) of carbon oxides including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulates. Most of the world’s cities have streets with unsafe pollution levels, and one child’s death in Britain has been officially ascribed to air pollution (BBC 2020). This presentation aims to validate the above claims about the impacts of emissions on health, and to suggest remedies. The early phasing out of vehicles powered by internal combustion engines is the ultimate remedy for the latter set of impacts, while the urgent replacement of energy generated from fossil-fuel sources with renewable energy is the best way to remediate the former set. More immediate remedies for air pollution include restricting the use of roads and streets in urbanised areas by vehicles to bicycles and light vehicles with small engines. Medical and nursing education should include the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary conditions resulting from increased levels of carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides and particulates. Medical and nursing practice should focus on the early identification of vulnerable adults and children at risk from air pollution, and warnings against walking, running or cycling along the most polluted thoroughfares. (shrink)

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 8.5px Times} My thesis is that current cities and the way that cities are beingdeveloped is unsustainable and poses global problems for the long-termflourishing of the world’s inter-related and interdependent economies, formatters of justice and happiness in socio-cultural relations between peoples,and for the health of our natural environments. I argue that ‘urbandesertification’ happens in the complex relationship between cities (both urbanand suburban) and rural environments that support them as both a natural andethical phenomenon (...) that I study using a form of analysis calledphenomenological ethics. First, I briefly present sketches of phenomenologyand sustainability in order to introduce the method of phenomenological ethicsto develop a more adequate understanding of urban sustainability. Then, I makea connection between desertification and urbanisation. Finally, I focus on thecity of El Paso, Texas in order to provide an empirical and relevant case studyof the existing problems of desertification and sustainability. (shrink)

In light of concerns about adolescent mental health, there is a need to identify and examine potential pathways to wellbeing in their daily lives. Outdoor environments can offer multiple pathways to wellbeing through opportunities for restoration, physical activity and socialising. However, urbanisation and new lifestyles revolving around the home and the internet are changing young people’s access, use and relationship to the outdoor environment. The authors point out how the research related to adolescents’ outdoor environments is generally not treated (...) with the same level of importance or as comprehensively as that for younger children. The aim of this paper is to pave the way for research and planning initiatives on everyday outdoor environments promoting the wellbeing of adolescents and the authors suggest ways in which perspectives from developmental psychology might inform the study of adolescents’ outdoor environments. The paper concludes by calling for an elevated focus on the role of outdoor environments in adolescents’ everyday lives as a source of wellbeing and more research that makes clear the specific attributes, activities and experiences related to places outdoors which make adolescents feel good. (shrink)

The profound impact of human activity on terrestrial ecosystems over the past centuries has prompted a re-evaluation of the traditional criteria for classifying geological time. The concept of the Anthropocene as a new planetary era has gained increasing traction in academic and extra-academic circles, offering a framework for understanding the transformative effect of human action on the Earth, and challenging the traditional distinction between natural history and human history. Although there is a lack of consensus regarding the stratigraphic validity of (...) the term and its hypothetical starting point, with the International Union of Geological Sciences voting in 2024 against including the Anthropocene in the Earth’s official geological timeline, the global process of urbanisation has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in a discernible dynamic of global transformation. The United Nations predicts that by 2050 almost 70% of the world’s population will reside in urban areas. Yet there is no end in sight to the growth of cities. This is a fact that deserves more than mere statistical attention. As Robert E. Park (1967), one of the founding fathers of urban sociology, observed a century ago, in making cities man has remade himself. Our life chances and choices are increasingly shaped by urban conditions. Having normative references for them is as important as having scientific data and technical tools. Despite the recent emphasis in modern territorial studies on the relativisation of the conventional urban/rural divide, the socio-political gap between cities and the countryside has re-emerged with particular force in many Western societies. This is evidenced by the rise of populist movements which seek to address perceived neglect and abandonment of rural areas, the unbalanced distribution of the costs associated with the “green transition”, and the defense of more traditional social values. It is therefore imperative that greater attention be paid to the conditions of justice in urban areas than has hitherto been the case. This is because they not only affect the opportunities of city dwellers, but also reflect the complex interactions of urban environments with the living conditions in other areas. (shrink)

This paper deploys historical analysis, conceptual analysis and critical reflection to examine the history of ethnicised politics in Kenya and its negative impact on the management of the country’s public affairs. It sets out with a conceptualisation of ‘ethnicised politics’. It then traces the growth of ethnicised politics in Kenya from the dawn of British colonialism to the present. Thereafter, it reflects on the five-pronged negative impact of ethnicised politics on the country, namely, the gross disparities in economic development along (...) ethno-regional lines, the disproportionately limited economic opportunities for ethnic minorities, the stunting of the growth of issue-based politics, the stoking of violent inter-ethnic conflicts, and the vulnerability of highly urbanised persons and/or those born out of mixed marriages with no strong ethnic loyalties. It concludes that contrary to the widely-held view that Kenyans ought to abandon their ethnic identities in pursuit of ‘nation-building’, respect for the right to cultural identity and the promotion of inter-ethnic equity would make political mobilisation along ethnic lines less attractive. (shrink)