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Author: Robin Visser Publisher: Duke University Press ISBN: 0822392771 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 375
Book Description
Denounced as parasitical under Chairman Mao and devalued by the norms of traditional Chinese ethics, the city now functions as a site of individual and collective identity in China. Cities envelop the countryside, not only geographically and demographically but also in terms of cultural impact. Robin Visser illuminates the cultural dynamics of three decades of radical urban development in China. Interpreting fiction, cinema, visual art, architecture, and urban design, she analyzes how the aesthetics of the urban environment have shaped the emotions and behavior of people and cultures, and how individual and collective images of and practices in the city have produced urban aesthetics. By relating the built environment to culture, Visser situates postsocialist Chinese urban aesthetics within local and global economic and intellectual trends. In the 1980s, writers, filmmakers, and artists began to probe the contradictions in China’s urbanization policies and rhetoric. Powerful neorealist fiction, cinema, documentaries, paintings, photographs, performances, and installations contrasted forms of glittering urban renewal with the government’s inattention to a livable urban infrastructure. Narratives and images depicting the melancholy urban subject came to illustrate ethical quandaries raised by urban life. Visser relates her analysis of this art to major transformations in urban planning under global neoliberalism, to the development of cultural studies in the Chinese academy, and to ways that specific cities, particularly Beijing and Shanghai, figure in the cultural imagination. Despite the environmental and cultural destruction caused by China’s neoliberal policies, Visser argues for the emergence of a new urban self-awareness, one that offers creative resolutions for the dilemmas of urbanism through new forms of intellectual engagement in society and nascent forms of civic governance.
Author: Robin Visser Publisher: Duke University Press ISBN: 0822392771 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 375
Book Description
Denounced as parasitical under Chairman Mao and devalued by the norms of traditional Chinese ethics, the city now functions as a site of individual and collective identity in China. Cities envelop the countryside, not only geographically and demographically but also in terms of cultural impact. Robin Visser illuminates the cultural dynamics of three decades of radical urban development in China. Interpreting fiction, cinema, visual art, architecture, and urban design, she analyzes how the aesthetics of the urban environment have shaped the emotions and behavior of people and cultures, and how individual and collective images of and practices in the city have produced urban aesthetics. By relating the built environment to culture, Visser situates postsocialist Chinese urban aesthetics within local and global economic and intellectual trends. In the 1980s, writers, filmmakers, and artists began to probe the contradictions in China’s urbanization policies and rhetoric. Powerful neorealist fiction, cinema, documentaries, paintings, photographs, performances, and installations contrasted forms of glittering urban renewal with the government’s inattention to a livable urban infrastructure. Narratives and images depicting the melancholy urban subject came to illustrate ethical quandaries raised by urban life. Visser relates her analysis of this art to major transformations in urban planning under global neoliberalism, to the development of cultural studies in the Chinese academy, and to ways that specific cities, particularly Beijing and Shanghai, figure in the cultural imagination. Despite the environmental and cultural destruction caused by China’s neoliberal policies, Visser argues for the emergence of a new urban self-awareness, one that offers creative resolutions for the dilemmas of urbanism through new forms of intellectual engagement in society and nascent forms of civic governance.
Author: Yu Zhang Publisher: University of Michigan Press ISBN: 0472054430 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 307
Book Description
Since the beginning of the twentieth century, modern Chinese intellectuals, reformers, revolutionaries, leftist journalists, and idealistic youth had often crossed the increasing gap between the city and the countryside, which made the act of “going to the countryside” a distinctively modern experience and a continuous practice in China. Such a spatial crossing eventually culminated in the socialist state program of “down to the villages” movements during the 1960s and 1970s. What, then, was the special significance of “going to the countryside” before that era? Going to the Countryside deals with the cultural representations and practices of this practice between 1915 and 1965, focusing on individual homecoming, rural reconstruction, revolutionary journeys to Yan’an, the revolutionary “going down to the people” as well as going to the frontiers and rural hometowns for socialist construction. As part of the larger discourses of enlightenment, revolution, and socialist industrialization, “going to the countryside” entailed new ways of looking at the world and ordinary people, brought about new experiences of space and time, initiated new means of human communication and interaction, generated new forms of cultural production, revealed a fundamental epistemic shift in modern China, and ultimately created a new aesthetic, social, and political landscape. As a critical response to the “urban turn” in the past few decades, this book brings the rural back to the central concern of Chinese cultural studies and aims to bridge the city and the countryside as two types of important geographical entities, which have often remained as disparate scholarly subjects of inquiry in the current state of China studies. Chinese modernity has been characterized by a dual process that created problems from the vast gap between the city and the countryside but simultaneously initiated constant efforts to cope with the gap personally, collectively, and institutionally. The process of “crossing” two distinct geographical spaces was often presented as continuous explorations of various ways of establishing the connectivity, interaction, and relationship of these two imagined geographical entities. Going to the Countryside argues that this new body of cultural productions did not merely turn the rural into a constantly changing representational space; most importantly, the rural has been constructed as a distinct modern experiential and aesthetic realm characterized by revolutionary changes in human conceptions and sentiments.
Author: Jing Luo Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA ISBN: 144085386X Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 659
Book Description
This two-volume set offers a comprehensive overview of major challenges faced by cities worldwide in the 21st century, and how cities in different geographic, economic, and political conditions are finding solutions to them. This two-volume encyclopedia examines ten critical issues that face cities across the globe today—environmental and societal struggles that affect the daily lives of city dwellers. Readers will gain a better understanding of our global neighbors and will be able to use this book in order to compare and contrast different approaches to critical issues in our world. Volume One examines employment and jobs; energy and sustainability; green spaces; housing and infrastructure; and migration and demographic changes. Volume Two discusses pollution; schools; traffic and transportation; violence, corruption, and organized crime; and waste management. Each issue begins with an introduction providing an overview of the issue from a global perspective. Following the introduction are ten alphabetically arranged world city profiles of cities that are struggling with the issue and cities that have found innovative solutions to deal with the crisis. The profiles explain how the problem came to be; consequences inhabitants face, such as compromised health, limited access to education, and high taxes with low wages; and failed and successful initiatives taken by city management.
Author: Roman Adrian Cybriwsky Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA ISBN: Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 758
Book Description
This informative resource is a fascinating compilation of the history, politics, and culture of every capital city from around the world, making this the only singular reference on the subject of its kind. Every country, even the world's youngest nations, has a capital city—a centralized location which houses the seat of government and acts as the hub of culture and history. But, what role do capital cities play in the global arena? Which factors have influenced the selection of a municipal center for each nation? This interesting encyclopedia explores the topic in great depth, providing an overview of each country's capital—its history and early inhabitants, ascension to prominence, infrastructure within the government, and influence on the world around them. The author considers the culture and society of the area, discussing the ethnic and religious groups among those who live there, the major issues the residents face, and other interesting cultural facts. Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture features the capital cities of 200 countries across the globe. Organized in alphabetical order by country, each profile combines social studies, geography, anthropology, world history, and political science to offer a fascinating survey of each location.
Author: Roger Barry Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1134486545 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 462
Book Description
Atmosphere, Weather and Climate presents a comprehensive introduction to weather processes and climatic conditions around the world, their observed changes and projected future trends. This updated and expanded eighth edition of Atmosphere, Weather and Climate will prove invaluable to those studying the earth's atmosphere and world climate, whether from environmental and earth sciences, geography, ecology, agriculture, hydrology or related disciplinary perspectives.
Author: Yomi Braester Publisher: Duke University Press ISBN: 0822392755 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 422
Book Description
Painting the City Red illuminates the dynamic relationship between the visual media, particularly film and theater, and the planning and development of cities in China and Taiwan, from the emergence of the People’s Republic in 1949 to the staging of the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Yomi Braester argues that the transformation of Chinese cities in recent decades is a result not only of China’s abandonment of Maoist economic planning in favor of capitalist globalization but also of a shift in visual practices. Rather than simply reflect urban culture, movies and stage dramas have facilitated the development of new perceptions of space and time, representing the future city variously as an ideal socialist city, a metropolis integrated into the global economy, and a site for preserving cultural heritage. Drawing on extensive archival research, interviews with leading filmmakers and urban planners, and close readings of scripts and images, Braester describes how films and stage plays have promoted and opposed official urban plans and policies as they have addressed issues such as demolition-and-relocation plans, the preservation of vernacular architecture, and the global real estate market. He shows how the cinematic rewriting of historical narratives has accompanied the spatial reorganization of specific urban sites, including Nanjing Road in Shanghai; veterans’ villages in Taipei; and Tiananmen Square, centuries-old courtyards, and postmodern architectural landmarks in Beijing. In Painting the City Red, Braester reveals the role that film and theater have played in mediating state power, cultural norms, and the struggle for civil society in Chinese cities.
Author: Mark Hutter Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 0429561180 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 840
Book Description
The fourth edition of Mark Hutter’s Experiencing Cities examines cities and larger metropolitan areas within a truly global framework, lending readers much to understand and appreciate about the variety of urban structures and processes and their effect on the everyday lives of people residing in cities. Beginning with the emergence of the first urban centers and continuing to examine the present day and the future of smart cities, this book explores the changing cultural and domestic character of the metropolis and offers readers a complete historical and theoretical overview of municipal life. The new edition seamlessly integrates issues of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and class in its examination of city and suburban life, and further extends the Chicago School of Sociology perspective by combining its traditions with a distinct social psychological orientation derived from symbolic interaction and macro-level examination of social organization, social change, and power in the urban context. With this strong and sweeping interdisciplinary approach, the new edition of Experiencing Cities will continue to enrich students’ understandings of urban life and offer new, forward-looking perspective to those working in the fields of urban sociology, history, politics, geography, and the arts.
Author: Holly Barcus Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1000547035 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 277
Book Description
This book focuses on the transformation of rural places, peoples, and land endemic to the contemporary manifestations of globalization. Migration, global economic restructuring, and climate change are rapidly transforming rural places across the globe. Yet, global attention characteristically focuses on urban social and economic issues, neglecting the continued roles of rural people and places. Organized around the three core themes of demographic change, rural-urban partnerships and innovations, and landscape change, the case studies included in this volume represent both the Global North and Global South and underscore the complexity and multi-scalar nature of these contemporary challenges in rural development, planning, and sustainability. This book would be valuable supplementary reading for both students and professionals in the fields of rural land management and rural planning.
Author: Stanley D. Brunn Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield ISBN: 1538126354 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 609
Book Description
Remarkably, more than half of the world's population now lives in cities, and the numbers grow daily as people abandon rural areas. This fully updated and revised seventh edition of the classic text offers readers a comprehensive set of tools for understanding world regional geography, as seen through the urban landscape, and, by extension, the world's politics, cultures, and economies. Providing a sweeping overview of world urban geography, noted experts explore the major global regions. Each regional chapter considers urban history, economy, culture, and environment, as well as special problems and future prospects. A regional map that shows the major cities, a summary of basic statistical information about the cities and urbanization in each region, and a list of ten salient points about that region’s urban experience frame each region. Chapters conclude with a list of references, including films and webpages, which can be used by the student and instructor for additional information about specific cities. This edition adds the important new themes of climate change and migration, while continuing to focus specifically on sustainability, water, technology, social and environmental justice, security and conflict, the history of urban settlement, urban planning trends, and daily life. Vignettes of key cities give the reader a vivid understanding of daily life and the "spirit of place." The opening chapter presents an overview of key terms and concepts and explores contemporary world urbanization, and a concluding chapter projects the world's urban future. Generously illustrated in full color with a new selection of photographs, maps, and diagrams, the text also includes a rich array of textboxes to highlight key topics ranging from migration and immigration to LBGTQ activism, human security, and climate change. Clearly written and timely, Cities of the World will be invaluable for those teaching introductory or advanced classes on global cities, regional geography, the developing world, and global urban studies.
Author: Harry den Hartog Publisher: 010 Publishers ISBN: 906450735X Category : Architecture Languages : en Pages : 420
Book Description
Each year, more than 15 million Chinese leave the rural areas of China and move to the cities. This figure exceeds 300,000 in the case of Shanghai. By the time 2010 cedes to 2011, the majority of China's population will be living in the cities. "Shanghai new towns. Searching for community and identity in a sprawling metropolis" documents and analyses the meteoric rate of urbanization of the countryside round Shanghai, most particularly the part played there by new towns and new villages. This decentralized planning model takes its cue from classic Western examples. A few pilot new towns have been developed on paper withhelp from Western designers and then adapted to suit Chinese standards. This book shows how the plans have been put into practice. Photos, essays by Chinese and Western critics and descriptions of projects illustrate what daily life looks like and how these new cities function within the Yangtze River Delta Metropolitan Area as a whole. It dwells at length on the international exchange of knowledge and the differences in method.
Author: Robin Visser
Author: Robin Visser
Author: Yu Zhang![Cities around the World [2 volumes] PDF](https://books.google.com/books/content/images/frontcover/ORjOEAAAQBAJ?fife=w80-h100)
Author: Jing Luo
Author: Roman Adrian Cybriwsky
Author: Roger Barry
Author: Yomi Braester
Author: Mark Hutter
Author: Holly Barcus
Author: Stanley D. Brunn
Author: Harry den Hartog