Download or read book Riyadh written by Yasser Elsheshtawy and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-09-27 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Riyadh has set its sights on becoming a world city befitting the twenty-first century. To that end it has embarked on a massive construction drive evidenced in the proliferation of proposals for high-end districts, giga-developments and elaborate infrastructures. An urban vision seemingly dedicated to attracting global capital. Yet such a narrative can be misleading. A ‘humanization programme’, initiated during the tenure of its former mayor Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf, has complemented the city’s rapid rise by providing spaces catering for the everyday needs of its inhabitants. Yasser Elsheshtawy, in this richly illustrated book, targets these people-centred settings. It is a compelling counter-narrative interweaving critical theoretical insights, personal observations, and serendipitous encounters. He deftly demonstrates how Riyadh thrives through the actions of its people. As the world moves towards an urban model that is resilient and humane, the humanizing efforts of an Arab city are worthy of our attention. Riyadh’s premise is perhaps best captured in the cover image depicting the desert riverbed of Wadi Sulai, filled with rainwater, making its way towards the Saudi capital. Along its banks there will be dedicated public pathways and urban parks. It is a vision of an urbanity where both the spectacular and the everyday coexist. A city that is not just dedicated to the few, but one that serves the many.
Download or read book Other Desert Cities written by Jon Robin Baitz and published by Dramatists Play Service Inc. This book was released on 2012 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE STORY: Brooke Wyeth returns home to Palm Springs after a six-year absence to celebrate Christmas with her parents, her brother, and her aunt. Brooke announces that she is about to publish a memoir dredging up a pivotal and tragic event in the f
Download or read book LOST CITIES ANCIENT MYSTERIES OF THE SOUTHWEST written by David Hatcher Childress and published by SCB Distributors. This book was released on 2011-03-22 with total page 483 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Popular Lost Cities author David Hatcher Childress takes to the road again in search of lost cities and ancient mysteries. This time he is off to the American Southwest, traversing the region’s deserts, mountains and forests investigating archeological mysteries and the unexplained. Join David as he starts in northern Mexico and searches for the lost mines of the Aztecs. He continues north to west Texas, delving into the mysteries of Big Bend, including mysterious Phoenician tablets discovered there and the strange lights of Marfa. He continues northward into New Mexico where he stumbles upon a hollow mountain with a billion dollars of gold bars hidden deep inside it! In Arizona he investigates tales of Egyptian catacombs in the Grand Canyon, cruises along the Devil’s Highway, and tackles the century-old mystery of the Superstition Mountains and the Lost Dutchman mine. In Nevada and California Childress checks out the rumors of mummified giants and weird tunnels in Death Valley, plus he searches the Mohave Desert for the mysterious remains of ancient dwellers alongside lakes that supposedly dried up tens of thousands of years ago. It’s a full-tilt blast down the back roads of the Southwest in search of the weird and wondrous mysteries of the past!
Download or read book Cities of the World written by Stanley D. Brunn and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-03-03 with total page 609 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Atlas of the World s Deserts written by Nathaniel Harris and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-03-01 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Atlas of the World's Deserts examines the hostile and extreme environments that characterize deserts, and is divided into chapters that concentrate on specific aspects of a desert's geology, life forms, history, and future. For more information including sample pages, visit the Atlas of the World's Deserts web site. Also includes 160 color maps and photos.
Download or read book Temporary Cities written by Yasser Elsheshtawy and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-03-28 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are Arab Gulf cities, the likes of Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha, on their way to extinction? Is their fate obsolescence? Or, are they the model for our urban future? Can a city whose very existence is predicated on an imported labour force who build and operate these gleaming urban centres remain a viable urban entity? Could the transient nature of this urban model, its temporariness and precariousness, also be its doom? In this wide-ranging book Yasser Elsheshtawy takes on these tough, but necessary, questions aiming to examine the very nature of the Arab Gulf city and whether it can sustain its existence throughout the twenty-first century. Having lived in the region for more than two decades he researched its marginalized and forgotten urban settings, trying to understand how a temporary people can live in a place that inherently refuses to give them the possibility of becoming citizens. By being embedded in these spaces and reconciling their presence with his own personal encounters with transience, he discovered a resilience and defiance against the forces of the hegemonic city. Using subtle acts of resistance, these temporary inhabitants have found a way to sustain and create a home, to set down roots in the midst of a fast changing and transient urbanity. Their stories, recounted in this book through case studies and in-depth analysis, give hope to cities everywhere. Transience is not a fait accompli: rather the actions of citizens, residents and migrants – even in the highly restrictive spaces of the Gulf – show us that the future metropolis may very well not turn out to be a ‘utopia of the few and a dystopia of the many’. This could be an illusion, but it is a necessary illusion because the alternative is irrelevance.
Download or read book CRM written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 590 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Deserts and Polar Regions Around the World written by Jen Green and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2009-01-15 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Looks at the deserts and dry polar regions of the world, examining why they form and what life forms live in them.
Download or read book Desert in Modern Literature and Philosophy written by Aidan Tynan and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-18 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aidan explores the ways in which Nietzsche's warning that 'the desert grows' has been taken up by Heidegger, Derrida and Deleuze in their critiques of modernity, and the desert in literature ranging from T.S Eliot to Don DeLillo; from imperial travel writing to postmodernism; and from the Old Testament to salvagepunk.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Deserts written by Michael A. Mares and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2017-01-19 with total page 695 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Encyclopedia of Deserts represents a milestone: it is the first comprehensive reference to the first comprehensive reference to deserts and semideserts of the world. Approximately seven hundred entries treat subjects ranging from desert survival to the way deserts are formed. Topics include biology (birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, invertebrates, plants, bacteria, physiology, evolution), geography, climatology, geology, hydrology, anthropology, and history. The thirty-seven contributors, including volume editor Michael A. Mares, have had extensive careers in deserts research, encompassing all of the world’s arid and semiarid regions. The Encyclopedia opens with a subject list by topic, an organizational guide that helps the reader grasp interrelationships and complexities in desert systems. Each entry concludes with cross-references to other entries in the volume, inviting the reader to embark on a personal expedition into fascinating, previously unknown terrain. In addition a list of important readings facilitates in-depth study of each topic. An exhaustive index permits quick access to places, topics, and taxonomic listings of all plants and animals discussed. More than one hundred photographs, drawings, and maps enhance our appreciation of the remarkable life, landforms, history, and challenges of the world’s arid land.
Download or read book An Oasis City written by Roger S. Bagnall and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2016-02-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scattered through the vast expanse of stone and sand that makes up Egypt’s Western Desert are several oases. These islands of green in the midst of the Sahara owe their existence to springs and wells drawing on ancient aquifers. In antiquity, as today, they supported agricultural communities, going back to Neolithic times but expanding greatly in the millennium from the Saite pharaohs to the Roman emperors. New technologies of irrigation and transportation made the oases integral parts of an imperial economy. Amheida, ancient Trimithis, was one of those oasis communities. Located in the western part of the Dakhla Oasis, it was an important regional center, reaching a peak in the Roman period before being abandoned. Over the past decade, excavations at this well-preserved site have revealed its urban layout and brought to light houses, streets, a bath, a school, and a church. The only standing brick pyramid of the Roman period in Egypt has been restored. Wall-paintings, temple reliefs, pottery, and texts all contribute to give a lively sense of its political, religious, economic, and cultural life. This book presents these aspects of the city’s existence and its close ties to the Nile valley, by way of long desert roads, in an accessible and richly illustrated fashion.
Download or read book Maphead written by Ken Jennings and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-04-17 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the history of mapmaking while offering insight into the role of cartography in human civilization and sharing anecdotes about the cultural arenas frequented by map enthusiasts.
Download or read book The World Atlas of Deserts and Drylands written by David Thomas and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2024-11-12 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A richly illustrated atlas of the world’s deserts and drylands, their ecosystems, and their environments Deserts and drylands account for more than 40 percent of land on our planet. Characterized by a lack of water and extreme temperatures, they are the result of atmospheric stability, large landmass characteristics, rain shadows, and cold ocean currents. They appear harsh and hostile, but deserts and drylands are also exceptionally beautiful environments. Desert ecosystems often teem with diverse forms of life that exhibit astonishing ingenuity in the face of such forbidding conditions. The World Atlas of Deserts and Drylands takes readers on a guided tour of some of the most awe-inspiring desert environments on Earth, explaining their environmental and ecological dynamics and describing the techniques used to categorize and map them. From the ever-expanding Gobi of Mongolia and China to the ancient Namib of coastal Africa, this is the ultimate reference book for deserts. Features a wealth of color photos, maps, and infographics Describes the resilient and complex biodiversity of the world’s desert and dryland terrains Covers subtropical deserts, continental deserts, rain shadow deserts, and ocean margin deserts Addresses the challenges posed by global warming and human activity, and discusses solutions and opportunities Written by a team of leading experts
Download or read book Cities and Nature written by Lisa Benton-Short and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-05-29 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cities and Nature connects environmental processes with social and political actions. The book reconnects science and social science to demonstrate how the city is part of the environment and how it is subject to environmental constraints and opportunities. This second edition has been extensively revised and updated with in-depth examination of theory and critical themes. Greater discussion is given to urbanization trends and megacities; the post-industrial city and global economic changes; developing cities and slums; urban political ecology; the role of the city in climate change; and sustainability. The book explores the historical relationship between cities and nature, contemporary challenges to this relationship, and attempts taken to create more sustainable cities. The historical context situates urban development and its impact on the environment, and in turn the environmental impact on people in cities. This provides a foundation from which to understand contemporary issues, such as urban political ecology, hazards and disasters, water quality and supply, air pollution and climate change. The book then considers sustainability and how it has been informed by different theoretical approaches. Issues of environmental justice and the role of gender and race are explored. The final chapter examines the ways in which cities are practicing sustainability, from light "greening" efforts such as planting trees, to more comprehensive sustainability plans that integrate the multiple dimensions of sustainability. The text contains case studies from around the globe, with many drawn from cities in the developing world, as well as reviews of recent research, updated and expanded further reading to highlight relevant films, websites and journal articles. This book is an asset to students and researchers in geography, environmental studies, urban studies and planning and sustainability.
Download or read book Oasis written by iO Tillett Wright and published by Clarkson Potter. This book was released on 2020-11-10 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welcome to the desert. Welcome home. This visually stunning tour of the world’s most amazing desert homes will inspire you to create an oasis with “desert vibes” wherever you are. Creatives are drawn in by the extreme landscapes and limited resources of the desert; in fact, they’re inspired by them, and the homes they’ve built here prove the power of an oasis. From renovated Airstreams to sprawling, modern stucco, desert has become the new beachfront. In Oasis, artist iO Tillett Wright captures the best of this specific culture that emphasizes living simply, beautifully, and in connection with the earth. He highlights the homes that define this desert mindset, featuring the classics like Georgia O’Keefe’s in Abiquiu, New Mexico, alongside more modern homes such as Michael Barnard’s Solar House in Marfa, Texas. With Casey Dunn’s stunning photography, Oasis will transport you to these relaxing refuges, where you’ll learn what elements create the balance of intentionality, ease, style, and function that these homes exude.
Download or read book Compact City written by Thomas L. Saaty and published by RWS Publications. This book was released on with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We need to control nature by eliminating its capricious threats to our lives. We do it best by not only making our living, working , sports and other leisure structures more accessible in space, but also by minimizing and banishing congestions and the need for long times to commute to work or to access shopping malls, sports and cultural activities. With the threat of global warming and melting of the polar ice cap in the Antarctic, low lying cities throughout the world are threatened with drowning under more than 150 feet of water. What should we be thinking about insulating ourselves from natural threats like hurricanes and tsunamis and earthquakes? Surprisingly enough, the new design will eliminate one of the problems of poverty, the lack of shelter.
