Desert Cities
Desert Cities

Author: Michael F. Logan

Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Pre

Published: 2012-01-12

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 0822971100

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Phoenix is known as the "Valley of the Sun," while Tucson is referred to as "The Old Pueblo." These nicknames epitomize the difference in the public's perception of each city. Phoenix continues to sprawl as one of America's largest and fastest-growing cities. Tucson has witnessed a slower rate of growth, and has only one quarter of Phoenix's population. This was not always the case. Prior to 1920, Tucson had a larger population. How did two cities, with such close physical proximity and similar natural environments develop so differently?Desert Cities examines the environmental circumstances that led to the starkly divergent growth of these two cities. Michael Logan traces this significant imbalance to two main factors: water resources and cultural differences. Both cities began as agricultural communities. Phoenix had the advantage of a larger water supply, the Salt River, which has four and one half times the volume of Tucson's Santa Cruz River. Because Phoenix had a larger river, it received federal assistance in the early twentieth century for the Salt River project, which provided water storage facilities. Tucson received no federal aid. Moreover, a significant cultural difference existed. Tucson, though it became a U.S. possession in 1853, always had a sizable Hispanic population. Phoenix was settled in the 1870s by Anglo pioneers who brought their visions of landscape development and commerce with them.By examining the factors of watershed, culture, ethnicity, terrain, political favoritism, economic development, and history, Desert Cities offers a comprehensive evaluation that illuminates the causes of growth disparity in two major southwestern cities and provides a model for the study of bi-city resource competition.

Nomads of a Desert City
Nomads of a Desert City

Author:

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2001-08

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 9780816520770

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You see them as faceless shapes on the median or in city parks. You recognize them by their cardboard signs, their bags of aluminum cans, or their weathered skin. But you do not know them. In Nomads of a Desert City Barbara Seyda meets the gazes of our homeless neighbors and, with an open heart and the eye of an accomplished photographer, uncovers their compelling stories of life on the edge. Byrdy is a teenager from Alaska who left a violent husband and misses the young daughter her mother now cares for. Her eyes show a wisdom that belies her youth. Samuel is 95 and collects cans for cash. His face shows a lifetime of living outside while his eyes hint at the countless stories he could tell. Lamanda worked as an accountant before an act of desperation landed her in prison. Now she struggles to raise the seven children of a woman she met there. DorothyÑwhose earliest memories are of physical and sexual abuseÑlives in a shelter, paycheck to paycheck, reciting affirmations so she may continue Òto grace the world with my presence.Ó They live on the streets or in shelters. They are women and men, young and old, Native or Anglo or Black or Hispanic. Their faces reflect the forces that have shaped their lives: alcoholism, poverty, racism, mental illness, and abuse. But like desert survivors, they draw strength from some hidden reservoir. Few recent studies on homelessness offer such a revealing collection of oral history narratives and compelling portraits. Thirteen homeless women and men open a rare window to enrich our understanding of the complex personal struggles and triumphs of their lives. Nomads of a Desert City sheds a glaring light on the shadow side of the American DreamÑand takes us to the crossroads of despair and hope where the human spirit survives.

Cairo Desert Cities
Cairo Desert Cities

Author: Marc M. Angelil

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 9783944074238

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Since the 1950s, Egypt has developed a dozen new towns in the desert outside of Cairo. Intended to alleviate a growing demand for housing in the capital, most have never been completed. Edited by Marc Angélil and Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, this book presents the first systematic exploration of these cities, analysing their architecture and urban form, along with their possibilities and shortcomings. Describing their condition as 'permanently emerging', the study identifies the towns' potential through a series of design scenarios which underscore the value of re-engaging with modernist town planning, in hopes that examining past failures uncovers future opportunities.

Riyadh
Riyadh

Author: Yasser Elsheshtawy

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-09-27

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 1000460649

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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.

A Diamond in the Desert
A Diamond in the Desert

Author: Jo Tatchell

Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

Published: 2010-10-05

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 0802196179

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Get a closer look at this glittering, oil-rich city in a “revealing travelogue through the capital of the United Arab Emirates” (Publishers Weekly). Jo Tatchell first arrived in the city of Abu Dhabi as a child in 1974, when the discovery of oil was quickly turning a small fishing town into a growing international community. Decades later, this Middle Eastern capital is a dizzying metropolis of ten-lane highways and overlapping languages, and its riches and emphasis on cultural development have thrust it into the international spotlight. Here, Tatchell returns to Abu Dhabi and explores the city and its contradictions: It is a tolerant melting-pot of cultures and faiths, but only a tiny percentage of its native residents are deemed eligible to vote by the ruling class, and the nation’s president holds absolute veto power over his advisory boards and councils. The Emirates boast one of the world’s highest GDP per capita, but the wealth inequality in its cities is staggering. Abu Dhabi’s royal family, worth an estimated $500 billion, lives off the sweat of the city’s migrant workers, who subject themselves to danger and poverty under barely observed labor laws. But now, the city is making an international splash with a showy investment in tourism, arts, and culture—perhaps signaling a change to a more open, tolerant state. As this sparkling city surges into the future, it devotes just as much energy to concealing its past. Tatchell looks not only at history and social issues—the ancient system of tribal organization, the condition of the city’s million foreign workers, the emergence of women in Emirati society, but also her own experiences as both a child and adult in this fascinating city that has radically changed—and in other ways, stayed the same.

Desert Springs in the City
Desert Springs in the City

Author: Leopold Glueckert

Publisher:

Published: 2012-11

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 9781936742059

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The history of the Carmelite Order of the Catholic Church, founded in the 13th century, and now located on five continents. The author, a long time history teacher, uses the storytelling style of writing to bring the reader from the Order's humble beginnings on Mount Carmel in Palestine during the Crusades to today. Originally hermits, the members became part of the mendicant movement, spreading rapidly throughout Europe, preaching the Word of God, teaching in the major European universities, and, most of all, working with the ordinary people of the day. The centuries brought many challenges and new opportunities to the members of the Order in their search to serve God, the Church, and others seeking a deeper relationship with God. Today there are approximately 40,000 men and women around the world affiliated to the Order.

Other Desert Cities
Other Desert Cities

Author: Jon Robin Baitz

Publisher: Dramatists Play Service Inc

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 68

ISBN-13: 9780822226055

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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