Reigning theories of urban power suggest that in a world dominated by footloose transnational capital, cities have little capacity to effect social change. In City Power, Richard Schragger challenges this conventional wisdom, arguing that cities can and should pursue aims other than making themselves attractive to global capital. Using the municipal living wage movement as an example, Schragger explains why cities are well-positioned to address issues like income equality and how our institutions can be designed to allow them to do so.
Equally at home as a companion to an introductory text or as a stand-alone resource, Virginia Government offers an excellent introduction to the political institutions, actors, and policy processes of the Old Dominion State. Paying special attention to the governing arrangements that make Virginia unique, from statewide city-county separation to a single-term governor to shifting electoral alignments, Peaslee and Swartz strike the perfect balance, combining necessary background and historical analysis with current events and policy issues to make the information relevant and engaging for today’s students. Grounded in the comparative method, the text provides useful comparisons with governing institutions, political processes, and public polices in other states and localities.
Recent hurricanes and other natural disasters demonstrate serious gaps in the legal system and its ability to respond to events of such magnitude. "Disasters and the Law: Katrina and Beyond" studies disaster response, prevention, and mitigation strategies by integrating knowledge and experience from urban planning, bankruptcy law, and wetlands law.
This is a highly regarded account of the formation of the 173 present-day and extinct counties of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Commencing with the incorporation in 1617 of the first four parishes of the Virginia Colony, James City, Charles City, Henrico and Elizabeth City, and concluding with the formation of Dickenson County in 1880 from portions of Russell, Wise and Buchanan counties, this marvelously compact book accounts for the beginnings and alterations of each and every county in Virginia, as well as those Virginia counties now found in the states of West Virginia and Kentucky. Mrs. Hiden, whose engaging narrative of Virginia boundary changes commands the reader's attention throughout, describes the historical factors leading to the formation of new counties, such as the spread of population, military and other territorial expansion, and the role of politics and the law; explains how the counties were named (as in the case of Princess Anne, which was named for the second daughter of King James II); and outlines the new boundary lines themselves. For the convenience of the researcher, at the back of the volume are a series of charts showing the progression of county formation, an alphabetical list of Virginia counties keyed to the charts, a subject index, and a map of Colonial Virginia.
Scenic, busy, friendly--Clifton Forge has greeted visitors with this motto for over 60 years. It was originally named Williamson after the founding family who settled here as pioneers in the early 1800s. For a time, it was the center of the iron ore industry in Virginia. By 1857, the railroad had found its way here, and when the village became a town in 1884, it adopted the name Clifton Forge from a nearby iron furnace. It was a strategic location on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, which developed a large railroad yard and locomotive and repair shops. It was a classic railroad boomtown and was a thriving community until the shops closed in the late 1980s. Today, Clifton Forge remains a strong community of proud citizens and is undergoing renewal and revitalization that focuses on its rich natural beauty and railroad and architectural heritage.
