"A compilation of policy-relevant research by a multidisciplinary group of scholars on the state of families in rural America in the twenty-first century. Examines the impact of economic restructuring on rural Americans and provides policy recommendations for addressing the challenges they face"--Provided by publisher.
Regional economic development has attracted the interest of economists, geographers, planners and regional scientists for a long time. And, of course, it is a field that has developed a large practitioner cohort in government and business agencies from the national down to the state and local levels. In planning for cities and regions, both large and small, economic development issues now tend to be integrated into strategic planning processes. For at least the last 50 years, scholars from various disciplines have theorised about the nature of regional economic development, developing a range of models seeking to explain the process of regional economic development, and why it is that regions vary so much in their economic structure and performance and how these aspects of a region can change dramatically over time. Regional scientists in particular have developed a comprehensive tool-kit of methodologies to measure and monitor regional economic characteristics such as industry sectors, employment, income, value of production, investment, and the like, using both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis, and focusing on both static and dynamic analysis. The 'father of regional science', Walter lsard, was the first to put together a comprehensive volume on techniques of regional analysis (Isard 1960), and since then a huge literature has emerged, including the many titles in the series published by Springer in which this book is published.
Local and regional development is an increasingly global issue. For localities and regions, the challenge of enhancing prosperity, improving wellbeing and increasing living standards has become acute for localities and regions formerly considered discrete parts of the ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ worlds. Amid concern over the definitions and sustainability of ‘development’, a spectre has emerged of deepened unevenness and sharpened inequalities in the development prospects for particular social groups and territories. Local and Regional Development engages and addresses the key questions: what are the principles and values that shape definitions and strategies of local and regional development? What are the conceptual and theoretical frameworks capable of understanding and interpreting local and regional development? What are the main policy interventions and instruments? How do localities and regions attempt to effect development in practice? What kinds of local and regional development should we be pursuing? This book addresses the fundamental issues of ‘what kind of local and regional development and for whom?’, frameworks of understanding, and instruments and policies. It outlines what a holistic, progressive and sustainable local and regional development might constitute before reflecting on its limits and political renewal. With the growing international importance of local and regional development, this book is an essential student purchase, illustrated throughout with maps, figures and case studies from Asia, Europe, and Central and North America.
In Uneven Development, a classic in its field, Neil Smith offers the first full theory of uneven geographical development, entwining theories of space and nature with a critique of capitalism. Featuring groundbreaking analyses of the production of nature and the politics of scale, Smith's work anticipated many of the uneven contours that now mark neoliberal globalization. This third edition features an afterword examining the impact of Neil's argument in a contemporary context.
Since the explosion of multimedia, the creation and promotion of multimedia clusters has become a target for regional development strategies across the globe. This work offers the first inter-regional comparison of the multimedia industry. Analysing thirteen American, European and Asian regions, leading academics examine factors which drive the emergence of multimedia clusters and processes by which they are formed,
In the past three decades, China has successfully transformed itself from an extremely poor economy to the world’s second largest economy. The country’s phenomenal economic growth has been sustained primarily by its rapid and continuous industrialisation. Currently industry accounts for nearly two-fifth of China’s gross domestic product, and since 2009 China has been the world’s largest exporter of manufactured products. This book explores the question of how far this industrial growth has been the product of government policies. It discusses how government policies and their priorities have developed and evolved, examines how industrial policies are linked to policies in other areas, such as trade, technology and regional development, and assesses how new policy initiatives are encouraging China’s increasing success in new technology-intensive industries. It also demonstrates how China’s industrial policies are linked to development of industrial clusters and regions.
In the last few years research on regional development has increased dramatically. Real-world concerns have - to a certain extent - driven this scientific concern of interest. The field has been given a big boost in particular by the process of European integration and the attempt to understand how this deeper integration will work at the regional level. This volume makes a modest attempt to reconsider the issue of regional development mainly from an European perspective and in the light of the transition of society towards a knowledge-driven economy. It originated from the Thirteenth European Advanced Studies Institute in Regional Science, held in Istanbul, July 2-8, 2000. In producing the book, as friends and colleagues, we have benefited from the possibility of exchange of ideas and experience. We have also received useful assistance from the referees who have offered observations and advice in their written reports. The soundness of their comments has contributed immensely to the quality of the volume. We should, in addition, like to acknowledge the timely manner in which contributing authors have responded to our requests, and their willingness to follow the stringent editorial guidelines.
As global warming advances, regions around the world are engaging in revolutionary sustainability planning - but with social equity as an afterthought. California is at the cutting edge of this movement, not only because its regulations actively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also because its pioneering environmental regulation, market innovation, and Left Coast politics show how to blend the "three Es" of sustainability--environment, economy, and equity. Planning Sustainable Cities and Regions is the first book to explain what this grand experiment tells us about the most just path moving forward for cities and regions across the globe. The book offers chapters about neighbourhoods, the economy, and poverty, using stories from practice to help solve puzzles posed by academic research. Based on the most recent demographic and economic trends, it overturns conventional ideas about how to build more livable places and vibrant economies that offer opportunity to all. This thought-provoking book provides a framework to deal with the new inequities created by the movement for more livable - and expensive - cities, so that our best plans for sustainability are promoting more equitable development as well. This book will appeal to students of urban studies, urban planning and sustainability as well as policymakers, planning practitioners, and sustainability advocates around the world.
