First published in 1990, this title presents the personal reflections of renowned community architect Rod Hackney, who served for many years as President of both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the International Union of Architects. Educated in the Modernist tradition of architecture in Britain and Denmark, Hackney’s return to England in the 1970s changed his outlook completely. Cities like Birmingham and Sheffield had been ruined by ill-conceived planning; whole communities had been torn apart by massive destruction of Victorian terraces, and relocated to grim tower block estates. To those communities that he has rescued from the threat of redevelopment, Rod Hackney is a local hero. Determined to save Britain’s inner cities, he has been a major influence on Prince Charles and a powerful spokesman for the silent majority of the urban poor, who often have no say as to where and how they live.

The Affective Agency of Public Space explores the pivotal role that public spaces play in fostering social inclusion and community cohesion within various settings, including Europe and the United States. This scholarly work underscores the critical importance of developing inclusive public zones that enhance urban life and promote integration and interaction among diverse community groups. It also confronts and debunks common myths about ‘different people,’ actively addressing misconceptions while promoting the recognition of diverse identities and voices. Through a comparative lens, the book presents insightful case studies that illustrate its core themes. Serving as a timely and important academic resource, this text is indispensable for urban planners, educators, architects, designers, and sociologists committed to progressive urban planning methodologies.

This book examines the reduction of natural resource revenue dependency in resource-rich countries. Such countries experience lower economic growth due to factors of high volatility in commodity prices, reduction in accountability, undermining of the competitiveness of other economic sectors, and weak power of institutions. The analysis is based on an identified gap in the literature regarding how private sector development and public sector development affect the degree of dependency on resource revenue in natural resource-rich countries. This book studies the interaction between private and public sector development with dependency on natural resources, specifically exploring whether the two diversified factors lead to a decrease in the degree of dependency, which is important for economic growth and to overcome the "resource curse". Economic diversification is viewed as a long-term solution to the high economic dependency from natural resources. Private sector development and public sector reforms may lead to this diversification. The analysis of the book helps to shed light on private sector development, public services sector privatization, and a taxation system to diversify sources of income, with the objective to reduce dependency on natural resources extraction. This book is an invaluable read for public policymakers, the public and private sectors, law makers, and scholars of developmental studies.

This open access book offers a unique and refreshing view on working with social theory in higher education. Using engaging first-person accounts coupled with critical intellectual analysis, the authors demonstrate how theory is grappled with as part of an ongoing practice rather than a momentary disembodied encounter. In a structure that creates a space for relational dialogue, each chapter is followed by a response from another author, demonstrating the varied interpretive possibilities of social theory. Collectively the authors invite the reader to engage with them in questioning the usefulness of social theory in higher education teaching and research, in considering its possibilities and limits, and in experiencing the opportunity it offers to understand ourselves and our work differently. Written in a way that is scholarly yet accessible, the contributors explore how social theories can be used to think through issues that are emerging as key social and political concerns in higher education and beyond. The book will be of interest to advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and early-career academics, as well as established scholars.

This book critically examines the CrossFit phenomenon and makes the argument that CrossFit uses the rhetoric and tactics found in modern forms of authoritarian populism to rally adherents around its brand. CrossFit is a private branded fitness organization whose unorthodox methods and adversarial leadership has challenged dominant ideas around health and fitness worldwide. In exploring CrossFit’s articulations with healthism and the obesity epidemic, the risk discourse of the prepper and survivalist movements, and the increasing valorization of the military and military personnel, Shaun E. Edmonds makes legible the ideological underpinnings of the CrossFit practice. After a deeper look at how CrossFit’s variation of authoritarian populism has been used to counter critics and mobilize the community, the book concludes by considering what might be next for CrossFit following former CEO and co-founder Greg Glassman’s controversial departure from the company.