In the United States, places of drink are historically linked to community and social interactions, and such establishments often possess loyal patrons for whom going to the local bar is a natural and routine part of their daily life. In People, Place, and Attachment in Local Bars, John McEwen places drinking establishments at the fore of American geography as containers of material culture and collective history. McEwen draws on ethnographic data collected in four local bars in West Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to present a new unified theory of people-place relationships. McEwen highlights sense of place, place attachment, and the concept of rootedness.

Some of our time is spent eating and drinking and some is spent on matters regarding reproduction. Some of us seek fame or recognition while others seek satisfaction internally, with little need for recognition. Some people study for success in a profession, while others might study rocks, birds, or French literature for no apparent reason other than to know about it. Why are we motivated to engage in so many apparently unrelated activities? This book places our various activities into categories, thus providing a framework for understanding how everything that we do fits together and is based on brain mechanisms. Disturbances in motivation play important roles in autism, depression, Parkinson's disease, and addiction. Understanding the motivational aspects of these disorders can help to inform our approach to these conditions. This book may be of value for students in psychology, counseling, management, and anyone who is interested in understanding our daily behavior.

This book offers a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to place attachment from a European perspective. Starting from a dynamic, relational, and participatory concept of place attachment, the book discusses place making and place attachment processes through place-based development and community place-driven actions. It also presents examples of creating place attachment through nature- and culture-based contexts and focuses on how sustainable planning and territorial identities enhance place attachment. Finally, this book presents and discusses (re)constructing place attachment within transition processes and through strategic solutions for urban recovery and regeneration of (post)-industrial areas. By considering the social, environmental, economic, and political effects of building, strengthening and maintaining place attachment, this book is a valuable read for all those working with and interested in learning more about place attachment: geographers, landscape planners, sociologists, psychologists, environmental and political scientists, and members of community movements.

In order to attract investment and tourism, cities are increasingly competing to re-brand themselves as cosmopolitan, and in recent years, cosmopolitanism has become the focus of considerable critical attention in academia. Here, renowned editors and contributors have come together to produce one of the first books to tackle cosmopolitanism from a geographical perspective. Central to the cosmopolitan process is how traditionally marginalized groups have become re-valued and reconstructed as a resource in the eyes of planners and politicians. This fascinating book examines the politics of these transformations by understanding the everyday practices of cosmopolitanism. Which forms of cultural difference are valued and which are excluded from this re-visioning of the contemporary city? Organized in three distinct parts, the book covers: production and consumption, and cosmopolitanism the spatialities of cosmopolitanism the deployment, mobilization and articulation of cosmopolitan discourses in policy-making and urban design. The volume is groundbreaking in examining the complex politics of cosmopolitanism in empirical case studies from Montreal to Singapore, London to Texas, Auckland to Amsterdam. With a strong editorial steer, including general and section introductions and a conclusion to guide the student reader, Cosmopolitan Urbanism employs a range of theoretical and empirical approaches to provide a grounded treatment essential for students of human geography, urban studies and sociology.

Long-haul trucking is linked to almost every industry in America, yet somehow the working-class drivers behind big rigs remain largely hidden from public view. Gritty, inspiring, and often devastating oral histories of gay, transsexual, and minority truck drivers allow award-winning author Anne Balay to shed new light on the harsh realities of truckers' lives behind the wheel. A licensed commercial truck driver herself, Balay discovers that, for people routinely subjected to prejudice, hatred, and violence in their hometowns and in the job market, trucking can provide an opportunity for safety, welcome isolation, and a chance to be themselves--even as the low-wage work is fraught with tightening regulations, constant surveillance, danger, and exploitation. The narratives of minority and queer truckers underscore the working-class struggle to earn a living while preserving one's safety, dignity, and selfhood. Through the voices of drivers from marginalized communities who spend eleven- to fourteen-hour days hauling America's commodities in treacherous weather and across mountain passes, Semi Queer reveals the stark differences between the trucking industry's crushing labor practices and the perseverance of its most at-risk workers.