This comprehensive volume contributes to the existing and emerging body of literature on contemporary urbanization and the interactions between cities and the environment. The volume is contextualized against latest theories, debates and discussions on 'sustainable urbanization', the post‐2015 development agenda of the United Nations and India's official launching of the 'smart city' agenda. Reflecting on three major components of urban sustainability: investments and infrastructures, waste management, and urban ecologies and environmentalisms, it moves beyond the bi‐centric approach of only looking into the differences between the ‘developed’ and the ‘developing’ world and reflects on cities across India using polycentric methods and approaches. The Indian urban scenario is extremely complex and diverse, and solutions laid out in official and non‐official documents tend to miss these complexities. This volume includes innovative research across different parts of India, identifying city‐specific sources of unsustainability and challenges along with strategies and potentials that would make the process of urban transition both sustainable and equitable. Complex explorations of non‐linear, bottom‐up, multisectoral process‐based local urban contexts across north, south, east and west Indian cities in this volume critique a general acceptance of the universalized concept of ‘sustainable urbanization’ and suggest ways that might be important for transcending inclusive theories to form practical policy-based recommendations and actions.

In economic development, theory and practice exist as two seemingly separate realities. Academics strive to develop or refine theory by drawing on abstract concepts about the way people behave and institutions work, while practitioners draw from a stock of experiences. By bringing together leading theorists and practitioners such as Blakely, Blair, McCann, Luger, Gunder, Stough and Stimson, this book provides the first comprehensive overview of local economic development theories for over fifteen years. It explores the theory behind the key concepts that every economic practitioner must understand and in doing so, ties together the various theories from across the disciplines to practice.

The peer reviewed papers in this new volume of the European Academy of Land Use and Development (EALD) inform about investigations on the common subject «land management» – due to the interdisciplinary nature of the EALD from very different views. The spectrum of contributions covers regulations, governance and the implementation of land management as well as the assessment of relevant data supporting these tasks. Various approaches, methods, systems and understanding of the government’s role in the different countries of Europe are highlighted. Committed to sustainability, the articles give evidence that Europe provides an experimental field for land management issues, and they enable to increase knowledge of new practices, to verify them and to learn from each other.

Drawing on research from diverse thinkers in urban planning and the built environment, this Handbook articulates the cutting edge of contemporary understandings about power and its impact on planning. It identifies the current state of knowledge about planning and power, as well as emerging trajectories within this field of research.

This book discusses the future of rural development and the recognition of the growing importance of 'place-based economies' where the unique attributes and assets of individual places determine their attractiveness for particular types of activities and investments. New understandings of competitiveness and conceptualizations of a new economy underline the importance of making strategic investments in community infrastructure. Doing things, at the local and regional scales, matters and not doing things has consequences. Topics include seasonal economies, amenity migration, IT industries, green energy and transportation developments.