By empirically assessing the competitiveness of 505 cities around the world from regional, national and other perspectives, this book not only ranks these cities but also presents a treasure trove of information with regard to each city’s relative strengths and weaknesses. This unique resource draws on a wealth of data sources, all of which are described and assessed, and involve urban economics, geography, regional economics and many other fields. Using a concise indexing system, sophisticated methodology, and extensive figures and tables, it provides a comprehensive analysis of global urban competitiveness in 2015. Given the scope of its coverage, the book will be of great interest to readers such as local authorities, decision-makers and economic planners in cities throughout the world.

This book examines examples of contemporary situation of historic regions in the Middle East and its broader geographic context connected to the historic trade routes, offering cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral perspectives. The region is home to ancient settlements and early human endeavors to form cities, and across the region historic urban historic features, such as ancient city centers, still exist alongside contemporary ones. Many of those historic regions are along the Silk Roads. However, the urban continuity that once existed over generations in the physical and social paradigm have been interrupted by rapid urbanization, globalization and urban economic pressures, in addition to conflicts and frequent destructive natural hazards. It is often the case that dealing with such pressing issues in a historic city is more complex than dealing with those in newly built cities and urban areas. Based on carefully selected and updated papers from the Silk Cities 2017 International Conference, this book appeals to researches, practitioners and policy makers.

This book discusses how cities’ identities are formed and developed over time and portrays architecture and the arts as the embodiment of the historical, cultural, and economic characteristics of cities. Furthermore, it explores strategies and solutions to preserve the cultural heritage along the Silk Road, representing a compilation of research addressing the economic and social opportunities and challenges related to the development of a more sustainable and responsible approach to tourism development and the preservation of heritage. As such, it covers a wide range of audiences including economists, architects, planners, tourism experts, and decision-makers interested in making use of cities' available resources and features, offering strategies to explore development opportunities through sustainable and responsible tourism along the Silk Road. This book is a culmination of selected research papers from the first version of the International Conference on "Silk Road Sustainable Tourism Development and Cultural Heritage (SRSTDCH)" which was held in 2021 in collaboration with Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the European Interdisciplinary Silk Road Tourism Centre, Greece and the 5th Edition of the International Conference on “Cities’ Identity Through Architecture and Arts (CITAA)” which was held in 2021 in collaboration with University of Pisa, Italy.

The Silk Road was the most traveled trade route for over 1,000 years until it was eclipsed by maritime trade. Whitfield presents composite stories of merchants, soldiers, artists, and princesses who traveled the route, and presents its history through their personal experiences.

The ancient trade routes that made up the Silk Road were some of the great conduits of cultural and material exchange in world history. In this intriguing book, Xinru Liu reveals both why and how this long-distance trade in luxury goods emerged in the late third century BCE, following its story through to the Mongol conquest. Liu starts with China's desperate need for what the Chinese called "the heavenly horses" of Central Asia, and describes how the traders who brought these horses also brought other exotic products, some all the way from the Mediterranean. Likewise, the Roman Empire, as a result of its imperial ambition as well as the desire of its citizens for Chinese silk, responded with easterly explorations for trade. The book shows how the middle men, the Kushan Empire, spread Buddhism to China. Missionaries and pilgrims facilitated cave temples along the mountainous routes and monasteries in various oases and urban centers, forming the backbone of the Silk Road. The author also explains how Islamic and Mongol conquerors in turn controlled the various routes until the rise of sea travel diminished their importance.

The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction is a new look at an ancient subject: the silk road that linked China, India, Persia and the Mediterranean across the expanses of Central Asia. James A. Millward highlights unusual but important biological, technological and cultural exchanges over the silk roads that stimulated development across Eurasia and underpin civilization in our modern, globalized world.