The last two decades have been marked by intense and accelerated economic, political, and cultural processes that have affected urban spaces. These changes have occurred in different parts of cities (traditional centers, edges, peripheries) and at different levels of the urban system (large and medium-sized cities and in their respective areas of influence). Possibly the clearest expression of the spatial effects on cities can be perceived in their morphological transformations, their territorial dimensions, or in their social problems. Until 2008, urban–territorial processes were a reflection of the logic and inconsistencies of an expansive economic context and of a structural context that favored the development of cities through concurrent processes and actors. As a result, the built land and amount of urbanized and built surfaces increased, together with processes of the expansion and modernization of cities. Since 2008, the expansive economic cycle has ended, and there have been diverse negative consequences. Notably, the construction sector has come to an abrupt halt. Access to credit has also been reduced, and unemployment has increased. The economic recession has caused sociodemographic and socioeconomic issues exemplified by housing vulnerability, with dispossession, evictions, a shortage of social housing, and energy poverty.

An Open Access edition of this book is available on the Liverpool University Press website and the OAPEN library as part of the Opening the Future project with COPIM. The 2008 financial crisis prompted the most significant social protests since 1968 in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. These protests generated not only social reform but also collaborative and affective affiliations, often seen through artistic and cultural materials. Taking Spain as a focal point, this book examines film production at both points in time, showing how it emerges from simultaneously divergent and comparable economic and political milieux. The book aims to recognize and celebrate the political responsibility exercised and expressed by a new generation of Spaniards deeply immersed in those protests. Through the convergences of two markedly significant periods in two separate centuries, filmmakers expose the deficiencies of Spain’s democracy in 2008—the D€MOCRAZY in the title, a slogan seen on a banner carried by the protesters—while creating a new sensibility and forms of social life that bring back the notions of community and the common good that had been forgotten in the midst of such a brittle environment.

A public and highly popular literary form, English Renaissance drama affords a uniquely valuable index of the process of cultural transformation. The Expense of Spirit integrates feminist and historicist critical approaches to explore the dynamics of cultural conflict and change during a crucial period in the formation of modern sexual values. Comparing Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatic representations of love and sexuality with those in contemporary moral tracts and religious writings on women, love, and marriage, Mary Beth Rose argues that such literature not only interpreted sexual sensibilities but also contributed to creating and transforming them.

This handbook provides the latest research related to quality of life and sustainability, taking into account social, economic, environmental, and political/governance aspects as well as specific socio-spatial contexts. The volume includes contributions from established and upcoming scholars from various disciplines and geographical contexts (Global South and North). The varying cultural and socio-spatial contexts of the authors in the selected cases contribute to first-hand knowledge on the realities of sustainability issues affecting the quality of life. The authors apply a wide diversity of methods and tools, which facilitates a unique understanding of the interlinkages between quality of life and sustainability. The chapters are grouped in three main sections: concepts and foundations; tools, techniques, and applications; and innovations. The authors provide their own view and theoretical approximation of the dimensions of sustainability, in particular on how these dimensions play out in relation to quality of life. The combination of sustainability and quality of life concepts and perspectives is particularly important in unravelling the multi-faceted nature of human, urban, rural/spatial development.

At the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century, the Latino minority, the biggest and fastest growing in the United States, is at a crossroads. Is assimilation taking place in comparable ways to previous immigrant groups? Are the links to the countries of origin being redefined in the age of contested globalism? The Oxford Handbook of Latino Studies reflects on these questions, offering a sweeping exploration of Latinas and Latinos' complex experiences in the United States. Twenty-four essays discuss various aspects of Latino life and history, from literature, popular culture, and music, to religion, philosophy, and language identity.

“In the heart of this world, the Lord of life, who loves us so much, is always present. He does not abandon us, he does not leave us alone, for he has united himself definitively to our earth, and his love constantly impels us to find new ways forward. Praise be to him!” – Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ In his second encyclical, Laudato Si’: On the Care of Our Common Home, Pope Francis draws all Christians into a dialogue with every person on the planet about our common home. We as human beings are united by the concern for our planet, and every living thing that dwells on it, especially the poorest and most vulnerable. Pope Francis’ letter joins the body of the Church’s social and moral teaching, draws on the best scientific research, providing the foundation for “the ethical and spiritual itinerary that follows.” Laudato Si’ outlines: The current state of our “common home” The Gospel message as seen through creation The human causes of the ecological crisis Ecology and the common good Pope Francis’ call to action for each of us Our Sunday Visitor has included discussion questions, making it perfect for individual or group study, leading all Catholics and Christians into a deeper understanding of the importance of this teaching.