Contested Worlds provides an introduction both to a multitude of geographical worlds which are currently being actively constructed and contested, and to a range of different perspectives on these worlds being adopted and contested by geographers. It is unique in its focus on the role of contestation in both the construction of geographical studies and in the geographies these studies seek to address. These issues are explored through a combination of general theoretical discussion and detailed international case studies. The areas discussed range in scale from the global, through the regional and national to the local worlds of the inner city, the neighbourhood and the village, with connections drawn between these scales. The book concludes that geography is being made in quite different ways. It asserts that geography is intrinsically a contested enterprise, and that this should be embraced as part of geographers becoming more critically involved in the making, and studying, of new contemporary human geographies.

Naturally burning coal fires and those ignited by human activities receive little attention from the media compared to other environmental hazards, but their study is gaining ground. Here, the world's leading experts present their research findings covering topics such as the gases generated in underground coal fires, the origin of gas-vent minerals and land-cover changes due to coal fires.