Poems by a late Nicaraguan writer. In A Prayer for the United States, he wrote: "Apocalyptic blasts are ravaging over-sea. / With lure of flag and conquest the harlot War is wooing. / The horse John saw in Patmos its dread course is pursuing. / I pray the Lord He shelter the stars that shelter me."

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The tropical belt – where large areas of South East Asia, India, Africa and parts of both North and South America are located – forms the biggest landmass in the world and has one of the highest numbers of rapidly developing cities. Coincidentally, architecture in these regions shares common problems, the most easily identifiable being the tropical conditions of climate and natural environment. The context for architecture here is fraught with conflicts between tradition and modernization, massive influx of rural poor into urban areas, poorly managed rapid urban development as well as the cultural and social strain of globalization. Many local and overseas architects, planners and city fathers are interested in the social and environmental dimensions of these areas that contribute towards short terms solutions and long term sustainable developments. This book, developed from the first conference of the International Network for Tropical Architecture, supplies a wealth of information from experts worldwide covering the cultural, environmental and technical aspects of thinking, researching and designing for the tropics.

This book reveals how the 19th Century modernisation of Bogotá led to a transformation in the social role of plants – showing how this city located in the high altitudes of the tropical Andes turned into a ‘floristic island’ formed by native, introduce, wild and cultivated plants. Urbanisation is one of the main forces behind biodiversity loss. Paradoxically, the expansion of cities has made urban environment spaces with a greater numbers of plant species compared to their surrounding areas. Planting a City in the Tropical Andes takes a multidisciplinary approach to shed light on the cultural and ecological mechanisms that have transformed modern cities into what can be described as ‘floristic islands’. By drawing upon a wide array of historical sources, this book explains how the 19th-century modernization of Bogotá (Colombia), led to the replacement of traditional botanical practices with technical knowledge, which in turn endowed the city with a unique floristic inventory. Through a unique botanical perspective on Latin American urban history, this book uncovers how capitalist dynamics in Bogotá transformed plants into providers of clean air and water and their use in the urban landscape contributed to the cultivation of disciplined citizenry. Placing plants at the forefront of its narrative, the book offers an original contribution to the underexplored history of horticulture in tropical Latin America. It serves as a compelling example of how the creative and conflicting forces of the Anthropocene have forged new environments and previously unseen relationships between people and plants. This volume will be of great use to scholars and students interested in social history, urban environmental histories and cultural history.

The Inside Scoops are guides to what is unique and different for our readers. It tries to transform them from visitors to locals structured in an A-Z fashion by subject area to make it easy to find what you are looking for. The Hawaii guide includes everything from Art Colonies and Restaurants to Nude Beaches and the Best Places to Watch the Sunset.