Unlike European countries where the consolidation of town planning was based on legislative reforms, Latin America’s urbanismo mainly stemmed from urban plans for national capitals and metropolises. Austrian academic and planner Karl Brunner was hired in Chile, Colombia and Panama from the late 1920s to advise in the professional and academic domains, marking a shift from the so-called École Française d’Urbanisme (EFU) of Haussmannesque descent towards the Austrian-German Städtebau, While coordinating the municipal office and plan for Bogotá, Brunner translated his Manual de Urbanismo – the first textbook published in Latin America about the new discipline and the first to incorporate examples from local cities. Based on his 1924 course at Vienna’s National Faculty of Architecture Brunner’s Manual emphasized the ‘scientific system’ of the discipline. Brunner was the most influential figure of his time in the urban planning of the region, but has become overshadowed by Le Corbusier's and CIAM’s prevailing influence after the Second World War. Complete with a supporting introduction written by Arturo Almandoz, this volume includes the full copy of the original Manual de Urbanismo with an English translation of the synthesis. Further materials, including an extract of Karl Brunner's "Problemas actuales de urbanización" and an accompanying English translation of the text can be accessed at www.routledge.com/9781138778573

Measuring Vulnerability to Natural Hazards presents a broad range of current approaches to measuring vulnerability. It provides a comprehensive overview of different concepts at the global, regional, national, and local levels, and explores various schools of thought. More than 40 distinguished academics and practitioners analyse quantitative and qualitative approaches, and examine their strengths and limitations. This book contains concrete experiences and examples from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe to illustrate the theoretical analyses.The authors provide answers to some of the key questions on how to measure vulnerability and they draw attention to issues with insufficient coverage, such as the environmental and institutional dimensions of vulnerability and methods to combine different methodologies.This book is a unique compilation of state-of-the-art vulnerability assessment and is essential reading for academics, students, policy makers, practitioners, and anybody else interested in understanding the fundamentals of measuring vulnerability. It is a critical review that provides important conclusions which can serve as an orientation for future research towards more disaster resilient communities.

4% of Latin America and the Caribbean’s GDP comes from the extractive sector. This figure is equivalent to the amount generated by agriculture in the same region. An effective engagement between governments, companies, and civil society is required to propel sustainable development. With this regional diagnosis of countries rich in natural resources like Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and the Dominican Republic, the IDB seeks to shed light on best practices among stakeholders of the extractive sectors. It focuses in actions of information, dialogues, consultations, collaborations, and partnerships that are driving development in the region. From the findings of the diagnosis, 3 roadmaps were drafted, to guide the stakeholders in strengthening their engagement.

Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. This Special Report explores the social as well as physical dimensions of weather- and climate-related disasters, considering opportunities for managing risks at local to international scales. SREX was approved and accepted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 18 November 2011 in Kampala, Uganda.

This country review report offers an independent analysis of major issues facing the use of school resources in Colombia from an international perspective. It provides a description of national policies, an analysis of strengths and challenges, and a proposal of possible future approaches.