Peter van der Veer (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780520281226
- eISBN:
- 9780520961081
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520281226.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
This book highlights the creative and innovative role of urban aspirations in Asian world cities. It does not assume that religion is of the past and that the urban is secular, but instead points out ...
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This book highlights the creative and innovative role of urban aspirations in Asian world cities. It does not assume that religion is of the past and that the urban is secular, but instead points out that urban politics and governance often manifest religious boundaries and sensibilities—in short, that public religion is politics. The chapters in this book show how projects of secularism come up against projects and ambitions of a religious nature, a particular form of contestation that takes the city as its public arena. Questioning the limits of cities like Mumbai, Singapore, Seoul, Beijing, Bangkok, and Shanghai, the chapters assert that Asian cities have to be understood not as global models of futuristic city planning but as larger landscapes of spatial imagination that have specific cultural and political trajectories. Religion plays a central role in the politics of heritage that is emerging from the debris of modernist city planning. Megacities are arenas for the assertion of national and transnational aspirations as Asia confronts modernity. Cities are also sites of speculation, not only for those who invest in real estate but also for those who look for housing, employment, and salvation. In its potential and actual mobility, the sacred creates social space in which they all can meet.Less
This book highlights the creative and innovative role of urban aspirations in Asian world cities. It does not assume that religion is of the past and that the urban is secular, but instead points out that urban politics and governance often manifest religious boundaries and sensibilities—in short, that public religion is politics. The chapters in this book show how projects of secularism come up against projects and ambitions of a religious nature, a particular form of contestation that takes the city as its public arena. Questioning the limits of cities like Mumbai, Singapore, Seoul, Beijing, Bangkok, and Shanghai, the chapters assert that Asian cities have to be understood not as global models of futuristic city planning but as larger landscapes of spatial imagination that have specific cultural and political trajectories. Religion plays a central role in the politics of heritage that is emerging from the debris of modernist city planning. Megacities are arenas for the assertion of national and transnational aspirations as Asia confronts modernity. Cities are also sites of speculation, not only for those who invest in real estate but also for those who look for housing, employment, and salvation. In its potential and actual mobility, the sacred creates social space in which they all can meet.
Ran Hirschl
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- August 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190922771
- eISBN:
- 9780190922801
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190922771.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities; by 2050, it will be more than three quarters. Projections suggest that megacities of 50 million or even 100 million inhabitants will emerge ...
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More than half of the world’s population lives in cities; by 2050, it will be more than three quarters. Projections suggest that megacities of 50 million or even 100 million inhabitants will emerge by the end of the century, mostly in the Global South. This shift marks a major and unprecedented transformation of the organization of society, both spatially and geopolitically. Our constitutional institutions and imagination, however, have failed to keep pace with this new reality. Cities have remained virtually absent from constitutional law and constitutional thought, not to mention from comparative constitutional studies more generally. As the world is urbanizing at an extraordinary rate, this book argues, new thinking about constitutionalism and urbanization is desperately needed. In six chapters, the book considers the reasons for the “constitutional blind spot” concerning the metropolis, probes the constitutional relationship between states and (mega)cities worldwide, examines patterns of constitutional change and stalemate in city status, and aims to carve a new place for the city in constitutional thought, constitutional law, and constitutional practice.Less
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities; by 2050, it will be more than three quarters. Projections suggest that megacities of 50 million or even 100 million inhabitants will emerge by the end of the century, mostly in the Global South. This shift marks a major and unprecedented transformation of the organization of society, both spatially and geopolitically. Our constitutional institutions and imagination, however, have failed to keep pace with this new reality. Cities have remained virtually absent from constitutional law and constitutional thought, not to mention from comparative constitutional studies more generally. As the world is urbanizing at an extraordinary rate, this book argues, new thinking about constitutionalism and urbanization is desperately needed. In six chapters, the book considers the reasons for the “constitutional blind spot” concerning the metropolis, probes the constitutional relationship between states and (mega)cities worldwide, examines patterns of constitutional change and stalemate in city status, and aims to carve a new place for the city in constitutional thought, constitutional law, and constitutional practice.
Yomi Braester and James Tweedie (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622099845
- eISBN:
- 9789882206731
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622099845.001.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Cinema has been a primary mechanism for entertaining migrants to the modern city, recording and displaying a historically new experience to urban populations themselves, while also disseminating the ...
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Cinema has been a primary mechanism for entertaining migrants to the modern city, recording and displaying a historically new experience to urban populations themselves, while also disseminating the city's promise around the world. But recent city films betray an awareness that the experience of urban life has changed with the dynamic energies and burdens of globalization, with the era of digital video now upon us, and with the emergence of almost limitless megacities throughout East Asia. Contemporary films from the region help define the urban experience in these new environments. This book traces common concerns among East Asian cinemas of Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, the PRC, and Taiwan, and go beyond the now familiar notion that the Asian metropolises are successful iterations of local identity within a global network.Less
Cinema has been a primary mechanism for entertaining migrants to the modern city, recording and displaying a historically new experience to urban populations themselves, while also disseminating the city's promise around the world. But recent city films betray an awareness that the experience of urban life has changed with the dynamic energies and burdens of globalization, with the era of digital video now upon us, and with the emergence of almost limitless megacities throughout East Asia. Contemporary films from the region help define the urban experience in these new environments. This book traces common concerns among East Asian cinemas of Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, the PRC, and Taiwan, and go beyond the now familiar notion that the Asian metropolises are successful iterations of local identity within a global network.
Mona Sue Weissmark
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- June 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190686345
- eISBN:
- 9780197522912
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190686345.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology
Using a multidisciplinary approach, The Science of Diversity reveals the theories, principles, and paradigms that illuminate people’s understanding of the issues surrounding human diversity, social ...
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Using a multidisciplinary approach, The Science of Diversity reveals the theories, principles, and paradigms that illuminate people’s understanding of the issues surrounding human diversity, social equality, and justice. Noted psychologist and educator Dr. Mona Weissmark assembles a rich array of research from anthropology, biology, religious studies, and the social sciences to write a scholarly diorama of diversity. This book contextualizes diversity historically, tracing the evolution of ideas about “the other” and about “we” and “them” to various forms of social organization—from the “hunter-gather,” face-to-face, shared resource model to the anomie of megacities. Moreover, it explicates the concept of diversity, analyzing its meaning over time, place, and polity—from ancient Greece to the time of Donald Trump, from biblical parables to United Nations pronouncements. Ultimately, drawing on the author’s groundbreaking research work with the children of Nazis and the children of Holocaust survivors, the book suggests that one potential antidote to ethnic strife lies in the pursuit of Immanuel Kant’s mandate, sapere aude (dare to know), combined with the development of compassion.Less
Using a multidisciplinary approach, The Science of Diversity reveals the theories, principles, and paradigms that illuminate people’s understanding of the issues surrounding human diversity, social equality, and justice. Noted psychologist and educator Dr. Mona Weissmark assembles a rich array of research from anthropology, biology, religious studies, and the social sciences to write a scholarly diorama of diversity. This book contextualizes diversity historically, tracing the evolution of ideas about “the other” and about “we” and “them” to various forms of social organization—from the “hunter-gather,” face-to-face, shared resource model to the anomie of megacities. Moreover, it explicates the concept of diversity, analyzing its meaning over time, place, and polity—from ancient Greece to the time of Donald Trump, from biblical parables to United Nations pronouncements. Ultimately, drawing on the author’s groundbreaking research work with the children of Nazis and the children of Holocaust survivors, the book suggests that one potential antidote to ethnic strife lies in the pursuit of Immanuel Kant’s mandate, sapere aude (dare to know), combined with the development of compassion.
James Tweedie
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199858286
- eISBN:
- 9780199367665
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199858286.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, Film, Media, and Cultural Studies
The “city film” has been a prominent genre in recent world cinema. This chapter examines that series as a global phenomenon and views Taiwan’s city films within both an international and a domestic ...
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The “city film” has been a prominent genre in recent world cinema. This chapter examines that series as a global phenomenon and views Taiwan’s city films within both an international and a domestic context. It begins by asking what the city film was in the first half of the twentieth century and how the pressures of globalization have transformed both urban space and its representation in cinema. It then considers the specific circumstances of Taiwan’s new wave, with particular emphasis on films located in Taipei. The chapter concludes with the work of Edward Yang, especially Taipei Story, a film that features scenes of interior design and meditations on modern urban architecture. Yang’s films accentuate acts of design, and they suggest that many of the traits habitually associated with cinema, especially its artificiality and staginess, its constant destruction and reinvention of reality, are also the defining qualities of the global megacity.Less
The “city film” has been a prominent genre in recent world cinema. This chapter examines that series as a global phenomenon and views Taiwan’s city films within both an international and a domestic context. It begins by asking what the city film was in the first half of the twentieth century and how the pressures of globalization have transformed both urban space and its representation in cinema. It then considers the specific circumstances of Taiwan’s new wave, with particular emphasis on films located in Taipei. The chapter concludes with the work of Edward Yang, especially Taipei Story, a film that features scenes of interior design and meditations on modern urban architecture. Yang’s films accentuate acts of design, and they suggest that many of the traits habitually associated with cinema, especially its artificiality and staginess, its constant destruction and reinvention of reality, are also the defining qualities of the global megacity.
Louise K. Comfort
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780691165370
- eISBN:
- 9780691186023
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691165370.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This introductory chapter outlines seismic risk as a global policy problem. Seismic risk presents a great challenge in developed countries, not only for the nations in which they occur, but also for ...
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This introductory chapter outlines seismic risk as a global policy problem. Seismic risk presents a great challenge in developed countries, not only for the nations in which they occur, but also for disruption of the interconnected global trade, transportation, communications, and financial networks that sustain the world's growing populations. For example, the megacities of Tokyo, Istanbul, Jakarta, Mumbai, Mexico City, and Los Angeles are each exposed to significant seismic risk. Their respective metropolitan regions now encompass tens of millions of residents and serve as centers of government, commerce, communications, finance, and transportation in their respective nations. The interdependence of these operational networks in a globally connected world means that if any one of these megacities experiences a major earthquake, the losses would not only affect the immediate population, but also seriously disrupt vital transactions on a worldwide scale. The chapter then considers the concept of shared risk. While interdependence among global infrastructure and organizational systems creates cumulative risk for the global metasystem, this same interdependence creates opportunities for the redesign of interconnected operations to reduce expanding risk.Less
This introductory chapter outlines seismic risk as a global policy problem. Seismic risk presents a great challenge in developed countries, not only for the nations in which they occur, but also for disruption of the interconnected global trade, transportation, communications, and financial networks that sustain the world's growing populations. For example, the megacities of Tokyo, Istanbul, Jakarta, Mumbai, Mexico City, and Los Angeles are each exposed to significant seismic risk. Their respective metropolitan regions now encompass tens of millions of residents and serve as centers of government, commerce, communications, finance, and transportation in their respective nations. The interdependence of these operational networks in a globally connected world means that if any one of these megacities experiences a major earthquake, the losses would not only affect the immediate population, but also seriously disrupt vital transactions on a worldwide scale. The chapter then considers the concept of shared risk. While interdependence among global infrastructure and organizational systems creates cumulative risk for the global metasystem, this same interdependence creates opportunities for the redesign of interconnected operations to reduce expanding risk.
Larissa Hjorth, Sarah Pink, Kristen Sharp, and Linda Williams
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262034562
- eISBN:
- 9780262334013
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034562.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
In Chapter 3 we connect artistic explorations and representations of the environmental with stories of media innovation and climate change in the region. In order to do so, the chapter contextualizes ...
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In Chapter 3 we connect artistic explorations and representations of the environmental with stories of media innovation and climate change in the region. In order to do so, the chapter contextualizes global media debates in relation to some of the emergent environmentalism issues the region. Then we turn to examples of artists working through these issues, noting the undulating connections and disconnections between media, art, and the environment.Less
In Chapter 3 we connect artistic explorations and representations of the environmental with stories of media innovation and climate change in the region. In order to do so, the chapter contextualizes global media debates in relation to some of the emergent environmentalism issues the region. Then we turn to examples of artists working through these issues, noting the undulating connections and disconnections between media, art, and the environment.
Patrick Eisenlohr
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780520281226
- eISBN:
- 9780520961081
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520281226.003.0023
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
This chapter examines how urban aspirations that drive migration to the megacity are intertwined with religious media practices. More specifically, it shows how Shi'ite traditions in Mumbai ...
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This chapter examines how urban aspirations that drive migration to the megacity are intertwined with religious media practices. More specifically, it shows how Shi'ite traditions in Mumbai articulate with urban aspirations that bring migrants to megacities in a globalized world. The chapter begins with an overview of religious activism in Indian megacities as it relates to recent reformulations of the nexus between religion and globalization. It then considers the aspirations of Twelver Shi'ites in Mumbai within the context of globalized urbanity. It also discusses the role of contemporary media technology in the link between urban socioeconomic aspirations and religious mobilizations. Finally, it analyzes the spread of major religious traditions that emphasize the theme of transcendence.Less
This chapter examines how urban aspirations that drive migration to the megacity are intertwined with religious media practices. More specifically, it shows how Shi'ite traditions in Mumbai articulate with urban aspirations that bring migrants to megacities in a globalized world. The chapter begins with an overview of religious activism in Indian megacities as it relates to recent reformulations of the nexus between religion and globalization. It then considers the aspirations of Twelver Shi'ites in Mumbai within the context of globalized urbanity. It also discusses the role of contemporary media technology in the link between urban socioeconomic aspirations and religious mobilizations. Finally, it analyzes the spread of major religious traditions that emphasize the theme of transcendence.
Robin Hambleton
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9781447304975
- eISBN:
- 9781447311843
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447304975.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This chapter highlights the remarkable urbanisation of the planet, the growth of multicultural cities and the rise of place-less power. It provides data on world population growth, discusses trends ...
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This chapter highlights the remarkable urbanisation of the planet, the growth of multicultural cities and the rise of place-less power. It provides data on world population growth, discusses trends relating to global urbanisation, and presents maps showing where urban expansion can be expected to occur in the coming period. Different aspects of urbanisation are covered including: the growth in the number of megacities; the existence of shrinking cities; the reasons why very large numbers of people are moving to cities; a discussion of who are the urban migrants; and consideration of the nature of dynamic diversity in the modern city. The discussion highlights the fact that cities are bound to become much more multicultural in the years ahead. The chapter notes that the extraordinary movement of people to cities is still not well understood and offers insights on why so many people are moving to cities.Less
This chapter highlights the remarkable urbanisation of the planet, the growth of multicultural cities and the rise of place-less power. It provides data on world population growth, discusses trends relating to global urbanisation, and presents maps showing where urban expansion can be expected to occur in the coming period. Different aspects of urbanisation are covered including: the growth in the number of megacities; the existence of shrinking cities; the reasons why very large numbers of people are moving to cities; a discussion of who are the urban migrants; and consideration of the nature of dynamic diversity in the modern city. The discussion highlights the fact that cities are bound to become much more multicultural in the years ahead. The chapter notes that the extraordinary movement of people to cities is still not well understood and offers insights on why so many people are moving to cities.
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9781846318214
- eISBN:
- 9781846317736
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/UPO9781846317736.005
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This chapter examines how the most recent wave of globalization has been inscribed in innovative travel writing about major metropolitan cities. It analyzes Rachel Lichtenstein and Iain Sinclair's ...
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This chapter examines how the most recent wave of globalization has been inscribed in innovative travel writing about major metropolitan cities. It analyzes Rachel Lichtenstein and Iain Sinclair's Rodinsky's Room and Sam Miller's Delhi: Adventures in a Megacity and explains that both travel texts attempt to textualize the multivalent perspectives of megacities. This chapter contends that innovative travel texts about the global cities of London and Delhi can offer unique perspectives on the complexities of place in a hypermobile and rapidly changing world.Less
This chapter examines how the most recent wave of globalization has been inscribed in innovative travel writing about major metropolitan cities. It analyzes Rachel Lichtenstein and Iain Sinclair's Rodinsky's Room and Sam Miller's Delhi: Adventures in a Megacity and explains that both travel texts attempt to textualize the multivalent perspectives of megacities. This chapter contends that innovative travel texts about the global cities of London and Delhi can offer unique perspectives on the complexities of place in a hypermobile and rapidly changing world.
Vaclav Smil
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780190060664
- eISBN:
- 9780197548516
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190060664.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
Demographic transition has been completed everywhere except for large parts of Africa. Steady decline of traditionally high fertilities and mortalities brought temporarily high rates of population ...
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Demographic transition has been completed everywhere except for large parts of Africa. Steady decline of traditionally high fertilities and mortalities brought temporarily high rates of population growth (globally peaking during the 1960s), as the worldwide count rose from about 1 billion in 1800 to more than 7.8 billion by 2020. The new prevailing pattern of population dynamics is characterized by very low infant mortalities, fertilities well below the replacement level, increasing longevities, and aging, even decline, of many populations. Generations of high growth rates and productivity gains in agriculture and abundance of fossil fuels led to an unprecedented pace of urbanization. More than half of humanity now lives in cities, including a rising number of megacities, each with more than 10 million people.Less
Demographic transition has been completed everywhere except for large parts of Africa. Steady decline of traditionally high fertilities and mortalities brought temporarily high rates of population growth (globally peaking during the 1960s), as the worldwide count rose from about 1 billion in 1800 to more than 7.8 billion by 2020. The new prevailing pattern of population dynamics is characterized by very low infant mortalities, fertilities well below the replacement level, increasing longevities, and aging, even decline, of many populations. Generations of high growth rates and productivity gains in agriculture and abundance of fossil fuels led to an unprecedented pace of urbanization. More than half of humanity now lives in cities, including a rising number of megacities, each with more than 10 million people.
K.C. Sivaramakrishnan
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199454136
- eISBN:
- 9780199084975
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199454136.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad—five of the largest Indian megacities—are the economic and commercial engines for modern India. These metropolitan regions serve as magnets of ...
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Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad—five of the largest Indian megacities—are the economic and commercial engines for modern India. These metropolitan regions serve as magnets of migration, resulting in explosive growth of the core cities and their urban agglomerations. Yet arrangements for governance of these metropolitan regions are fractured and sterile. Based on extensive comparative data on demographics, economy, infrastructure, society, environment, political character, and institutions for governance, this book introduces megacities in the Indian context and explains how urbanization has rarely been at the core of the Indian planning regime. The book is driven by the conviction that in the current era of globalization, India urgently needs a political vision for the role of its metropolitan regions, as it is projected that the largest number of people will be added to the urban areas. It emphasizes the need for proper regional planning instead of an amorphous collection of municipalities, and an appropriate, politically mandated governance setup.Less
Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad—five of the largest Indian megacities—are the economic and commercial engines for modern India. These metropolitan regions serve as magnets of migration, resulting in explosive growth of the core cities and their urban agglomerations. Yet arrangements for governance of these metropolitan regions are fractured and sterile. Based on extensive comparative data on demographics, economy, infrastructure, society, environment, political character, and institutions for governance, this book introduces megacities in the Indian context and explains how urbanization has rarely been at the core of the Indian planning regime. The book is driven by the conviction that in the current era of globalization, India urgently needs a political vision for the role of its metropolitan regions, as it is projected that the largest number of people will be added to the urban areas. It emphasizes the need for proper regional planning instead of an amorphous collection of municipalities, and an appropriate, politically mandated governance setup.
Pilar Maria Guerrieri
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780199479580
- eISBN:
- 9780199091140
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199479580.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
This chapter suggests and in many ways provides a method and a point of view with which also other cities could be analysed. It shows the possibility of analysing similar problems in other colonized ...
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This chapter suggests and in many ways provides a method and a point of view with which also other cities could be analysed. It shows the possibility of analysing similar problems in other colonized countries and of how important it is to keep the focal point on cultural exchanges when seeing how traditions developed and where the identity of a place can be found. This method of analysing cities through cultural exchanges can, not only be applied in other parts of the world, but also touches a very important issue present nowadays, which is the process of globalization, which in turn raises the questions: How much are local cultures able to resist? Why does one country resist more than the other? How are different traditions created? To what degree are foreign imported models valid? And how important is it to find them directly in loco?Less
This chapter suggests and in many ways provides a method and a point of view with which also other cities could be analysed. It shows the possibility of analysing similar problems in other colonized countries and of how important it is to keep the focal point on cultural exchanges when seeing how traditions developed and where the identity of a place can be found. This method of analysing cities through cultural exchanges can, not only be applied in other parts of the world, but also touches a very important issue present nowadays, which is the process of globalization, which in turn raises the questions: How much are local cultures able to resist? Why does one country resist more than the other? How are different traditions created? To what degree are foreign imported models valid? And how important is it to find them directly in loco?
Mona Sue Weissmark
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- June 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190686345
- eISBN:
- 9780197522912
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190686345.003.0006
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology
This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the way evolving models of human organization—from hunter-gatherer to megacities—have an impact on human psychology, human relations, and the ...
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This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the way evolving models of human organization—from hunter-gatherer to megacities—have an impact on human psychology, human relations, and the development of alienation. The idyllic paradigm, according to some researchers, was the low-population-density hunter-gatherer societies based on mutual exchange and shared resources. The principal organizing mechanism in these societies was kinship, which offered a defined behavioral guide. Eventually, the discovery and development of agriculture led to the Agricultural Revolution, and village-based sedentary societies supplanted the small hunter-gatherer units. Human interaction became more complex and impersonal in the higher-density towns and villages, and the sharing society evolved into one based on private property, trade, and the development of elite social classes. The next critical turning point following the Agricultural Revolution was the Urban Revolution. Several classical and contemporary theorists developed the concept of “social alienation” to describe the impact of the rushed pace of city life and the ephemeral nature of relationships on mental attitudes and social relations. Indeed, the rise of globalization, megacities, and migration in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century revived interest in the alienation theories of the 1950s and 1960s. The chapter then describes the American developmental psychologist Erik Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial identity development.Less
This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the way evolving models of human organization—from hunter-gatherer to megacities—have an impact on human psychology, human relations, and the development of alienation. The idyllic paradigm, according to some researchers, was the low-population-density hunter-gatherer societies based on mutual exchange and shared resources. The principal organizing mechanism in these societies was kinship, which offered a defined behavioral guide. Eventually, the discovery and development of agriculture led to the Agricultural Revolution, and village-based sedentary societies supplanted the small hunter-gatherer units. Human interaction became more complex and impersonal in the higher-density towns and villages, and the sharing society evolved into one based on private property, trade, and the development of elite social classes. The next critical turning point following the Agricultural Revolution was the Urban Revolution. Several classical and contemporary theorists developed the concept of “social alienation” to describe the impact of the rushed pace of city life and the ephemeral nature of relationships on mental attitudes and social relations. Indeed, the rise of globalization, megacities, and migration in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century revived interest in the alienation theories of the 1950s and 1960s. The chapter then describes the American developmental psychologist Erik Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial identity development.
Scott MacDonald
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199388707
- eISBN:
- 9780199388745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199388707.003.0011
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
An Austrian documentary filmmaker who was trained at the San Francisco Art Institute as well as at the Vienna Film Academy, Michael Glawogger is fascinated with labor, particularly with the men and ...
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An Austrian documentary filmmaker who was trained at the San Francisco Art Institute as well as at the Vienna Film Academy, Michael Glawogger is fascinated with labor, particularly with the men and women who do the world’s most dangerous and dirty jobs. His Globalization Trilogy (Megacities, Workingman’s Death, and Whore’s Glory) offers candid, often breathtaking panoramas of laboring in both urban and rural areas—coal mining in the Ukraine, sulfur mining in Indonesia, butchering in Nigeria, ship-breaking in Pakistan, prostitution in Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Mexico. The films recall Pieter Bruegel’s The Triumph of Death and Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights; they are vivid, often terrifying, but exhilarating and beautiful as well. Glawogger is that rare filmmaker whose commercial melodramas are “vacations” from his years-long processes of recording the labors of workers around the world.Less
An Austrian documentary filmmaker who was trained at the San Francisco Art Institute as well as at the Vienna Film Academy, Michael Glawogger is fascinated with labor, particularly with the men and women who do the world’s most dangerous and dirty jobs. His Globalization Trilogy (Megacities, Workingman’s Death, and Whore’s Glory) offers candid, often breathtaking panoramas of laboring in both urban and rural areas—coal mining in the Ukraine, sulfur mining in Indonesia, butchering in Nigeria, ship-breaking in Pakistan, prostitution in Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Mexico. The films recall Pieter Bruegel’s The Triumph of Death and Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights; they are vivid, often terrifying, but exhilarating and beautiful as well. Glawogger is that rare filmmaker whose commercial melodramas are “vacations” from his years-long processes of recording the labors of workers around the world.
Zhao Chen and Ming Lu
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- December 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198829225
- eISBN:
- 9780191867620
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198829225.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, South and East Asia, Development, Growth, and Environmental
There is a trend of population concentration towards large coastal cities in The People’s Republic of China (PRC). However, there is a distortion of city size towards small cities in the PRC. That is ...
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There is a trend of population concentration towards large coastal cities in The People’s Republic of China (PRC). However, there is a distortion of city size towards small cities in the PRC. That is to say, urban population in China should further concentrate in large cities rather than be more equally spread out. Cross-country analysis also indicates that the population size of the primary city in the PRC is smaller than its predicted value. The discussion in this chapter suggests that the Chinese government should adjust the policies on future urbanization with fewer restrictions on the further growth of megacities.Less
There is a trend of population concentration towards large coastal cities in The People’s Republic of China (PRC). However, there is a distortion of city size towards small cities in the PRC. That is to say, urban population in China should further concentrate in large cities rather than be more equally spread out. Cross-country analysis also indicates that the population size of the primary city in the PRC is smaller than its predicted value. The discussion in this chapter suggests that the Chinese government should adjust the policies on future urbanization with fewer restrictions on the further growth of megacities.
K.C. Sivaramakrishnan
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199454136
- eISBN:
- 9780199084975
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199454136.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Poor infrastructure has been a constant refrain in any discussion on urban conditions in the country. However, when it comes to the upper end of the infrastructure spectrum, like expressways and ...
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Poor infrastructure has been a constant refrain in any discussion on urban conditions in the country. However, when it comes to the upper end of the infrastructure spectrum, like expressways and airports, there is indeed evidence of some progress on the ground. Water, sewerage, waste management, transportation, and other key issues are discussed in this chapter. The chapter discusses the role of the metropolitan planning and governing bodies in the infrastructure and services management for both India and other countries of the world.Less
Poor infrastructure has been a constant refrain in any discussion on urban conditions in the country. However, when it comes to the upper end of the infrastructure spectrum, like expressways and airports, there is indeed evidence of some progress on the ground. Water, sewerage, waste management, transportation, and other key issues are discussed in this chapter. The chapter discusses the role of the metropolitan planning and governing bodies in the infrastructure and services management for both India and other countries of the world.
K.C. Sivaramakrishnan
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199454136
- eISBN:
- 9780199084975
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199454136.003.0010
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Experiences of some of the international cities like Greater London, Tokyo, Seoul, Dhaka, Karachi, Toronto, Brazil, Bangkok, and others are shared in this chapter. The economic and spatial ...
More
Experiences of some of the international cities like Greater London, Tokyo, Seoul, Dhaka, Karachi, Toronto, Brazil, Bangkok, and others are shared in this chapter. The economic and spatial characteristics of these metropolitan cities and their governance are highlighted. The chapter discusses how the issue of identity has been resolved by these cities—partly by law and partly by the course of development.Less
Experiences of some of the international cities like Greater London, Tokyo, Seoul, Dhaka, Karachi, Toronto, Brazil, Bangkok, and others are shared in this chapter. The economic and spatial characteristics of these metropolitan cities and their governance are highlighted. The chapter discusses how the issue of identity has been resolved by these cities—partly by law and partly by the course of development.
