Building Democracy in Japan


Book Description

This book offers a grassroots perspective and holistic understanding of Japan's democratization process and what it means for the nation today.




Building Democracy


Book Description

Building Democracy is a major contribution to the growing public debate about the revival of community values in the face of the self-evident short-comings of the free market, specifically in terms of community architecture. Providing a historical context and an authoritative account of a movement that is proving surprisingly extensive and enduring, the book also examines the relevance of the approach to today's social and environmental problems, particularly in the inner cities. Community architecture was promoted in the early 1980s as the achievement of a handful of pioneering architects finding new ways of working with groups of ordinary people, to help them develop their own homes and community facilities. Building Democracy records the achievements of this movement and analyzes its contribution in addressing the problems of inner cities. Beginning with the origins of the urban question in the industrialization of the 19th century, the book goes on to look at the large-scale urban redevelopment of the 1960s - the latest and most concerted attempt to remodel Victorian cities, and on to community action, from which grew new approaches to design, development and construction. This book is of practical value to planners, architects, surveyors and landscape designers concerned with socially relevant design, as students or professionals. It will also be of interest to many people in the voluntary sector and in local government.




Reconstructing Democracy


Book Description

“An urgent manifesto for the reconstruction of democratic belonging in our troubled times.” —Davide Panagia Across the world, democracies are suffering from a disconnect between the people and political elites. In communities where jobs and industry are scarce, many feel the government is incapable of understanding their needs or addressing their problems. The resulting frustration has fueled the success of destabilizing demagogues. To reverse this pattern and restore responsible government, we need to reinvigorate democracy at the local level. But what does that mean? Drawing on examples of successful community building in cities large and small, from a shrinking village in rural Austria to a neglected section of San Diego, Reconstructing Democracy makes a powerful case for re-engaging citizens. It highlights innovative grassroots projects and shows how local activists can form alliances and discover their own power to solve problems.




Frank Lloyd Wright, 1867-1959


Book Description

This text studies the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. It provides an analysis of his career until his death in 1959.




We Need to Build


Book Description

From the former faith adviser to President Obama comes an inspirational guide for those who seek to promote positive social change and build a more diverse and just democracy The goal of social change work is not a more ferocious revolution; it is a more beautiful social order. It is harder to organize a fair trial than it is to fire up a crowd, more challenging to build a good school than it is to tell others they are doing education all wrong. But every decent society requires fair trials and good schools, and that’s just the beginning of the list of institutions and structures that need to be efficiently created and effectively run in large-scale diverse democracy. We Need to Build is a call to create those institutions and a guide for how to run them well. In his youth, Eboo Patel was inspired by love-based activists like John Lewis, Martin Luther King Jr., Badshah Khan, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Thich Nhat Hanh. Their example, and a timely challenge to build the change he wanted to see, led to a life engaged in the particulars of building, nourishing, and sustaining an institution that seeks to promote positive social change—Interfaith America. Now, drawing on his twenty years of experience, Patel tells the stories of what he’s learned and how, in the process, he came to construct as much as critique and collaborate more than oppose. His challenge to us is clear: those of us committed to refounding America as a just and inclusive democracy need to defeat the things we don’t like by building the things we do.







The American Congress


Book Description

Congress is the heart and soul of our democracy, the place where interests are brokered, laws are established, and innovation is turned into concrete action. It is also where some of democracy's greatest virtues clash with its worst vices: idealism and compromise meet corruption and bitter partisanship. The American Congress unveils the rich and varied history of this singular institution. Julian E. Zelizer has gathered together forty essays by renowned historians to capture the full drama, landmark legislation, and most memorable personalities of Congress. Organized around four major periods of congressional history, from the signing of the Constitution to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, this volume brings a fresh perspective to familiar watershed events: the Civil War, Watergate, the Vietnam War. It also gives a behind-the-scenes look at lesser-known legislation debated on the House and Senate floors, such as westward expansion and war powers control. Here are the stories behind the 1868 vote to impeach President Andrew Johnson; the rise of Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress and a leading advocate for pacifism; and the controversy surrounding James Eastland of Mississippi, who carried civil rights bills in his pockets so they could not come up for a vote. Sidebars further spotlight notables including Huey Long, Sam Rayburn, and Tip O'Neill, bringing the sweeping history of our lawmaking bodies into sharp focus. If you've ever wondered how Congress worked in the past or what our elected officials do today, this book gives the engaging, often surprising, answers.




Community Wealth Building and the Reconstruction of American Democracy


Book Description

How can we create and sustain an America that never was, but should be? How can we build a robust multiracial democracy in which everyone is valued and everyone possesses political, economic and social capital? How can democracy become a meaningful way of life, for all citizens? By critically probing these questions, the editors of Community Wealth Building and the Reconstruction of American Democracy seize the opportunity to bridge the gap between our democratic aspirations and our current reality.




Building Democracy in Late Archaic Athens


Book Description

The Akropolis: Monuments and Military Dominance -- The Agora: Form, Function, and Ideology -- The Astu: The Architectural Matrix of the Polis -- The Demes: Delineation and Interconnectivity -- Buildings and Democracy -- Appendix I: Building Chronology in Athens and Attika, 508/7 - 480/79 B.C.E. -- Appendix II: IG I3 4B, The Hekatompedon Decree: Text, Translation, and Brief Commentary -- Appendix III: Dating the Old Bouleuterion and Stoa Basileios.




Beyond Free and Fair


Book Description

Publisher Description