On Foot


Book Description

A sweeping social history on walking—from humanity's first steps to modern urban pavement pounders "I have met with but one or two persons in the course of my life who understand the art of Walking, that is, of taking walks, who had a genius, so to speak, for sauntering."—Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) " Everything is within walking distance if you have the time."—Stephen Wright (1955-) For approximately six million years, humans have walked the earth. This is the story of how, why, and to what effect we put one foot in front of the other. Walking has been the primary mode of locomotion for humans until very recent times when we began to sit and ride-first on horses and in carriages, then trains and bicycles, and finally cars, trucks, buses, and airplanes-rather than go on foot. The particular way we saunter, clomp, meander, shuffle, plod along, jaunt, tramp, and wander on foot conveys a wealth of information about our identity, condition, and destination. In this fast-stepping social history, Joseph A. Amato takes us on a journey of walking-from the first human migrations to marching Roman legions and ancient Greeks who considered man a "featherless biped"; from trekking medieval pilgrims to strolling courtiers; from urban pavement pounders to ambling window shoppers to suburban mall walkers. Concentrating on walking in Europe and North America and with particular focus on how walking differed according to social class, Amato distinguishes how, where, when, who, what, and under which conditions people moved on foot. He identifies crucial transformations in the history of walking, including the adoption of the horse by the mounted warrior; the rise of public display among European nobility; and the building of roads and transportation systems, which led to the inevitable ascent of the wheel over the foot.




Handbook of Urban Mobilities


Book Description

This book offers the reader a comprehensive understanding and the multitude of methods utilized in the research of urban mobilities with cities and ‘the urban’ as its pivotal axis. It covers theories and concepts for scholars and researchers to understand, observe and analyse the world of urban mobilities. The Handbook of Urban Mobilities facilitates the understanding of urban mobilities within a historic conscience of societal transformation. It explores key concepts and theories within the ‘mobilities turn’ with a particular urban framework, as well as the methods and tools at play when empirical, urban mobilities research is undertaken. This book also explores the urban mobilities practices related to commutes; particular modes of moving; the exploration of everyday life and embodied practices as they manifest themselves within urban mobilities; and the themes of power, conflict, and social exclusion. A discussion of urban planning, public control, and governance is also undertaken in the book, wherein the themes of infrastructures, technologies and design are duly considered. With chapters written in an accessible style, this handbook carries timely contributions within the contemporary state of the art of urban mobilities research. It will thus be useful for academics and students of graduate programmes and post-graduate studies within disciplines such as urban geography, political science, sociology, anthropology, urban planning, traffic and transportation planning, and architecture and urban design.




God Walk


Book Description

Drawing on Jesus's example of walking, bestselling author Mark Buchanan explores one of the oldest spiritual practices of our faith. What happens when we literally walk out our Christian life? We discover the joy of traveling at the speed of our soul. We often act as if faith is only about the mind. But what about our bodies? What does our physical being have to do with our spiritual life? When the Bible exhorts us to walk in the light, or walk by faith, or walk in truth, it means these things literally as much as figuratively. The Christian faith always involves walking out, as again and again we find the holy in the ordinary. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, and then he was off. The most obvious thing about Jesus's method of discipleship, in fact, is that he walked and invited others to walk with him. Jesus is always "on the way," "arriving," "leaving," "approaching," "coming upon." It's in the walking that his disciples are taught, formed, tested, empowered, and released. Part theology, part history, part field guide, God Walk explores walking as spiritual formation, walking as healing, walking as exercise, walking as prayer, walking as pilgrimage, suffering, friendship, and attentiveness. It is a book about being alongside the God who, incarnate in Jesus, turns to us as he passes by--always on foot--and says simply, "Come, follow me." With practical insight and biblical reflections told in his distinct voice, Buchanan provides specific walking exercises so you can immediately implement the practice of going "God speed." Whether you are walking around the neighborhood or hiking in the mountains, walking offers the potential to awaken your life with Christ as it revives body and soul.




Technological Transitions and System Innovations


Book Description

This important book addresses how long term and large scale shifts from one socio-technical system to another come about, using insights from evolutionary economics, sociology of technology and innovation studies. These major changes involve not just technological changes, but also changes in markets, regulation, culture, industrial networks and infrastructure. The book develops a multi-level perspective, arguing that transitions take place through the alignment of multiple processes at three levels: niche, regime and landscape. This perspective is illustrated by detailed historical case studies: the transition from sailing ships to steamships, the transition from horse-and-carriage to automobiles and the transition from propeller-piston engine aircraft to turbojets. This book will be of great interest to researchers in innovation studies, evolutionary economics, sociology of technology and environmental studies. It will also be useful for policy makers involved in long-term sustainability and systems transitions issues.




A U-Turn to the Future


Book Description

From local bike-sharing initiatives to overhauls of transport infrastructure, mobility is one of the most important areas in which modern cities are trying to realize a more sustainable future. Yet even as politicians and planners look ahead, there remain critical insights to be gleaned from the history of urban mobility and the unsustainable practices that still impact our everyday lives. United by their pursuit of a “usable past,” the studies in this interdisciplinary collection consider the ecological, social, and economic aspects of urban mobility, showing how historical inquiry can make both conceptual and practical contributions to the projects of sustainability and urban renewal.




Police and Politics in Marseille, 1936-1945


Book Description

Simon Kitson's Police and Politics in Marseille, 1936-1945 offers a ’history from below’ analysis of the attitude of the Marseille Police between the Popular Front and the Liberation of France. Kitson highlights the specificities of policing France’s largest port: clientelism, corruption, a floating population and high levels of criminality, including organised crime. But he also demonstrates why many of his conclusions about Police attitude can be generalised to other parts of France and, in so doing, challenges many of the assumptions of the existing historiography. Although they zealously hunted down Jews and communists, the Police were not as reliable for the Vichy government as is commonly assumed and were, undoubtedly, far more involved in Resistance than most sectors of society.




The Riviera, Exposed


Book Description

A sweeping social and environmental history, The Riviera, Exposed illuminates the profound changes to the physical space that we know as the quintessential European tourist destination. Stephen L. Harp uncovers the behind-the-scenes impact of tourism following World War II, both on the environment and on the people living and working on the Riviera, particularly North African laborers, who not only did much of the literal rebuilding of the Riviera but also suffered in that process. Outside of Paris, the Riviera has been the most visited region in France, depending almost exclusively on tourism as its economic lifeline. Until recently, we knew a great deal about the tourists but much less about the social and environmental impacts of their activities or about the life stories of the North African workers upon whom the Riviera's prosperity rests. The technologies embedded in roads, airports, hotels, water lines, sewers, beaches, and marinas all required human intervention—and travelers were encouraged to disregard this intervention. Harp's sharp analysis explores the impacts of massive construction and public works projects, revealing the invisible infrastructure of tourism, its environmental effects, and the immigrants who built the Riviera. The Riviera, Exposed unearths a gritty history, one of human labor and ecological degradation that forms the true foundation of the glamorous Riviera of tourist mythology.




Dimensions of Laughter in Crime and Punishment


Book Description

"Since human laughter served, in a sense, as Dostoevsky's model, the author pays some heed to the highly controversial subject of real-life laughter, along with the leading theories that seek to elucidate its causes and implications.".




The Reader's Digest


Book Description