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Author: Steven P. Erie
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804782180
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 536
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Book Description
The early 21st century has not been kind to California's reputation for good government. But the Golden State's governance flaws reflect worrisome national trends with origins in the 1970s and 1980s. Growing voter distrust with government, a demand for services but not taxes to pay for them, a sharp decline in enlightened leadership and effective civic watchdogs, and dysfunctional political institutions have all contributed to the current governance malaise. Until recently, San Diego, California—America's 8th largest city—seemed immune to such systematic governance disorders. This sunny beach town entered the 1990s proclaiming to be "America's Finest City," but in a few short years its reputation went from "Futureville" to "Enron-by-the-Sea." In this eye-opening and telling narrative, Steven P. Erie, Vladimir Kogan, and Scott A. MacKenzie mix policy analysis, political theory, and history to explore and explain the unintended but largely predictable failures of governance in San Diego. Using untapped primary sources—interviews with key decision makers and public documents—and benchmarking San Diego with other leading California cities, Paradise Plundered examines critical dimensions of San Diego's governance failure: a multi-billion dollar pension deficit; a chronic budget deficit; inadequate city services and infrastructure; grandiose planning initiatives divorced from dire fiscal realities; an insulated downtown redevelopment program plagued by poorly-crafted public-private partnerships; and, for the metropolitan region, inadequate airport and port facilities, a severe underinvestment in firefighting capacity despite destructive wildfires, and heightened Mexican border security concerns. Far from a sunny story of paradise and prosperity, this account takes stock of an important but understudied city, its failed civic leadership, and poorly performing institutions, policymaking, and planning. Though the extent of these failures may place San Diego in a league of its own, other cities are experiencing similar challenges and political changes. As such, this tale of civic woe offers valuable lessons for urban scholars, practitioners, and general readers concerned about the future of their own cities.
Author: Steven P. Erie
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804782180
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 536
Get Book Here
Book Description
The early 21st century has not been kind to California's reputation for good government. But the Golden State's governance flaws reflect worrisome national trends with origins in the 1970s and 1980s. Growing voter distrust with government, a demand for services but not taxes to pay for them, a sharp decline in enlightened leadership and effective civic watchdogs, and dysfunctional political institutions have all contributed to the current governance malaise. Until recently, San Diego, California—America's 8th largest city—seemed immune to such systematic governance disorders. This sunny beach town entered the 1990s proclaiming to be "America's Finest City," but in a few short years its reputation went from "Futureville" to "Enron-by-the-Sea." In this eye-opening and telling narrative, Steven P. Erie, Vladimir Kogan, and Scott A. MacKenzie mix policy analysis, political theory, and history to explore and explain the unintended but largely predictable failures of governance in San Diego. Using untapped primary sources—interviews with key decision makers and public documents—and benchmarking San Diego with other leading California cities, Paradise Plundered examines critical dimensions of San Diego's governance failure: a multi-billion dollar pension deficit; a chronic budget deficit; inadequate city services and infrastructure; grandiose planning initiatives divorced from dire fiscal realities; an insulated downtown redevelopment program plagued by poorly-crafted public-private partnerships; and, for the metropolitan region, inadequate airport and port facilities, a severe underinvestment in firefighting capacity despite destructive wildfires, and heightened Mexican border security concerns. Far from a sunny story of paradise and prosperity, this account takes stock of an important but understudied city, its failed civic leadership, and poorly performing institutions, policymaking, and planning. Though the extent of these failures may place San Diego in a league of its own, other cities are experiencing similar challenges and political changes. As such, this tale of civic woe offers valuable lessons for urban scholars, practitioners, and general readers concerned about the future of their own cities.
Author: Naomi Klein
Publisher: Haymarket Books
ISBN: 1608464318
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 53
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Book Description
Fearless necessary reporting . . . Klein exposes the ‘battle of utopias’ that is currently unfolding in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico” (Junot Díaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao) “We are in a fight for our lives. Hurricanes Irma and María unmasked the colonialism we face in Puerto Rico, and the inequality it fosters, creating a fierce humanitarian crisis. Now we must find a path forward to equality and sustainability, a path driven by communities, not investors. And this book explains, with careful and unbiased reporting, only the efforts of our community activists can answer the paramount question: What type of society do we want to become and who is Puerto Rico for?” —Carmen Yulín Cruz, Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico In the rubble of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans and ultrarich “Puertopians” are locked in a pitched struggle over how to remake the island. In this vital and startling investigation, bestselling author and activist Naomi Klein uncovers how the forces of shock politics and disaster capitalism seek to undermine the nation’s radical, resilient vision for a “just recovery.” All royalties from the sale of this book in English and Spanish go directly to JunteGente, a gathering of Puerto Rican organizations resisting disaster capitalism and advancing a fair and healthy recovery for their island. “Klein chronicles the extraordinary grassroots resistance by the Puerto Rican people against neoliberal privatization and Wall Street greed in the aftermath of the island’s financial meltdown, of hurricane devastation, and of Washington’s imposition of an outside control board over the most important U.S. colony.” —Juan González, cohost of Democracy Now! and author of Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America
Author: Omar El Akkad
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0525657916
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 256
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Book Description
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the widely acclaimed, bestselling author of American War—a beautifully written, unrelentingly dramatic, and profoundly moving novel that looks at the global refugee crisis through the eyes of a child. "Told from the point of view of two children, on the ground and at sea, the story so astutely unpacks the us-versus-them dynamics of our divided world that it deserves to be an instant classic." —The New York Times Book Review More bodies have washed up on the shores of a small island. Another overfilled, ill-equipped, dilapidated ship has sunk under the weight of its too many passengers: Syrians, Ethiopians, Egyptians, Lebanese, Palestinians, all of them desperate to escape untenable lives back in their homelands. But miraculously, someone has survived the passage: nine-year-old Amir, a Syrian boy who is soon rescued by Vänna. Vänna is a teenage girl, who, despite being native to the island, experiences her own sense of homelessness in a place and among people she has come to disdain. And though Vänna and Amir are complete strangers, though they don’t speak a common language, Vänna is determined to do whatever it takes to save the boy. In alternating chapters, we learn about Amir’s life and how he came to be on the boat, and we follow him and the girl as they make their way toward safety. What Strange Paradise is the story of two children finding their way through a hostile world. But it is also a story of empathy and indifference, of hope and despair—and about the way each of those things can blind us to reality.
Author: Christopher LaMonica
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781611633559
Category : Civil society
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
In the few decades since the 1956 discovery of oil at Oloibiri in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, the NDR, and the entire state of Nigeria, have been dramatically transformed. Oil exploration in the NDR has led to the construction of hastily built oil infrastructures that have, perhaps forever, altered the livelihoods of millions as well as the patterns of Nigerian politics. Whereas Nigeria''s agricultural and other exports had been diverse, Nigeria''s economy is now completely dependent on oil revenues. In many ways, the global demand for oil should have translated to great developmental success in Nigeria. But the growing level of per capita GDP is deceiving; at least 80% of the Nigerian population works in the informal economy and lives below the poverty line. To date, survey textbooks on African politics or development studies have skirted the details surrounding this profoundly traumatized region. Horror in Paradise is an attempt to fill that critical gap. The contributors to this book include scholars from leading Nigerian universities, Africanist scholars from the U.S. and the U.K., and development practitioners with experience in Nigeria (USAID, UNDP). Together, they offer a range of frameworks for thinking about the ongoing crises of the NDR, organized as: Part I: Culture, Gender, and the Environment; Part II: Governance; Part III: Development; and Part IV: Security. The book aims to facilitate scholarly and policy-oriented discussions of the region''s sometimes complex inter-related challenges and, in turn, increase both national and global attention to the plight of the NDR. This book is part of the African World Series , edited by Toyin Falola, Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities, University of Texas at Austin. " Horror in Paradise offers a compelling and systematic approach to unpacking the cross-cutting crises of the Niger Delta. In offering frameworks of study for channels of development, governance, and security -- among others -- contributors present a roadmap for understanding the historical genesis of crises in the Delta, as well as the structural impediments to crisis recovery. Investigators assessing the many contradictions in Nigeria -- aptly captured in the volume''s title -- will find value in both the analytic rigor of the contributions, as well as the breadth of the thematic coverage." -- Scott Edwards, Ph.D., Amnesty International (Director of International Advocacy for Africa and Director of the Science for Human Rights program at Amnesty International, USA), George Washington University (Professorial Lecturer on Development in Africa, Elliot School of International Affairs) " Horror in Paradise presents the glaring paradox between abundant resource endowment and the harrowing conditions spawned by the crises of deprivation in Africa''s most prolific oil producing region in critically stark, yet empathetic perspectives. In this book, the voices of a new generation of outstanding scholars tellingly explore the contradictions that underpin the betrayal of the hopes for people-centred development and security in the oil-rich, but impoverished Niger Delta. This book vividly captures the role of local and global actors in the unfolding complex crises and represents a major contribution to existing studies on the Niger Delta." -- Cyril Obi, Ph.D., Program Director, Social Science Research Council, African Peacebuilding Network (APN) " Horror in Paradise is a collection of intellectually stimulating essays on Nigeria''s oil inebriation. It presents a comprehensive, insightful and multifaceted analysis of the Niger Delta crisis. The book''s lucid explication of the historical, political, material and ideational dimensions of the Niger Delta crisis is without doubt one of the most engaging. This is essential reading." -- Temitope B. Oriola, PhD, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts Boston "The Federal Republic of Nigeria has transitioned into an important oil-producing nation but its Niger Delta Region has sunk in a downward spiral of poverty, violence, political decay and human suffering, constituting a formidable puzzle to scholars. Horror in Paradise provides an analytical framework to understand the historical roots as well as the political, social and developmental dimensions of crises in the region. Horror in Paradise sheds light on how the economy of extraction has turned the Niger Delta into a hopeless place. Students as well as policy practitioners and activists for social justice will find this collection useful in promoting progress and sustainable development in the Niger Delta." -- Masse Ndiaye, Ph.D., Visiting Scholar at the Midlo International Center, University of New Orleans "No work I know offers a more insightful view of the deeply troubled region of the Niger Delta, if only because, instead of being limited to mere advocacy, it gives a voice to a number of Nigerian citizens with different experiences, different perspectives and different forms of involvement in the complex and conflicted roots of this human and environmental tragedy." -- Dr. Edouard Bustin, Professor in Political Science and the African Studies Center, and Director, Francophone Africa Research Group, Boston University " Horror in Paradise serves as an excellent survey text...a useful contribution to an undergraduate level introductory course on Nigeria. While much of the political science literature on the region focuses on economic factors, the editors have offered a valuable contribution to the extant scholarship by presenting a multitude of angles from which to understand the ongoing conflicts of the Niger Delta." -- Adria Tinnin, University of California, Los Angeles
Author: J Roberts Timmons
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136745505
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 308
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Book Description
Environmental degradation in Latin America has become one of the most pressing issues on the international agenda. The volume began to crescendo when space shuttle astronauts photographed five thousand fires on a single night in the Brazilian Amazon state of Rondonia in 1985, and grew shrill when rubbertapper Chico Mendes was shot in 1988 trying to
Author: Dani Anguiano
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324005157
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 170
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Book Description
The harrowing story of the most destructive American wildfire in a century. On November 8, 2018, the ferocious Camp Fire razed nearly every home in Paradise, California, and killed at least 85 people. Journalists Alastair Gee and Dani Anguiano reported on Paradise from the day the fire began and conducted hundreds of in-depth interviews with residents, firefighters and police, and scientific experts. Fire in Paradise is their dramatic narrative of the disaster and an unforgettable story of an American town at the forefront of the climate emergency.
Author: Raymond B. Vickers
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
ISBN: 9780817307233
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 350
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Book Description
Even when lawsuits disclosed the chicanery, state and federal regulators misled the public. Despite the official denials, the public panicked. The ensuing runs caused the banking crash.
Author: Rebecca Solnit
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101459018
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369
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Book Description
The author of Men Explain Things to Me explores the moments of altruism and generosity that arise in the aftermath of disaster Why is it that in the aftermath of a disaster? whether manmade or natural?people suddenly become altruistic, resourceful, and brave? What makes the newfound communities and purpose many find in the ruins and crises after disaster so joyous? And what does this joy reveal about ordinarily unmet social desires and possibilities? In A Paradise Built in Hell, award-winning author Rebecca Solnit explores these phenomena, looking at major calamities from the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco through the 1917 explosion that tore up Halifax, Nova Scotia, the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. She examines how disaster throws people into a temporary utopia of changed states of mind and social possibilities, as well as looking at the cost of the widespread myths and rarer real cases of social deterioration during crisis. This is a timely and important book from an acclaimed author whose work consistently locates unseen patterns and meanings in broad cultural histories.
Author: Lizzie Johnson
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0593136403
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 449
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Book Description
The definitive firsthand account of California’s Camp Fire, the nation’s deadliest wildfire in a century, Paradise is a riveting examination of what went wrong and how to avert future tragedies as the climate crisis unfolds. “A tour de force story of wildfire and a terrifying look at what lies ahead.”—San Francisco Chronicle (Best Books of the Year) On November 8, 2018, the people of Paradise, California, awoke to a mottled gray sky and gusty winds. Soon the Camp Fire was upon them, gobbling an acre a second. Less than two hours after the fire ignited, the town was engulfed in flames, the residents trapped in their homes and cars. By the next morning, eighty-five people were dead. As a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, Lizzie Johnson was there as the town of Paradise burned. She saw the smoldering rubble of a historic covered bridge and the beloved Black Bear Diner and she stayed long afterward, visiting shelters, hotels, and makeshift camps. Drawing on years of on-the-ground reporting and reams of public records, including 911 calls and testimony from a grand jury investigation, Johnson provides a minute-by-minute account of the Camp Fire, following residents and first responders as they fight to save themselves and their town. We see a young mother fleeing with her newborn; a school bus full of children in search of an escape route; and a group of paramedics, patients, and nurses trapped in a cul-de-sac, fending off the fire with rakes and hoses. In Paradise, Johnson documents the unfolding tragedy with empathy and nuance. But she also investigates the root causes, from runaway climate change to a deeply flawed alert system to Pacific Gas and Electric’s decades-long neglect of critical infrastructure. A cautionary tale for a new era of megafires, Paradise is the gripping story of a town wiped off the map and the determination of its people to rise again.
Author: Richard A. Levin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 100
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Book Description
