Suchergebnisse

This book explains the nature of capitalism both as a production system and as a historical process. Capitalism has superseded the systems based on rent and privileges, has freed up enterprise, brought in competition, set merit above corporative relations and patronage; has created a steady increase in wealth. The process has generated the development of the middle classes, a critical culture civil rights and democracy. However, the pursuit of profit has always tended to op-press the weaker categories and rob the less advanced economies. These two contrary trends cannot coexist indefinitely. Today the essential clash is between welfare for all and neoliberalism, based on increasing inequalities, rising financial rents and the exploitation of workers.

This work analyses the relation between social inequality and health by focusing on the social processes and individual mechanisms that construct it within the area of action of the economic sphere, the cultural sphere and the social and territorial sphere. Within this framework, the body is conceived as a link between the physical, biological and material dimensions and the social, relational and emotional dimensions. At the same time, the proposal is to go beyond the well-known relationship between economic resources/social position and levels of health/life expectation, concentrating on the specific social and psychological dynamics generated by the availability of socio-economic capital. The over-simplified perspective of the social gradient of health is overtaken by an analysis of the relational dimension of the individual and his/her reference groups, and finally by appraising both the individual and collective aspects that can be traced to the social and political context and to the different welfare systems.

The volume presents the thesis of the social roots of the European crisis, supported by an empirical analysis that highlights the extent to which the inequality between EU citizens, which grew with the 2008 recession, determines the ideas of Europe circulating among Europeans, helping to influence their sense of belonging. The work develops an original theoretical approach that is experimented in the field through a study that shows, on the one hand, the boundless narrative heritage and the different identity forms that characterize Europe; on the other, the main factors that influence them: the experiences, the socio-economic and cultural characteristics of the individual and the context, the use of the media and the role played by the institutions on the territory.

Urban settlements are critical today, not only in demographic, economic and cultural terms, but also for their environmental impact. A sustainable land management is therefore a fundamental requirement. Urban sprawl has long been described as settlement model that is unsustainable from all the points of view, but its growth has been virtually unchallenged for decades. Many regions have recently become aware of the problem however, and they are trying to tackle this challenge. This book tries to focus on this challenge and it moves from the following research questions: which outcomes have been obtained against sprawl? Which difficulties emerged? Who and why is against these policies? Which are the "unwanted effects" of these policies? The book is focused on the US trends, where the problem emerged first. Portland, Denver and Minneapolis are considered: three metropolitan regions in different parts of the country but with similar dimensions, characteristics and policies. The conditions that made some outcomes possible are highlighted (the ability to network institutions at multiple levels and to foster the participation of local actors in the land management process), as well as some critical issues and unsolved problems (the exponential growth of real estate costs, the opposition of a part of the local community, the persistence of segregation and inequality forms).