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Pauline McHardy takes a methodical approach to her subject explaining Jamaican geography and urban development as well as the political and social factors that have influenced, and will influence, the country's planning regulations. She outlines the major acts that have shaped the evoltuion of the planning system in Jamaica since its independence from Britain, and considers their impact on both major urban and rural regions of the island.She draws on her educational background in geography and community and regional planning, as well as eighteen years experience of working with the Jamaican government in this area, to produce a book which meticulously defines the the developing role of town and regional planning in Jamaica. ... Read more

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This gives an outline of the theory and practice of cost-benefit analysis in the context of urban and regional planning. Pitched at intermediate level, it uses predominantly graphical methods of analysis, and no more than a foundation course in the principles of economics is assumed. It is designed for intermediate and advanced students of urban and regional planning, economics, and geography; researchers and professionals in these areas. ... Read more

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The New Labour government has made an institutional turn, from doing things 'to' people to enabling them to do things 'for' themselves. This self-help approach is perhaps most clear in areas such as health, pensions and education. This text explores how the approach can be applied to deprived urban neighbourhoods. Answers are sought to a range of questions. What are the rationales for purusing an "assisted self-help" approach? To what extent are deprived neighbourhoods already using self-help? does such activity reduce or reinforce the social and spatial inequalities produced by the formal labour market? The book is divided into three sections: the rationales for an assisted self-help approach; how self-help is practised in everyday life in deprived urban neighbourhoods; and the strategies that could be adopted to enable people to help themselves. ... Read more

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With the expansion of the European Union, the countries of Southeast Europe have finally been brought together within one socio-political entity. The restructuring of these economies following globalization and neoliberalization has meant that this region has become much more open to geopolitical shifts and trends.While the various countries have all entered into the slow process of European integration, the historic fragmentation of this region has led to various conflicts and contradictions in the restructuring and transition of national economies. This volume provides a theoretical and comparative overview which examines the prospects for spatial cohesion in this region. With the need to handle persisting problems and conflicts from the past while coping with new economic and political structures, Southeast Europe proves to be a challenging yet fruitful testing ground for how best to overcome fragmentation and establish a long-term process of social and economic integration. ... Read more

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Since the Conservative government of the late 1970s introduced its stringent spending policy, a "value for money" ideology has dictated most approaches to policy management. As a result, monitoring and evaluation have become an integral part of the policy process. Focusing on the experience of British urban policy, this book examines the theoretical and practical issues in the monitoring or evaluation of public policy. It argues that as a result of the "value for money" ideology influencing urban policy in Britain, various conflicts have arisen in both policy and implementation and compromises have had to be made. By exploring the experiences of monitoring and evaluating urban policy, the book examines key issues such as changing approaches, the interface between monitoring and evaluation and the utilization of monitoring information and evaluation studies. It concludes that a long-term evaluation strategy is required in order to improve the utility value of evaluation studies vis-a-vis policy formulation at the national level and implementation at the local level. ... Read more

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Regions have always been powerful spatial metaphors and political concepts. However, it is within the context of more recent paradigm shifts that 'regions' have acquired the intense economic, political and social salience they now enjoy.Bringing together comparative case studies from Central Europe and South America, the book focuses on 'new' regions; regions created as political projects of modernisation and 're-scaling'. In doing so, it de-codes 'New Regionalism' in terms of its contributions to institutional change, but also of its contestedness and contradictions. It questions whether these regions are merely a strategy of neo-liberal adjustment to changing political and economic condition, or whether they are indicative of true reform, of greater citizen participation and of empowerment. It assesses whether these regions are really representing something new or whether they are a reconfiguration of traditional power relationships. It provides a timely critical analysis of 'region-building' and the extent to which national processes of decentralisation and subnational processes of regionalism can enhance the effectiveness and responsiveness of governance. ... Read more