Browsing by Subject "Cities"
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Item The transformation of cologne: from a Late Roman to an Early Medieval City.(2011-07) Farmer, Thomas R.Scholars have long believed that cities in the Western Roman Empire declined during the Early Middle Ages (A.D. 300-900). Their populations dwindled, their infrastructure decayed, and their importance decreased dramatically. Cities remained unimportant until the eleventh century, when a commercial revolution began which led to an economic recovery. But more recent research has shown that this view is overstated. In this work, I seek to examine the fate of Cologne during the Early Middle Ages, using literary, archeological, numismatic, and epigraphic sources. This evidence shows that Cologne, contrary to older views, was actually a thriving city during this period: Its population was stable and its economy prospered. Cologne's state during the Early Middle Ages suggests that we should not be so quick to assume that all early medieval cities had declined.Item Uneven Absorption: World-Class Delhi, Domestic Workers, and the Water that Makes Them(2014-08) O'Leary, HeatherConcern over sustainable development and urban water allocation is growing worldwide. Moreover, within the context of climate change, many presently socially marginalized populations are at even greater risk for future water crisis. It is critically important to understand not only the present water practices of marginalized populations, but also how their social status also affects their relationship to water. This study, grounded in eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork, traces the changing patterns of water allocation and water ethoi of the water-poor. The findings suggest that water is used as a signal of class identity and although the water-poor are typically seen as a homogenous unit, there is variation in the adoption of urban water practices. It argues that the contemporary anthropological language for global flows does not explain the rich negotiations of water values, identity and local spaces. It interjects a new metaphor of absorption to explain global flows. As approximately 1,000 people in-migrate Delhi, India each day, the vast majority to informal housing with limited water access, this overlooked population stands to drastically impact the urban waterscape.Item Viewpoint: Triumph of the City(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2012) Glaeser, EdwardThe inaugural meeting of the World Symposium on Transport and Land Use Research (WSTLUR) was held in Whistler, British Columbia, July 28–30, 2011. The conference brought together academics and practitioners at the intersection of economics, planning, and engineering in the fields of transport and land use.In addition to presentations based on rigorously peer-reviewed papers, the conference included a plenary presentation from Ed Glaeser, the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics with the Department of Economics, Harvard University, and author of the book Triumph of the City. Following are excerpts from Glaeser’s keynote address.