The Science Of Open Spaces

Since the days of the American Frontier, our management policies have promoted a one-size-fits-all mentality for large, complex landscapes. Landscape ecologist Charles Curtin argues that instead we need a science-based approach that accounts for the dynamic nature of complex systems and gives local stakeholders a say in their futures. The Science of Open Spaces proposes that we return to "first principles"--fundamental physical laws of the universe--and think about complex systems from the ground up based on modern scientific theory backed up by practical experience. Curtin walks us through foundational concepts of thermodynamics, ecology, sociology, and resilience theory, applying them to real-world examples from years he has spent designing large-scale, place-based collaborative research programs in the United States and around the world.

These transcendent, lyrical essays on the West announced Gretel Ehrlich as a major American writer—“Wyoming has found its Whitman” (Annie Dillard). Poet and filmmaker Gretel Ehrlich went to Wyoming in 1975 to make the first in a series of documentaries when her partner died. Ehrlich stayed on and found she couldn’t leave. The Solace of Open Spaces is a chronicle of her first years on “the planet of Wyoming,” a personal journey into a place, a feeling, and a way of life. Ehrlich captures both the otherworldly beauty and cruelty of the natural forces—the harsh wind, bitter cold, and swiftly changing seasons—in the remote reaches of the American West. She brings depth, tenderness, and humor to her portraits of the peculiar souls who also call it home: hermits and ranchers, rodeo cowboys and schoolteachers, dreamers and realists. Together, these essays form an evocative and vibrant tribute to the life Ehrlich chose and the geography she loves. Originally written as journal entries addressed to a friend, The Solace of Open Spaces is raw, meditative, electrifying, and uncommonly wise. In prose “as expansive as a Wyoming vista, as charged as a bolt of prairie lightning,” Ehrlich explores the magical interplay between our interior lives and the world around us (Newsday).

Concern for the environment and the impacts of pollution have brought about the need to shift from the use and reliance on hydrocarbons to energy-power sources that are pollution neutral or near pollution neutral or renewable. Moreover, the impact of 200 years of industrialization and surging population growth threatens to exceed the future supply of hydrocarbon power sources. Therefore, the implementation of green energy sources is surging. The Science of Green Energy presents technologies and techniques, as well as real-world usage of and operation of today’s green energy-based applications. This practical book is designed to be used as an information source for the general reader, or for a course in energy, chemistry or in renewable energy engineering fields where green energy is becoming a key player. It is intended to fill a wide gap of missing information in published texts dealing with the green energy revolution currently in progress; it specifically provides information involving the many different sources of energy.

Science in the Public Sphere presents a broad yet detailed picture of the history of science popularization from the Renaissance to the twenty-first century. Global in focus, it provides an original theoretical framework for analysing the political load of science as an instrument of cultural hegemony and giving a voice to expert and lay protagonists throughout history. Organised into a series of thematic chapters spanning diverse periods and places, this book covers subjects such as the representations of science in print, the media, classrooms and museums, orthodox and heterodox practices, the intersection of the history of science with the history of technology, and the ways in which public opinion and scientific expertise have influenced and shaped one another across the centuries. It concludes by introducing the "participatory turn" of the twenty-first century, a new paradigm of science popularization and a new way of understanding the construction of knowledge. Highly illustrated throughout and covering the recent historiographical scholarship on the subject, this book is valuable reading for students, historians, science communicators, and all those interested in the history of science and its relationship with the public sphere.

In the current panorama of urban growth and planning in many urban territories of western societies, open spaces are residual spaces of urban occupation or are reserved for eventual occupation. Open spaces have been viewed in this manner in the earlier stages of the compact city and especially now, in a time of the dispersed territories characterized by discontinuity, heterogeneity, and fragmentation. The disciplinary perspectives of ecology, geology, landscape architecture, and urbanism, but also public opinion, have for some time promoted the conservation and protection of the most valuable natural spaces, and efforts have been made to remove such spaces from the real estate market. However, such positions, usually radical, are insufficient for territorial equilibrium and inevitably lead to the progressive disappearance of valuable natural spaces.

Public places are places where all citizens, irrespective of their race, age, religion, or class level (social or economic), cannot be excluded. It serves to improve the lifestyle experience of its inhabitants, as well as promote social connections. All citizens are responsible for it and are interested in it, and the intervention for change must be the responsibility of all without exception. As such, bottom-up urban planning is essential for urban environments and for transforming nightlife in public places in order to create more meaningful experiences and instill a greater sense of identity and community. Transforming Urban Nightlife and the Development of Smart Public Spaces analyzes the patterns of transformations of nightlife in public life. The book investigates urban nightlife transformations and the challenge of enhancing the sense of belonging in sensitive areas such as local communities and historical sites. The chapters present new insights to control the chaotic intervention related to the elements of traditional or digital technology, whether from citizens themselves or local authorities. The objective also is to document urban nightlife transformations that enhance the sense of belonging in historical sites. Important topics covered include urban-gamification, digital urban art, urban socio-ecosystems, and reimagining space in the urban nightlife. This book is ideal for urban planners, developers, social scientists, technologists, civil engineers, architects, policymakers, government officials, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students who are interested in urban nightlife and nightscape and the smart technologies used for transformation.

Advances in Urban Engineering and Management Science contains the selected papers resulting from the 2022 3rd International Conference on Urban Engineering and Management Science (ICUEMS 2022). Covering a wide range of topics, the Proceedings of ICUEMS 2022 presents the latest developments in: (i) Architecture and Urban Planning (Architectural design and its theory, Urban planning and design, Building technology science, Urban protection and regeneration, Urban development strategy, Ecological construction and intelligent control, Sustainable infrastructure); (ii) Logistics and supply chain management (Warehousing and distribution, Logistics outsourcing, Logistics automation, Production and material flow, Supply chain management technology, Supply chain risk management, Global service supply chain management, Supply Chain Planning and Inventory Management, Coordination and collaboration of supply chain networks, Governance and regulatory aspects affecting supply chain management); (iii) Urban traffic management (Smart grid management, Belt and Road Development, Intelligent traffic analysis and planning management, Big data and transportation management). The Proceedings of ICUEMS 2022 will be useful to professionals, academics, and Ph.D. students interested in the above-mentioned fields. Emphasis was put on basic methodologies, scientific development and engineering applications. ICUEMS 2022 is to provide a platform for experts, scholars, engineers and technical researchers engaged in the related fields of urban engineering management to share scientific research achievements and cutting-edge technologies, understand academic development trends, broaden research ideas, strengthen academic research and discussion, and promote the industrialization cooperation of academic achievements. Experts, scholars, business people and other relevant personnel from universities and research institutions at home and abroad are cordially invited to attend and exchange.