Transformational Development

This book analyzes the pattern of assimilation and incorporation among the Hispanic population in the Washington DC metro region. It makes a considerable contribution to the literature of emerging gateways in the field of migration and urban development with articles from notable academics and public policy analysts in their respective fields.

Collection of selected, peer reviewed papers from the 2013 International Conference on Civil Engineering and Transportation (ICCET 2013). December 14-15, 2013, Kunming, China. The 175 papers are grouped as follows: Chapter 1: Architectural Design and its Theory; Chapter 2: Building Science and Technology; Chapter 3: Traditional Construction Materials; Chapter 4: Advanced Construction Materials; Chapter 5: Renewable Energy and Building Energy Saving; Chapter 6: Urban and Rural Planning and Design; Chapter 7: Water Purification and Waste Treatment; Chapter 8: Environmental Engineering and Environmental Protection.

Urban development in sub-Saharan Africa has posed more challenges in recent decades, shifting the focus from rural poverty to urbanised poverty. This study examines the relationship between operations of informal land markets and housing development for planning policies that are responsive to the land market conditions.

This book discusses alternative development and its relevance for local/global processes of marginalization and change in the Global South. It questions who the producers of development knowledges and practices are, and aims at decentring development and geographical knowledge from the Anglo-American centre and the Global North. The main strength of the book is that it calls for a central role for alternative development in the current development discourse, most notably related to justice, rights, globalization, forced migration, conflict and climate change.

The urban landscape is changing and, as a result, urban ministries are at a crossroads. If the Church is to be an effective agent of compassion and justice, Robert Lupton notes, we must change our mission strategies. In this compelling book, Lupton asks the tough questions about service providing and community building to help ministries enhance their effectiveness. What are the dilemmas that caring people encounter to faithfully carry out the teachings of Scripture and become personally involved with "the least of these?" What are some possible alternatives to the ways we have traditionally attempted to care for the poor? How do people, programs and neighborhoods move towards reciprocal, interdependent relationships? To effect these types of changes will require new skill sets and resources, but the possibilities for good are great.

Top down . . . bottom up . . . what works? This book explores development from the perspective of the poor. Who are they? What lives do they live? What matters to them? And most importantly, what can they do about it? Martin and Mathema debate how people can be given legitimate control of their own environment, and how governments can work with them. How do communities and conditions drive behavior? What interventions are appropriate and how can we approach development imaginatively? This is not about usurping governance - but revisiting structures that the developed world has come to accept, and placing the power of decision in the hands of the people it affects. Nor it is about money . . . it's about people, and about how we can make our world work for everyone.

The Gospel According to the Marginalized evaluates the development of liberation theology and feminism in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the United States of America. While exploring the common elements within liberation theology as a whole, the book also identifies and discusses the issues that are particularly relevant for each region. Encompassing womanism, mujerista, and the Han of Asian American women, the book briefly examines liberation and feminist literature as well. The experiences, reflections, voices, and works of women struggling for umunthu (dignity and fullness of life) or liberation are gathered in this book.

Poverty is one of the great challenges of the 21st century. But poverty is not new. And neither is God's deep concern for the poor--it is a theme deeply woven throughout the Bible. Yet sadly, churches and individual Christians have too often been blind to this emphasis, or they have been paralyzed into inaction by feelings of helplessness. In this urgent, provocative book, Ash Barker offers both challenge and hope. Pulling out and reflecting on significant passages from both testaments, he reveals what the Bible says about both the nature of poverty and about how God calls his people to respond. These studies, ideal for either individual or small group use, are interlaced with personal reflections--first-hand accounts from fifteen years of ministry among the poor.

Pilar Hogan Closkey and John Hogan have brought together the annual Archbishop Oscar Romero Lectures (2001-2007) to consider the life and death of Archbishop Romero and the daily struggles of the poor in our world, especially in the city of Camden, New Jersey-one of America's poorest cities. Romero's 'dangerous memory' provides the background, while urban poverty and the option for the poor are the foreground. Romero's commitment to the poor compels us to look at ourselves, and the authors of each chapter remind us of Romero's dangerous memory and his undying hope in the promised future. Taken as a whole, the book reminds us of the tough questions behind the real meaning of the 'option for the poor.' Can we as a faith community and institution move beyond high-sounding slogans and really opt for the poor? What are the costs? What are the risks? Especially in these difficult times of war, terrorism, and scandal, can we in the Church rebuild trust and be a sign of a future of justice and peace announced by Jesus?