Geographies Of Development

Geographies of Development second edition

Robert B. Potter

Tony Binns

Jennifer A. Elliott,

David Smith

 

Geographies of Development

is an established, innovative and comprehensive introductory textbook for undergraduate students of Development Geography, Development Studies and related fields. A pioneer of the holistic approach, it encourages critical engagement by integrating key topics throughout the text, such as development ideology, globalisation, modernity, gender, ethnicity, tourism, resources, development aid, land degradation and environmental sustainability. It argues lucidly, convincingly and informatively that ideas concerning development have been many and varied, and have been highly contested, varying from time to time and from place to place.

Key features

Integrates theory, practice and illustration to bring the subject alive and encourage a balanced and considered overview of ‘development'

Accessible layout of material, illustrated by numerous diagrams, graphs, photographs and tables, aids understanding of the subject

Each chapter includes boxed case studies, key concepts summaries, suggestions for further reading and topics for discussion

New to this edition

New material and case studies drawn from scholarly and popular sources to encourage a critical approach and to increase contemporary relevance, as in Part 1 ‘Conceptualising Development'

• Fully updated to reflect the most recent developments in theory (anti-development, post-development, post-colonialism and post-structuralism) and practice (anti-capitalism, anti-globalisation, TNCs, critiques of the WTO, arguments for the relocation of production, GM crops and agricultural change)
• New coverage of key concepts such as social capital, civil society and participatory development
• Extended coverage of the World Bank, IMF, neo-liberal policies and Poverty Reduction Strategies
• New coverage of poverty and debt reduction, the Millennium development goals, global warming and GM crops and linkages between urban and rural areas

‘a text I would recommend highly for an introductory course in development studies'

Economic Geography

‘a truly multidisciplinary resource that will likely satisfy students with an interest in development' Journal of Rural Studies

 

Robert B. Potter is Professor of Human Geography at the University of Reading. Tony Binns is Reader in Geography at the University of Sussex. Jennifer A. Elliott is Principal Lecturer in Geography at the University of Brighton. The late David Smith was Professor of Economic Geography at the University if Liverpool. All of the authors have considerable teaching experience in this are and collectively bring first-hand research expertise from North, West and Southern Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and the Caribbean and South America.

Cover illustration by Matthew Richardson

Based on an original sketch by Rob Potter

 

- Looking for a fresh approach to the study of Development Geography?

- Bored with the traditional structure of most development texts?

-Do you consider pressing topics such as gender, sustainable development, modernity-postmodernity as integral to a clear understanding of this field?

-Want to learn or teach with the aid of a team of world-renowned development specialists?

Geographies of Development is an innovative and comprehensive introductory textbook for undergraduate students of Development Geography and Development Studies. The aim is to move away from the traditional approach whereby topics such as agriculture, industry, urbanisation, trade and aid are dealt with separately. Rather, key topics such as development ideology, globalisation, modernity, gender, ethnicity, tourism, land degradation and environmental sustainability are integrated throughout the text. The theme of the book is that ideas concerning development have been many and varied, and have been highly contested, varying from time to time and from place to place.

Contents

List of boxes

Preface to the Second Edition

Acknowledgements

Introduction

PART I CONCEPTUALISING DEVELOPMENT: MEANINGS OF DEVELOPMENT

1. Questioning development

Overview: from ‘development' to ‘anti-development'

The meaning of the word ‘development'

Thinking about development

Critiques of development: Eurocentrism, populist stances, anti-development and post-modernity

Spatialising development: the Third World/Developing World/Global South

Rich and poor worlds: relative poverty and inequalities at the global scale

Concluding issues: geography, development and ‘distant others'

Further reading

Websites

2. Understanding colonialism

Introduction

Phases of colonialism

Legacies of colonialism

Further reading

3. Theories and strategies of development

Introduction

Theories, strategies and ideologies of development

Classical-traditional approaches: early views from the developed world

Historical approaches: empirical perspectives on change and development

Radical dependency approaches: the Third World answers back?

Alternative, bottom-up approaches: perspectives on ‘another' development

Development theory, modernity and post-modernity: concluding remarks

Further reading

Websites

4. Globalisation, development and underdevelopment

What does globalisation mean?

Globalisation and development: for and against/solution or problem?

Global transformations: a shrinking world or a more unequal world?

Globalisation and the information society: the digital divide and an unequal world

Economic aspects of globalisation: industrialisation, TNCs, world cities and global shifts

Economic change and global divergence

Global convergence? Perspectives on cultural globalisation

Political aspects of globalisation: the anti-globalisation and anti-capitalist movements

Concluding comments: globalisation and unequal development

Further reading

Websites

PART II DEVELOPMENT IN PRACTICE: COMPONENTS OF DEVELOPMENT

5. People in the development process

People-centred development

Population and resources: a demographic time bomb?

Population distribution

Population dynamics

The demographic transition

Population policies

Population structure

Quality of life

Conclusion

Further reading

Websites

6. Resources and the environment

Introduction

The importance of resources in development

Resource constraints and the development process

Environmental impacts of development

The search for sustainable resource management

Further reading

Websites

7. Institutions of development

Introduction

The rise of global governance

The role of the state

Civil society, NGOs and development

Further reading

Websites

PART III SPACES AND DEVELOPMENT: PLACES AND DEVELOPMENT

8. Movements and flows

Introduction: unravelling complexities

Movements and flows in the ‘real world'

People on the move

Communications and transport

North and South: an interdependent world

World trade: the changing scene

Developing countries and the debt crisis

Further reading

Websites

9. Urban spaces

Urbanisation and development: an overview

Urbanisation in the contemporary Third World

Causes of repaid urbanisation in the Third World

City systems and development: questions of urban primacy, regional inequalities and unequal development

Urban and regional planning in Third World countries

Rural-urban interrelations in developing countries

Inside Third World cities

Final comments: urban management for sustainable urbanisation

Further reading

Websites

10. Rural spaces

Rural spaces in development

Principal systems of production

Approaches to agricultural and rural development

Towards better understanding of rural spaces

Further reading

Websites

Bibliography

Index