Michael A. Burayidi

This collection evaluates the various strategies that different cities have used when attempting to economically revitalize downtown areas.

This collection evaluates the various strategies that different cities have used when attempting to economically revitalize downtown areas.

Illuminating the importance of culture in community planning, this book reveals why previous planning practices have failed and suggests that improvements can be made by taking into consideration the diverse needs of a multicultural society. For community planning to be effective, planners must first recognize and acknowledge that community culture influences how people live in, use, and organize space. They must then base their designs on the respective community culture and avoid the trap of planning based on their own values and cultural background. Thus urban planning must take on a futuristic, multi-dimensional vision for the 21st century. The contributions in this book address these issues and suggest ways in which the planner can incorporate the cultural differences and avoid conflict. The book examines the inadequacy of current theoretical and philosophical paradigms in planning in a multicultural society, how planners can increase planning's effectiveness with ethnic and cultural communities, and how we might reshape institutions to better address the needs of a diverse, global, and multicultural society. This book will be of interest to both academic and professional audiences in multicultural studies and urban planning.

This accessible, challenging discussion of race relations looks at how institutions shape individual experience and asks how we can prevent a violent splintering of American society along racial lines in the 21st century. Arguing that the best way to understand race relations is through the personal accounts of individuals as they go through the life cycle, this highly readable book uses real life stories to illuminate how families, peer groups, and workplaces influence views about other racial and ethnic groups. The authors hope to inspire readers to intervene and counteract negative perceptions of racial difference through their open, frank discussion of the racial divide.

This book provides a discussion of multiculturalism from a global perspective. It progresses from a discussion of the ideological and philosophical arguments for multiculturalism through its political, public policy, and socio-economic dimensions. Multicultural practices from Canada, Germany, India, Israel, Nigeria, Rwanda, the United Kingdom, and the United States are discussed. The response to multiculturalism differs from one country to the other and is influenced by the political context, rules of immigration, colonial legacy, domestic institutional structures, and pressure from interest groups. Because multiculturalism is a contentious issue as groups vie for limited resources, the debate on multiculturalism will be a heated one. Governments can facilitate the process by creating an environment that enables the exchange of ideas without conflict and antagonism.