Urban & Rural Sociology books

This volume explores the issues of convergence and divergence in alternative agrifood movements through a theoretical and empirical engagement of the topic by notable agrifood researchers from Europe, North America and South America. It probes the degree to which the numerous alternative agrifood movements that have emerged in recent years in response to the legitimation crisis of conventional agriculture have converged around a central alternative thesis or pursued divergent paths of development. Some alternative agrifood movements represent radical critiques of conventional agriculture that challenge the existing system while other movements engage in reformist and accommodative approaches that are viewed as complimentary. The book begins with chapters that enhance the theoretical discussions on the pathways and obstacles to convergence followed by empirical case studies on organics, food sovereignty, landless workers, alternative food systems, and food policy councils.

"This volume seeks to answer modern questions and concerns regarding peasants, their production techniques, and their links to wider society. In the past, peasants and their seemingly simple production models have been criticized for being unable to fully meet the needs of modern society, especially when it comes to world hunger, food quality, and sustainability. However, often neglected is the myriad of new initiatives that alter the way food is produced and marketed. New 'peasant markets' are created everywhere and new products and services abound. This volume argues that these initiatives represent "seeds of transition"; they are the "sprouts" out of which new socio-technical modes for organizing production and marketing emerge - "sprouts" that, taken together, can be summarized as "rural development". This book critically discusses these new practices and the actors engaged in them. In doing so, it deals with several countries in three different continents (Asia, South America and Europe). It proposes new concepts and approaches for a better understanding of the re-emergence of peasants as indispensable part of modern societies."

This volume is about the plurality and complexity of modern urban public spaces. The authors move far beyond the nostalgia of traditional streets, squares and gardens to mobilize contemporary sociological knowledge based on the mediated relations between spatial morphology and everyday life in cities across several continents. Contributions analyse diverse social realities and social interventions within the context of urban public spaces, linking to the broader discussion of urban public policies in European cities and beyond. Sometimes these interventions lead to exclusionary processes; other times they are the object of conflicts and resistances.  When we speak about the (re)constructions, the uses and counter-uses of urban public spaces, we are always in the core of the political (city: polis) domain as those places are not fixed and do not have unique representations or immutable configurations – they are networks of relationships and social practices with antagonistic views and flexible uses.