This book is about African and Asian cities. Illustrated through selected case cities; the book brings together a rich collection of papers by leading scholars and practitioners in Africa and Asia to offer empirical analysis and up-to-date discussions and assessments of the urban challenges and solutions for their cities. A number of key topics concerning housing; sustainable urban development and climate change in Africa and Asia are explored along with how policy interventions and partnerships deliver specific forms of urban development. It is intended for all who are interested in the state of the cities and urban development in Africa and Asia. Africa and Asia present; in many ways; useful lessons in dealing with the burgeoning urban population; and the problems surrounding this influx of people and climate change in the developing word.
#3834167 in eBooks 2013-09-16 2013-09-16File Name: B00F8E6VWO
Review
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful. A great piece of the 33 1/3 seriesBy SuzyMichael Jacksons career is often reduced to his 80s albums in the mainstream media; but I always felt people who refuse to pay attention to his later work are missing out on some of his best work. Dangerous is one of my favourite albums; so I am very happy about this book. Yes; Thriller is great; yes Off The Wall is amazing; but so is Dangerous!While I always instinctively loved and "felt" this album I was never really analytical about it why; so I was really curious about Susan Fasts take on it. Fast considers Dangerous a concept album. This may come as a surprise; because its not obvious at first glance. In actuality; when the album was released many critics criticized if for its eclectic styles and (seemingly) eclectic themes; saying it was not coherent. Well; Susan Fast shows that this criticism is very superficial. Yes; there is RB and there is rock and there is gospel and there is hip-hop on the same album (I always found it fascinating that MJ could do all that and more convincingly); but that does not make it incoherent. In the musical and thematical context of the album and what MJ wanted to express with it it all makes sense.According to Fast Dangerous is MJs "coming of age" album which may be another surprise considering he was 33-years-old at the time of its release; but I agree with her on it. By this time he left behind his artistic "father"; Quincy Jones and he was the sole captain of his ship. As a result both musically and thematically he went to new territories and he explored landscapes hes never been to before. I think this is the album from which he opens up more about himself. His 80s albums are great but I think if you are curious about MJ the person you will learn about him more from his later work. (Well; perhaps with the exception of one hidden gem; the Jacksons 1978 Destiny album; which has some early examples of MJs soul-baring. Listen to the lyrics there and you will know what I mean but I digress.)At the beginning of the book Fast cites a critic who did not like the fact that thematically and musically similar songs are "clustered together" on the album. Fast counters that by saying that this structure is deliberate and it takes us to a journey through the albums concept in which we explore the themes that engaged Jackson at the time.By the way; its relatively easy to spot and many people noted that Dangerous is like two albums in one. The first part (track 1-6.) is the New Jack Swing part. (In my view just like Off The Wall took disco on another level so did Dangerous take NJS on another level. Although you can hear the NJS influence on Dangerous - obviously through Teddy Rileys involvement -; but its a very Jackson-esque version of NJS which to me makes it superior to the generic NJS sound of the era; just like Off The Wall was superior to the typical disco records of the era.) The second part of the album (track 7-13.) is a more classic Jackson sound. The last track Dangerous (track 14.) goes back to New Jack Swing again; putting the album in a frame. Even less analytical listeners could easily realize this structure.Fast however goes deeper than that and explores these so called "clusters" of songs on the album of which she identifies five:Noise: Jam; Why You Wanna Trip On MeDesire: In The Closet; She Drives Me Wild; Remember The Time; Cant Let Her Get AwayUtopia: Heal The World; Black or WhiteSoul: Who Is It; Give In To Me; Will You Be There; Keep The Faith; (Gone Too Soon)Coda: DangerousNosie; Desire; Utopia; Soul and Coda are the titles of the chapters in Fasts book.In "Noise" she discusses the role of non-musical sounds in Jacksons music and in these songs in particular (after all the whole album starts with such a sound - the sound of breaking glass). She also puts it into the cultural context of black music and especially hip-hop and what noises mean in that music and how this influenced Jackson and also what the use of "noise" means in these socially conscious songs; Jam and Why You Wanna Trip On Me.The cluster "Desire" contains the romantic-erotic segment of the album. In The Closet is Jacksons most erotic song ever and the first time he goes this far in song. His earlier love songs were pretty innocent and "vanilla". Not on Dangerous. These love songs are real; steamy; sweaty. But nothing is ever uncomplicated with him; not even romance; so there are a lot of things to discuss about these songs too; starting with why did he give that title (In The Closet) to a song about a clearly heterosexual relationship? Fast discusses musical structures as well; for example she draws attention to the fact that In The Closets structure is a Middle Eastern structure; not Western; which I found interesting.In "Utopia" we get to the start of the second half of the album where we abandon New Jack Swing. The segment starts with Heal The World which got a lot of flak from critics for being saccharine and overly sentimental; but maybe you will appreciate it more when you read Fasts analysis on it (both musical and thematical) and in the context of Jacksons "utopia". Black or White is also a part of Jacksons utopia and the song is discussed with its famous video in mind.The segment "Soul" in my opinion is the highlight of the album - and Fast shares this view. I always thought that Who Is It was one of the best songs of MJs entire career. Yes; to me its up there with Billie Jean; Wanna Be Startin Somethin; you name it. A very typically Jackson-esque song as well. Its a shame that it remained relatively lesser known. The only thing I did not agree with Fast was that she said David Finchers video did not do justice to the song. I actually love the video and I think it goes well with the song. Then MJ goes rock with Give In To Me and gospel with Will You Be There and Keep The Faith. This sequence of songs truly is the "Soul" of the album and MJ is baring his soul in front of us. Will You Be There is almost prohpetic too.Then the album goes full circle with the "Coda"; Dangerous which musically goes back to NJS again and thematically is one of MJs femme fatale songs (like Billie Jean; Dirty Diana; Blood on the Dance Floor etc.).Looking at those clusters it also seems to me that socially conscious and personal clusters alternated: Noise - socially conscious; Desire - personal; Utopia - socially conscious; Soul - personal.Although in the song Dangerous it is the protagonist female who is Dangerous; but with this album its MJ himself who became a lot more dangerous than before: more socially conscious; sexier; more outspoken - so the album title is fitting. Did I just say "sexier"? Yes; MJ was sexy to millions of women (and I guess gay men) and Fast spends some time on lamenting the fact that the media always refused to acknowledge that side of him when its a fact that its there. Its like the elephant in the room so why would they not acknowledge it? Was his unconventional masculinity too threatening to mainstream norms?Fast also spends some time analyzing the intriguing cover of the album which is a painting by Mark Ryden (created with MJs input) with lots of cultural and social references.I enjoyed the book very much and I think its a worthy analysis of a great album and a great piece of the 33 1/3 series.20 of 21 people found the following review helpful. 33-1/3 DANGEROUS by Susan Fast - some reflections on the book; the album and the artistBy KerryahMichael Jacksons Dangerous - its hard to believe we are headed for the quarter century anniversary (in 2016) of this incredible landmark in Michaels career; and one that author Susan Fast correctly (I believe) considers as MJs coming of age album.Even before I received my copy of Ms. Fasts little book about the Dangerous album - the 100th Volume in the 33-1/3 series from Bloomsbury - I had posted in blogs and social media that; with Dangerous; Michael had finally stepped away from the influence of his father figures - Joseph Jackson; Berry Gordy and Quincy Jones (Ms. Fast identifies the same influential individuals from Michaels early career) - and became an artist in control of his medium.In his own excellent book The Man in the Music The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson; Joe Vogel has penned insightful and informed commentary on Dangerous - the album and the memorable short films it spawned - so Ms. Fast is not the first or only voice crying in a wilderness of tabloid critics. Since (belatedly) becoming a Michael Jackson fan myself; I have been hoping for due acknowledgement of the genius of Michaels mature work: the music; the short films; live performances and subsequent world tours.I had been awoken to the significance of Dangerous by the first friend I ever made in MJ fandom. Amy and I met by chance at a Climate Change rally in Adelaide; Australia. I was wearing an MJ-t-shirt; and she came up and embraced me! When we subsequently explored our mutual love of Michael Jackson; Amy revealed that Dangerous had been the first of his albums she had acquired as a young girl; and was an album that stood above the rest as pure MJ.Speaking for myself; it wasnt just the music that attracted me to Dangerous and its successors. It was Michael himself; I found him gorgeous in his maturity. Cue Susan Fasts observations in a chapter (appropriately) titled Desire - who writes that Its not an uncommon sentiment; along with others that proclaim; "I love looking at this man! So sexy; so beautiful; so amazing." Or: "Sexiest man in the world; undisputed."This brings us to Michaels short film for Black or White. When the full-length video premiered on network television in November 1991 a storm of controversy erupted. The King of Pop had grown up and become a sensual; political; even wild animal; a true performance artist who dared to step beyond the confines of the industrys - and the publics - expectations of him.Creatively he had been heading that way with the Bad album; for which he wrote most of the tracks. The next logical step was to cut loose from his creative partnership with Quincy Jones and dare to step beyond musical categories; racial; cultural and gender stereotypes and all those other boxes into which artists are expected to fit if they are to continue to please the masses - and the critics.Except; of course the critics will tear you down as quickly as they build you up; possibly because they feel they have helped to make you and have a right to subsequently criticize you mercilessly (and unfairly in most cases) just when you might be thinking you no longer need them to reach your audience.Many commentators attacked Michael for daring to be; well; daring (i.e. dangerous) and they did not stop with the music - his appearance; his sexuality; his behaviour etc. were all ridiculed; even though others had broached these boundaries before him. But they had not been the King of Pop and they had mostly not done it with such eacute;lan or for an audience so global in scope.This media attitude became well and truly entrenched for the rest of Michaels life. In other words; because he refused to be bound by the expectations of the less talented; he was doomed to be an easy target for all sorts of unfounded claims; misinterpretations; exaggerations and accusations.But for him NOT to have broken the parental ties of Quincy and the others would have required Michael to be a different person entirely. That is; he would not have been Michael Jackson the musical and artistic genius; the man driven to express his feelings about life; the state of the planet and everything with unabashed emotion; and a man with creative ambitions that would not be constrained.Consider if there had been no Dangerous; HIStory; Blood on the Dance Floor or Invincible albums: if Michael had not spread his creative wings beyond his previous achievements; he would have no doubt ended up doing the sort of nostalgia-based shows his brothers now perform. He may have even been performing with them (I shudder at the thought). But; we should remind ourselves; that; even if hed taken the easy road and let his career drift in a direction others (not him) might preferred; the critics would have quickly grown tired of him and ended up calling him irrelevant anyway!We must never; ever regret that Michael stepped beyond the safety net of family (and Quincy). An unfulfilled artist is an unhappy artist; and usually a mediocre one. An unfulfilled genius is a waste of what Michael believed and publically accredited to be God-given gifts.Remember that Michael felt compelled by forces beyond himself to explore his art in the aid of the betterment of humanity. It was also part of his quest for immortality - a desire he was not afraid to express. Of course; by the time he did; hed already achieved it.For all these reasons and so many more; Susan Fasts book deserves to be read; and Dangerous and its successors duly appreciated as the products of a one-of-a-kind genius who would not be bound by the demands or expectations of others.I believe he is still; via his humanitarian example and artistic legacy; shaking us out of our complacency and weaving his magic to Heal the World.I like to think that its making his spirit very happy.Kerry Hennigan19 September 2014(but its a work in progress!)17 of 17 people found the following review helpful. A brilliant study of Michael Jacksons artBy S. WoodwardThis book is a major contribution to the study of Michael Jackson; packed with fresh; innovative ideas about Jacksons art. She sees Jacksons "Dangerous" album as a concept album; analyzing the album as a whole and the individual songs musically; socially and artistically. It is a brilliant book that any serious fan or student of Michael Jackson must read. I wish that I could give it more than five stars.