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Climate change is happening now. Climate-induced disasters are occurring in the Asia Pacific region, where a distinctly increasing trend has been observed in recent decades. This shows that the region is the most disaster prone, compared with other parts of the world. Studies on the causes of disaster in many affected regions suggest that in a typical disaster, cities with high population density see increases in mortality and number of people affected. Increased economic losses within the region are also inevitable. In most Asian countries, 65–90% of economic activities are concentrated in urban areas. Estimates indicate that two out of three people on the earth will live in urban areas by the year 2030. Unless appropriate measures are taken in these urban communities, disaster incidents will continue to increase. Urban communities are a main player to confront this increasing trend of climate-induced disasters.

In the first two decades of the twenty-first century, low-cost carriers grew rapidly in many low- and middle-income economies. In this chapter, we examine the geography and network structure of low-cost carriers in such economies across Asia in 2018. We use these analyses to explore the relationship between budget airlines and economic development. Levels of disposable income and infrastructure adequacy help to account for the significance of low-cost airlines in some middle-income economies. And in turn, these airlines by fostering higher levels of accessibility and personal mobility may help catalyze faster development. However, the environmental externalities associated with aviation, especially atmospheric emissions, raise concerns about the sustainability of this mode. We assess these concerns and focus in particular on the development of low-cost carriers fleets in Asia. We ask whether the acquisition of more fuel-efficient aircraft will ameliorate aviation's environmental impact.

This paper examines the effects of immigration, urban residency, poverty, and race/ethnicity on the education of students in K-12 school. Findings of this study critiques the gaps between NCLB policy and its implementations as well as the outcomes, and makes several recommendations. This chapter recommends multiple standards and assessment approaches for accountability. The author believes that accountability must be addressed along with, equality, and fiscal adequacy. Accountability can work in a pluralistic nation only when diversity is taken into serious consideration. Recognizing this diversity is critical in developing successful strategies and effective approaches for working with immigrant families and students. Education policy for disadvantaged families and communities should not be limited to conventional education policy alone. Socioeconomic policies that benefit lower-income families and communities also should be recognized as educational policies on behalf of children.

The latter half of the 20th century has seen the rise of local actors in the international milieu. Among these so-called local “internationals” (Alger, 1999) were local governments who have come to assert their role in various aspects of international development. Since the end of World War II, municipalities have actively forged partnerships with other localities in other countries,¹ even to the point of challenging the foreign policies of their own countries in such thorny issues as the apartheid in South Africa, nuclear disarmament, human rights, and the Sandinista war in Nicaragua (Hobbs, 1994; Shuman, 1994; Fry, Radebaugh, & Soldatos, 1989). The importance of municipalities as global players has grown substantially over the years. At the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, among the major issues highlighted in the Agenda 21 was the need to devote “greater attention to issues of local government and municipal management” (UNEP, n.d., 5.3). It further pointed out that in order for cities, especially those plagued by severe sustainable development problems, to develop along a sustainable path, they should, among others, “participate in international ‘sustainable city networks’ to exchange experiences and mobilize national and international technical and financial support” (UNEP, n.d., 7.20.d) and “reinforce cooperation among themselves” (UNEP, n.d., 7.21). Four years later, at the UN-HABITAT II City Summit in Istanbul, cities were officially recognized by the United Nations as the “closest partners” of national governments for the implementation of the Habitat Agenda (UN-HABITAT, 2003). In 2005, as a demonstration of their commitment to work for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on the ground, over one thousand cities and local government associations issued and adopted the Local Government Millennium Declaration at the Millennium+5 Summit in Beijing (UCLG, 2010).

This chapter reviews the institutional seasonality phenomenon in Asian outbound tourism. Eight key Asian countries were selected for investigation. Secondary data and archives from official tourism authorities and government reports are used as the information sources for the holiday systems and the celebrations for the cultural festivals. Four categories of holidays shaping the outbound seasonality patterns (universal holidays based on Gregorian calendar, Chinese culture-based holidays, religious festivals, and school holidays) are identified across the eight countries. Particular observances for those key cultural and religious holidays are highlighted. The opportunities and challenges for destination managers and tourism businesses to capitalize on and support peak outbound Asian seasonality are discussed.

Investigations of urban public services remain confined to western settings while research on urban public services in non-western cities focuses mainly on the availability and delivery of basic services. Using the case study of Calcutta, this study is an empirical investigation of the evolution, spatial distribution, and changes in spatial patterns of public libraries for the period 1850–1991. It seeks to demonstrate the provision and accessibility to public libraries at the intraurban scale thereby extending research of urban service delivery to a non-western city. Within the context of urban service delivery – who benefits and why, the location of libraries in three time periods are analyzed. The study finds that the urban morphology of the colonial city continues to exert a strong influence on the growth and spatial distribution of public libraries. Empirical evidence suggests that there is no locational bias based on physical accessibility in the distribution of public libraries. No progressive or regressive spatial arrangement based on socioeconomic variables is indicated.

Rishton, a small town in Uzbekistan, has been producing pottery for centuries. This chapter investigates how the pottery and ceramists’ society in Rishton changed during the 20th century, the 70 year-long Soviet era in particular. It seeks to answer the question of how the traditions of Muslim artisans in a feudal society were rearranged and relocated in the Soviet production system. Importantly, the apprentice system especially helped to preserve many older methods and customs, such as the veneration of Islamic patron saints, among ceramists. This chapter also sheds light on the ways in which these traditions have changed in the shifting economy since Uzbekistan became independent in 1991.