Venice Against the Sea: A City Besieged

Average customer rating:

Very good, gets a little technical towards the end

Venice Against the Sea: A City Besieged
John Keahey
Manufacturer: Thomas Dunne Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

International | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Regional Planning | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Urban Planning & Development | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Coastal Zone Planning | Urban Planning & Development | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Preservation of Art | Reference | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Outdoors & Nature Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0312265948

Great, very entertaining story about one man's idea and his ability to get thousands to help........2007-05-01

It's a real CRUSADE - action - danger - adventure & comic relief!.......2007-04-27

It's a key component of any comprehensive collection on German issues and background........2007-10-06

An inspired overview of the political cultural of California water politics.......2007-07-22

The story of California water is fascinating, although perhaps only of real interest to Californians. Nevertheless, even if only for that audience, Mr. Kelley has written an entirely readable, yet simultaneously scholarly volume. Anyone interested in an introduction to the state of northern California's water situation should begin with this book.

In a general sense, however, this book is also about changing political and sociological trends in America beginning around 1850. The focus is on flooding in the Sacramento Valley, and its battles between gold miners and valley farmers, or between Republican engineers and Democratic populists, but parallels are probably found elsewhere in our country during the same period of history. I enjoyed this book tremendously.

As urban growth outstrips water supplies, how can the global challenge of providing “liquid gold” be met? Mixing history and policy analysis, Steven Erie tells the compelling story of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD)—one of the world’s largest and most important public water agencies—and its role in building the world’s 8th largest economy in a semi-desert. No tawdry tale of secret backroom conspiracies—as depicted in the famed film noir Chinatown—this fresh telling concerns an unheralded regional institution, its entrepreneurial public leadership, and pioneering policymaking.

Using untapped primary sources, the author re-examines this great regional experiment from its obscure 1920s-era origins, through the Colorado River Aqueduct and State Water Projects, to today’s daunting mission of drought management, water quality, environmental stewardship, and post-9/11 supply security. A key focus is MWD’s navigation of recent epic water battles: San Diego’s combative quest for water independence from MWD and L.A.; lingering conflicts over the Colorado River and northern California’s fragile Bay-Delta ecosystem; and the myriad challenges posed by water markets, privatization, and water transfers.

Facing unprecedented challenges, MWD is devising innovative formulas to sustain this improbable desert civilization. Beyond Chinatown concludes by considering MWD’s Integrated Resources Plan as a global model for water-resources planning and management, water supply diversification and reliability, affordability, and environmental sustainability. Chinatown’s seductive mythologies have obscured MWD’s authentic, instructive history and lessons.

Praise for Steve Erie’s previous book, Globalizing L.A.:

“This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the politics of Western cities, the politics of urban development, and especially the future politics of cities that are likely to be contenders in the increasingly competitive arena of global trade. . . . Erie's analysis will forever direct us to look first at certain public agencies to begin to understand larger patterns of economic growth in any metropolitan area.”—Journal of Urban Affairs

“[A] fascinating history of the Los Angeles region’s great assets and the forces that drove their development. . . . One hundred years ago, it was improbable that the Los Angeles region would become the 10th largest economy in the world. In Globalizing L.A., Erie explains how that happened and then, fingers crossed, offers lessons on how California’s largest and most diverse city and region can keep playing a leading role.”—Los Angeles Times

“Referencing an impressive body of recent academic research, Erie argues that world-class seaport and airport facilities confer substantial economic advantages and more facilitating links between local businesses and the global economy.”—The Sacramento Bee

“Erie has built a potent political-economy of urban development that recognizes the crucial role of the public sector in mediating globalizing processes . . . and this is a valuable lesson for academics, dockworkers, community developers, and environmental activists alike.”—Economic Geography

Step-by-step procedures for planning, design, construction and operation: * Health and environment * Process improvements * Stormwater and combined sewer control and treatment * Effluent disposal and reuse * Biosolids disposal and reuse * On-site treatment and disposal of small flows * Wastewater treatment plants should be designed so that the effluent standards and reuse objectives, and biosolids regulations can be met with reasonable ease and cost. The design should incorporate flexibility for dealing with seasonal changes, as well as long-term changes in wastewater quality and future regulations. Good planning and design, therefore, must be based on five major steps: characterization of the raw wastewater quality and effluent, pre-design studies to develop alternative processes and selection of final process train, detailed design of the selected alternative, contraction, and operation and maintenance of the completed facility. Engineers, scientists, and financial analysts must utilize principles from a wide range of disciplines: engineering, chemistry, microbiology, geology, architecture, and economics to carry out the responsibilities of designing a wastewater treatment plant. The objective of this book is to present the technical and nontechnical issues that are most commonly addressed in the planning and design reports for wastewater treatment facilities prepared by practicing engineers. Topics discussed include facility planning, process description, process selection logic, mass balance calculations, design calculations, and concepts for equipment sizing. Theory, design, operation and maintenance, trouble shooting, equipment selection and specifications are integrated for each treatment process. Thus delineation of such information for use by students and practicing engineers is the main purpose of this book.

As urban areas keep growing, water infrastructure ages, and the requirements on environmental protection become more rigorous, there is a continual need for upgrading water pollution control facilities and restoring degraded urban waters. Such issues are addressed in this book by focusing on five major topics: (a) Upgrading stormwater management facilities, (b) Retrofitting / upgrading combined sewer overflow (CSO) facilities, (c) Optimising/upgrading sewage treatment plant performance, (d) Urban stream restoration, and (e) Challenges in restoring urban environment. Each chapter contains some overview papers followed by research or case study papers. Besides presentations of new approaches and accomplishments in the field of upgrading and restoration, several papers provide analysis of vast needs in this field in several countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which either recently joined the European Union (EU) or are preparing for accession, and need to comply with the existing EU directives dealing with environmental protection. As such, this book will be of primary interest to researchers and university lecturers dealing with environmental upgrading and restoration, environmental planners from all levels of government, municipal engineers and politicians, and finally the private industry representatives (consultants, private utilities and environmental technology suppliers) searching for new business opportunities among the new or aspiring members of EU.