This book addresses the role of social capital in promoting rural and local development. The recent financial and economic crises have exposed the European Union (EU) to an increased risk of social exclusion and poverty, which are now at the heart of its economic, employment and social agenda with explicit reference to rural and marginal areas (Europe 2020). The authors' work from the notion that rural development is not imposed from the ‘outside’, but depends also on endogenous factors, namely local cultural and ecological amenities, eco-system services, and economic links with urban areas which expand rural opportunities for innovation, competitiveness, employment and sustainable development. Social capital is of paramount importance because it helps build networks and trusting relations among local stakeholders in the public and private spheres, and supporting the enhancement of governance of natural resources in rural areas

This book provides a critical understanding of contemporary issues within global society and how these relate to six case study examples (UK, USA, China, India, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Japan). The authors draw on their diverse experience to explore four major themes of contemporary relevance: overall aging of societies; governance and institutions; emergency services and public health provisions; and community activism and involvement. The key issues within the book--sociability, social capital, and community development--are examined in the context of an ever increasing aging world. The authors' sense of optimism is linked to growing evidence that community activism is on the rise and can effectively plug the gap between public need and provision of service.

This book is about the harnessing of social capital, formalized as village or community organizations, to guide and facilitate collective action for attaining poverty alleviation in particular and enhancing community well-being in general.

This is the first book on social capital and trust informed by a critical geographical perspective. The authors examine the role of social capital in the constitution and reproduction of urban networks of trust in different places and contexts. They explore how social capital and trust are reflected in the capacity of these networks to achieve their goals and to deliver specific forms of urban development in a number of Finnish and Italian cities. Finland and Italy present, in many ways, two almost paradigmatic cases of how social capital and trust can work in extremely different and yet very effective ways in the production of the urban. They are two almost ideal laboratories for experimenting new definitions and new understandings of the concepts in question.

Community Based Water Management and Social Capitalprovides scientific understanding of community based water management and how to secure responsible management to satisfy quality and quantity requirements. It shows how community based water management can be synchronized with public water service, by introducing the most recent field experiments and theoretical studies in economics, social science, engineering, and regional planning which include game theory, microeconomics, econometric, statistics, social network analysis, social choice, and micro finance. Community Based Water Management and Social Capital presents field experiments and theoretical studies in economics, social science, engineering, and regional planning to investigate important questions: what motivates people involve in voluntary water management what is the effect of participatory approach in water management how does social capital work in the voluntary actions what are key factors for effective governance for water management with diverse actors - local people, enterprise, and government; what is necessary for proper water allocation; vi) how to synchronize public water service with community based water management. The book provides students, researchers, practitioners and governments with a comprehensive account of the current situation and perspectives on voluntary water management. It delivers a new scientific understanding on sustainable water management schemes and appropriate institutional social structures to secure inalienable rights to access to water. Author: Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Kyoto University, Japan, Ibnu Syabri Institute of Technology Bandung, Indonesia, Ismu Rini Dwi Ari, Brawijaya University, East Java, Hayeong Jeong, Isabel C Escobar, Andrea Schaefer.

A comprehensive approach focused on sustainable change Asset Building and Community Development, Fourth Edition examines the promise and limits of community development by showing students and practitioners how asset-based developments can improve the sustainability and quality of life. Authors Gary Paul Green and Anna Haines provide an engaging, thought-provoking, and comprehensive approach to asset building by focusing on the role of different forms of community capital in the development process. Updated throughout, this edition explores how communities are building on their key assets—physical, human, social, financial, environmental, political, and cultural capital— to generate positive change. With a focus on community outcomes, the authors illustrate how development controlled by community-based organizations provides a better match between assets and the needs of the community.

The role of social capital in regional development is a multifaceted topic which is studied all over the world using various methods and across numerous disciplines. It has long been evident that social capital is important for regional development, however, it is less clear how this works in practice. Do all types of social capital have the same effects and are different kinds of regions impacted in the same way? This book is the first to offer an overview of this rapidly expanding field of research and to thoroughly analyse the complex issue of social capital and regional development.

Providing practical recommendations for leveraging social capital for social good, this is a valuable, thought-provoking and timely exploration of the multifaceted concept of social capital in the context of the digital revolution.

The concepts of social networks, social capital and trust play an increasingly central role in the social sciences. They have become indispensable conceptual tools for the analysis of post-industrial/late-modern societies, which are characterized by such features as the relative decline of formal hierarchies, the development of flexible social arrangements in the sphere of production and the extreme mobility of capital. This is the first book to study the interrelationships between these important concepts both theoretically and empirically. Drawing on empirical investigations from a range of diverse European social contexts, the contributors develop an economic sociology that builds on and extends established theoretical perspectives. The book opens with an introduction to the theoretical ideas: relating social capital to reciprocity, trust and social networks in line with current debates. The authors go on to discuss the concept of social embededdness, addressing the economic effects of social capital by examining the network and trust foundations of labour markets and investigating the structural limits of trusting networks. They conclude with an exploration of the impact of networking and the functioning of trust and social capital on the economic arrangements and performance of nascent capitalist economies in post-Communist Europe. This thematically unified collection by a team of distinguished contributors from across Europe provides an innovative and distinctive contribution to an expanding area of research.

Explaining the Flight of the Bumblebee