Austin Williams – författare

By 2025, China will have built fifteen new ''supercities'' each with 25 million inhabitants. It will have created 250 ''Eco-cities'' as well: clean, green, car-free, people-friendly, high-tech urban centres. From the edge of an impending eco-catastrophe, we are arguably witnessing history''s greatest environmental turnaround - an urban experiment that may provide valuable lessons for cities worldwide. Whether or not we choose to believe the hype – there is little doubt that this is an experiment that needs unpicking, understanding, and learning from. Austin Williams, The Architectural Review''s China correspondent, explores the progress and perils of China''s vast eco-city program, describing the complexities which emerge in the race to balance the environment with industrialisation, quality with quantity, and the liberty of the individual with the authority of the Chinese state. Lifting the lid on the economic and social realities of the Chinese blueprint for eco-modernisation, Williams tells the story of China''s rise, and reveals the pragmatic, political and economic motives that lurk behind the successes and failures of its eco-cities. Will these new kinds of urban developments be good, humane, healthy places? Can China find a ''third way'' in which humanity, nature, economic growth and sustainability are reconciled? And what lessons can we learn for our own vision of the urban future? This is a timely and readable account which explores a range of themes – environmental, political, cultural and architectural – to show how the eco-city program sheds fascinating light on contemporary Chinese society, and provides a lens through which to view the politics of sustainability closer to home.

By 2025, China will have built fifteen new ''supercities'' each with 25 million inhabitants. It will have created 250 ''Eco-cities'' as well: clean, green, car-free, people-friendly, high-tech urban centres. From the edge of an impending eco-catastrophe, we are arguably witnessing history''s greatest environmental turnaround - an urban experiment that may provide valuable lessons for cities worldwide. Whether or not we choose to believe the hype – there is little doubt that this is an experiment that needs unpicking, understanding, and learning from. Austin Williams, The Architectural Review''s China correspondent, explores the progress and perils of China''s vast eco-city program, describing the complexities which emerge in the race to balance the environment with industrialisation, quality with quantity, and the liberty of the individual with the authority of the Chinese state. Lifting the lid on the economic and social realities of the Chinese blueprint for eco-modernisation, Williams tells the story of China''s rise, and reveals the pragmatic, political and economic motives that lurk behind the successes and failures of its eco-cities. Will these new kinds of urban developments be good, humane, healthy places? Can China find a ''third way'' in which humanity, nature, economic growth and sustainability are reconciled? And what lessons can we learn for our own vision of the urban future? This is a timely and readable account which explores a range of themes – environmental, political, cultural and architectural – to show how the eco-city program sheds fascinating light on contemporary Chinese society, and provides a lens through which to view the politics of sustainability closer to home.

An ex-magician-turned-amateur-detective hunts for a missing pregnant woman in this tale of New Orleans noir . . .   Rusty Diamond abandoned the Crescent City years ago to pursue fame in Las Vegas, leaving Marceline Lavalle with a broken heart. Now Rusty has finally come back to New Orleans—but no one has seen Marceline for days.   Five months pregnant, Marceline’s vanished without a trace, and her estranged boyfriend, a casino boss with criminal ties and a hair-trigger temper, claims no knowledge of her whereabouts. With the police not yet ready to declare foul play, Rusty launches his own investigation. The search for Marceline will take Rusty into dark corners far from the neon lights of Bourbon Street, where enormous profit can be made from human misery and desperate people hunt on the fringes. The journey will force him to confront the mistakes of his past, and offer him a shot at redemption—if he doesn’t wind up at the bottom of a bayou first . . .   “I wanted to take a bite out of Blind Shuffle before breakfast but ended up reading straight through lunch. I finished it on a plane to Tijuana. This was my first Rusty Diamond novel . . . it won’t be my last. Dig in.” —Patrick Hasburgh, creator of 21 Jump Street  

An ex-magician returns to Vegas to confront his sordid past in one final, decadent showdown—but he may not make it out of Sin City alive . . .   When a mysterious box containing a greeting card, a sheet of textbook paper, three human teeth, and an adult index finger severed just above the knuckle arrives unannounced on Rusty “The Raven” Diamond’s doorstep, he realizes he can no longer hide on the beaches of Maryland. Someone wants Rusty to pay for what he did years before, and if Rusty is going to survive, he’ll need to take the fight to Vegas.   Rusty was once the hottest act on the strip, an illusionist who commanded sellout crowds for his death-defying act. But with bigger risks come bigger enemies, and it seems Rusty has made one of the most sizable enemies the Nevada desert has to offer. A mobster-turned-politician with every resource available aims not only to close the curtain on Rusty, but to make sure he pays dearly beforehand.   Rusty’s final reckoning with his past will draw him into a trap that, even at his most Houdini-esque, he may not be able to escape, in this gripping crime thriller by the author of The Platinum Loop, praised by Publishers Weekly as “pulp fun at its best.”  

Cities, by their very nature, are a mass of contradictions. They can be at once visually stunning, culturally rich, exploitative and unforgiving. In The Lure of the City Austin Williams and Alastair Donald explore the potential of cities to meet the economic, social and political challenges of the current age.This book seeks to examine the dynamics of urban life, showing that new opportunities can be maximised and social advances realised in existing and emerging urban centres. The book explores both the planned and organic nature of urban developments and the impacts and aspirations of the people who live and work in them. It argues convincingly that the metropolitan mindset is essential to the struggle for human liberation.The short, accessibly written essays are guaranteed to spark debate across the media and academia about the place of cities and urban life in our ever-changing world.

Shortcuts provides an eclectic mix of at-a-glance guides to the minefield of regulations, new materials, and technologies that confront building designers today. Comprising hand-drawn sketches, technical drawings,and punchy articles. Each Shortcut is a quick, reliable, and incisive clarification of the welter of diverse technical guidance.This title provides shortcuts to the key information on the structure and fabric of buildings. It distils all the technical guidance you need on a particular topic - be it basement construction, flat roofing, or sustainable urban drainage solutions. It is an invaluable information source for a wide range of construction professionals - from architects and builders to non-specialist DIY enthusiasts. It summarizes all the relevant technical detail, guidelines, and regulations. It features technical sketches, cartoons, authoritative information, as well as off-beat humor. "Shortcuts: Book 1" focuses on issues to do with the structure and fabric of buildings. Grouped into four main subject areas (Structure; Fabric and Finishes; Fixtures and Fittings; and Drainage) the Shortcuts range from rain screen cladding to fire protection, from lofts to lifts, and from LEDs to SUDS.