Dhara Patel – författare

Gated Luxury Condominiums in India: A Socio-Spatial Arena for New Cosmopolitans critically examines gated luxury condominiums in contemporary India, exploring their role in shaping elite power and identity within the framework of neoliberalism. It delves into the spatial structure, perception and post-occupancy experience of these enclaves, offering valuable insights into India's urban development.This book convincingly elucidates the complex socio-spatial transformations underway in India, inviting readers to understand the depth and breadth of these changes, particularly within the rapidly expanding middle and upper-middle classes. It adopts a robust multi-disciplinary approach, combining methodologies such as spatial ethnography, threshold mapping, qualitative interviews and discourse analysis. Focused on the architectural typology of luxury condominiums, the study serves as a lens for broader social transformations grounded in case studies from Mumbai and Pune. Through a meticulous dissection of the lived experiences of various categories of users – owners, visitors and service staff – the book unveils the complex socio-spatial hierarchies perpetuated within these enclaves. Drawing on theories of cosmopolitanism and postcolonial critiques, the monograph makes a significant scholarly contribution to the disciplines of architecture and the built environment. It fills a gap in the existing literature on modern domesticity in India, offering original research that highlights how architecture is instrumental in socially divisive practices of elite formation.It will appeal to scholars, researchers and students across disciplines like architecture, landscape design, spatial sociology, urban studies and area studies, focusing on India and South Asia. It is particularly compelling for those interested in the sociocultural dynamics of the middle class, encompassing themes such as domesticity, material culture and spatial politics within the context of Indian condominiums.

Gated Luxury Condominiums in India: A Socio-Spatial Arena for New Cosmopolitans critically examines gated luxury condominiums in contemporary India, exploring their role in shaping elite power and identity within the framework of neoliberalism. It delves into the spatial structure, perception and post-occupancy experience of these enclaves, offering valuable insights into India's urban development.This book convincingly elucidates the complex socio-spatial transformations underway in India, inviting readers to understand the depth and breadth of these changes, particularly within the rapidly expanding middle and upper-middle classes. It adopts a robust multi-disciplinary approach, combining methodologies such as spatial ethnography, threshold mapping, qualitative interviews and discourse analysis. Focused on the architectural typology of luxury condominiums, the study serves as a lens for broader social transformations grounded in case studies from Mumbai and Pune. Through a meticulous dissection of the lived experiences of various categories of users – owners, visitors and service staff – the book unveils the complex socio-spatial hierarchies perpetuated within these enclaves. Drawing on theories of cosmopolitanism and postcolonial critiques, the monograph makes a significant scholarly contribution to the disciplines of architecture and the built environment. It fills a gap in the existing literature on modern domesticity in India, offering original research that highlights how architecture is instrumental in socially divisive practices of elite formation.It will appeal to scholars, researchers and students across disciplines like architecture, landscape design, spatial sociology, urban studies and area studies, focusing on India and South Asia. It is particularly compelling for those interested in the sociocultural dynamics of the middle class, encompassing themes such as domesticity, material culture and spatial politics within the context of Indian condominiums.

Space is far bigger than humanity can conceive. Although our ancestors visually examined the skies to make sense of the Universe for centuries, space exploration in its truest sense is just a moment in this historical timeline, yet it is how we've significantly improved our understanding of the cosmos.This book begins with the evolution of astronomy, including notable characters, scientific breakthroughs and pinnacle moments. It delves into the development of robotic spacecraft and what uncrewed and crewed missions have uncovered. It questions how this knowledge will aid us in our future space adventures, and highlights the myriad questions that remain unanswered.From stargazing to stepping on the Moon, and from space stations to the prospect of commercial spaceflight, learn more in Dhara Patel's concise history of space exploration.