Joshua Long – författare

Austin, Texas, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, is experiencing one of the most dynamic periods in its history. Wedged between homogenizing growth and a long tradition of rebellious nonconformity, many Austinites feel that they are in the midst of a battle for the city's soul. From this struggle, a movement has emerged as a form of resistance to the rapid urban transformation brought about in recent years: "Keep Austin Weird" originated in 2000 as a grassroots expression of place attachment and anti-commercialization. Its popularity has led to its use as a rallying cry for local business, as a rhetorical tool by city governance, and now as the unofficial civic motto for a city experiencing rapid growth and transformation. By using "Keep Austin Weird" as a central focus, Joshua Long explores the links between sense of place, consumption patterns, sustainable development, and urban politics in Austin. Research on this phenomenon considers the strong influence of the "Creative Class" thesis on Smart Growth strategies, gentrification, income inequality, and social polarization made popular by the works of Richard Florida. This study is highly applicable to several emerging "Creative Cities," but holds special significance for the city considered the greatest creative success story, Austin.

Arguing that climate injustice is one of our most pressing urban problems, this volume explores the possibilities and challenges for more just urban futures under climate change. Whether the situation be displacement within cities through carbon gentrification or the increasing securitization of elite spaces for climate protection, climate justice and urban justice are intimately connected.Contributors to the volume build theoretical tools for interrogating the root causes of climate change, as well as policy failures. They also highlight knowledge produced within communities already seeking transformative change and demonstrate meaningful learning from activist groups working to address the socionatural injustices caused by the impact of climate change.The editors’ introduction situates our current climate emergency within historical processes of colonization, racial capitalism, and heteropatriarchy, while the editors’ conclusion offers pathways forward through abolition, care, and reparations. Where other books focus on the project of critique, this collection advances real-world politics to help academics, practitioners, and social justice groups imagine, create, and enact more just urban futures under climate change.

Arguing that climate injustice is one of our most pressing urban problems, this volume explores the possibilities and challenges for more just urban futures under climate change. Whether the situation be displacement within cities through carbon gentrification or the increasing securitization of elite spaces for climate protection, climate justice and urban justice are intimately connected.Contributors to the volume build theoretical tools for interrogating the root causes of climate change, as well as policy failures. They also highlight knowledge produced within communities already seeking transformative change and demonstrate meaningful learning from activist groups working to address the socionatural injustices caused by the impact of climate change.The editors’ introduction situates our current climate emergency within historical processes of colonization, racial capitalism, and heteropatriarchy, while the editors’ conclusion offers pathways forward through abolition, care, and reparations. Where other books focus on the project of critique, this collection advances real-world politics to help academics, practitioners, and social justice groups imagine, create, and enact more just urban futures under climate change.

This book explores the subjects of child sex abuse, flaws in the justice system, cultural support for vigilantism, prison violence, and the socio-legal philosophy of punishment. Child sex abuse leaves a scar that lasts a lifetime. Can any legal punishment balance the scales of justice? Can sex offenders ever repay their debt to society, or more importantly, to the victim? For some victims of this traumatic abuse, the debt remains unpaid, and it accrues interest. Vigilantes seek to avenge child victims by hunting down sex offenders in the community. Sometimes prisoners in correctional facilities conspire with rogue correctional officers to mete out their own form of “convict justice” on people who hurt children. While their motives and methods differ, these outraged citizens seek retribution through violence because they are disgusted with a justice system they believe shows extraordinary leniency toward child sex abusers.Whether this violence occurs in the community or in jail cells across the country, the message these vigilantes broadcast is the same: if the government won’t seek retribution, they will.The story is told through a series of case studies based on interviews with real-life vigilantes, most of whom are serving life sentences for their crimes. For the first time, vigilantes have been given a chance to tell their own stories. Patrick Drum, Steven Sandison, Joseph Druce, Jeremy Moody, Jon Watson, James Fairbanks, and others have shared their personal insights to help us get inside the vigilante mind. For some readers, these accounts will humanize people considered to be simply murderers. For others, it will demystify the popular portrayals of vigilantes in our society.

This book explores the subjects of child sex abuse, flaws in the justice system, cultural support for vigilantism, prison violence, and the socio-legal philosophy of punishment. Child sex abuse leaves a scar that lasts a lifetime. Can any legal punishment balance the scales of justice? Can sex offenders ever repay their debt to society, or more importantly, to the victim? For some victims of this traumatic abuse, the debt remains unpaid, and it accrues interest. Vigilantes seek to avenge child victims by hunting down sex offenders in the community. Sometimes prisoners in correctional facilities conspire with rogue correctional officers to mete out their own form of “convict justice” on people who hurt children. While their motives and methods differ, these outraged citizens seek retribution through violence because they are disgusted with a justice system they believe shows extraordinary leniency toward child sex abusers.Whether this violence occurs in the community or in jail cells across the country, the message these vigilantes broadcast is the same: if the government won’t seek retribution, they will.The story is told through a series of case studies based on interviews with real-life vigilantes, most of whom are serving life sentences for their crimes. For the first time, vigilantes have been given a chance to tell their own stories. Patrick Drum, Steven Sandison, Joseph Druce, Jeremy Moody, Jon Watson, James Fairbanks, and others have shared their personal insights to help us get inside the vigilante mind. For some readers, these accounts will humanize people considered to be simply murderers. For others, it will demystify the popular portrayals of vigilantes in our society.