These publications may be of interest to our readers. ADPC Information and Knowledge Management Unit can offer assistance in locating them.

World Disaster Report 2004: Focus on Community Resilience. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 2004, ISBN 9-1913-9108-5, 240 pages, US$25.00/?17.95. Order from Kumarian Press Inc. 1294 Blue Hills Ave., Bloomfield CT 06002, USA. Fax: +18602432867, E-mail: kpbooks@kpbooks.com, Website: www.ifrc.org

The World Disaster Report 2004 puts the focus on community resilience and argues that a developmental approach to creating disaster resilience is needed. This puts communities in charge of defining their needs and crafting the right solutions. Topics covered in the report are: community resilience and what it means in practice, heat waves, rural communities in India and how they cope against all odds, Bam earthquakes, harnessing local capacities in the Philippines, HIV/AIDS - eroding communities across Africa, and urban risk and resilience – lessons from South Asia. The report brings together the latest trends, facts and analyses of contemporary crises – natural or human-made, quick-onset or chronic.

The State of the World’s Cities 2004/2005. UN-Habitat, Nairobi, September 2004, ISBN: 9-2113-1705-3, Earthscan Publications Ltd., London and Sterling. The report can be ordered on the Earthscan website: www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=5001

The State of the World's Cities 2004/2005 charts the progress and the challenges we face in this rapidly urbanizing world. With contributions from some of the world's leading urban scholars, writers and experts, this report carries extensive examples, illustrations and facts that are of use to experts and non-experts alike. First published in 2001, this flagship report by UN-HABITAT is now published every two years and represents a further milestone in the efforts of the United Nations to gather, promote, and disseminate information for policy makers and the public at large.

Small Change: About the Art of Practice and the Limits of Planning in Cities. Nabeel Hamdi. September 2004, ISBN 1-8440-7005-0, 184 pages (paperback), ?14.99. Order from Earthscan, 1294 Blue Hills Ave., Bloomfield CT 06002, USA. Fax: +18602432867, Website: www.earthscan.co.uk/ 

Small Change brings over three decades of experience and knowledge to bear on the question, “What is practice?” This book is an argument for the wisdom of the street, the ingenuity of improvisers, and the long-term, large-scale effectiveness of immediate, small-scale actions. Using an easy-to-read narrative style, and drawing on examples from the North and South, the author sheds light on this question and the issues that stem from it – issues relating to political context, the lessons of the ‘informal city’, and the pursuit of learning that challenges convention. The result is a comprehensive yet imaginative guide to the forms of knowledge, competencies and ways of thinking that are fundamental to skilful practice in urban development.

Cities and Climate Change. Harriet Bulkeley, Michele Betsill, December 2004, ISBN 0-4153-5916-3, 256 pages (paperback), Routledge Publishing, US$22.50. Order online from http://www.routledge.com/  

Climate change is one of the most challenging issues of our time. As key sites in the production and management of emissions of greenhouse gases, cities will be crucial for the implementation of international agreements and national policies on climate change. This book provides a critical analysis of the role of cities in addressing climate change and the prospects for urban sustainability. Cities and Climate Change is the first in-depth analysis of the role of cities in addressing climate change. The book argues that key challenges concerning the resources and powers of local government, as well as conflicts between local goals for economic development and climate change mitigation, have restricted the level of local action on climate change. These findings have significant implications for the prospects of mitigating climate change and achieving urban sustainability. It provides a valuable interdisciplinary analysis of these issues, and will appeal to students and researchers interested in sustainability at local and global scales.

Seismic Risk Management for Countries of the Asia Pacific Region: Proceedings of the 3rd WSSI International Workshop. Edited by Kimiro Meguro, Dushmanta Dutta and Tsuneo Katayama, 2004, Serial Number 5, ISBN 4-9902-0670-3, 317 pages, International Center for Urban Safety Engineering (ICUSE). Copies can be requested from ICUSE, Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505, Japan. Email: icus@iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp 

This volume contains the proceedings of the Third International Workshop of the World Seismic Safety Initiatives (WSSI) on Seismic Risk Management for Countries of the Asia Pacific Region, held in Bangkok from 7 - 8 December 2003. It contains reports on earthquake risk mitigation efforts, strategies, responses and assessment measures initiated from 12 countries, international organizations and international cooperation with JICA. It also elaborates on the role of WSSI as a catalyst in initiating several activities for earthquake disaster reduction in different countries.

Proceedings of the Symposium on Seismology, Earthquake Hazard Assessment and Risk Management held in conjunction with the Fourth General Assembly of the Asian Seismological Commission, 24 - 26 November 2002, Katmandu. Edited by Amod Mani Dixit, October 2004, 242 pages, National Society for Earthquake Technology, Nepal. Copies can be requested from nset@nset.org.np 

This volume contains the proceedings of the Symposium on Seismology, Earthquake Hazard Assessment and Risk Management held in November 2002. It contains 35 technical papers on experiences in earthquake hazard assessment and risk management in Asia. The papers cover a range of topics including earthquake vulnerability reduction, earthquake prediction research, seismic hazard estimation, community-based experiences, and early warning systems.