Property ownership, resource use, and the ‘gift of nature’

Through a theoretical and empirical consideration of gift exchange we argue in this paper that those with legal interests in land have constructed property relations around a claim of reciprocity with nature. This has been used to legitimate the ways in which they have deployed their property power to exclude others, thus seeking to retain their dominion over both humans and nonhumans. In so doing, however, people with such interests have failed to understand the dynamic of gift relationships, with their inherent inculcation of subject and other, to the point where the exercise of power becomes contingent on the continued hegemony of property relations. Using the politics of recreational access to inland waters in England and Wales, we show that power—over both humans and nonhumans—is temporary and conditional in ways that are not fully theorised in most contemporary debates about property rights and their deployment on nonhuman subjects

A Survey of Green Burial Sites in England and Wales and an Assessment of the Feasibility of a Groundwater Vulnerability Tool

Since 1994, 200 'green' or natural burial sites have been developed in the UK and Eire, attracting regulatory attention because of perceived risks to groundwater. Here, a survey of natural burial practice in England and Wales (n=49 of 141 elicited) is presented, providing data on operational trends and supporting the design of a groundwater vulnerability assessment tool. Natural burial grounds are generally small in area (< 0.8 ha), adopt a mean single burial depth of 1.45 m bgl and a mean plot density of ca. 1480 graves ha-1. A vulnerability screening tool is described that allows a desk-based evaluation of sites by reference to seven groundwater risk attributes. Initial feasibility is evaluated through application to 131 sites

Paisaje, asentamiento y Edad Media: reflexiones sobre dos estudios recientes

[EN] This article reviews two books on the historical development of medieval landscapes and settlement in Brittany and England, and goes on to reflect on the state of research in this field in the Spanish region of Castilla y León[ES] Este artículo parte de la crítica de dos libros sobre el asentamiento y los paisajes medievales en Bretaña (Francia) e Inglaterra para formular algunas reflexiones teóricas y metodológicas sobre el estado de este tipo de investigaciones en Castilla y León.Peer reviewe

‘Stepping in Time’: Walking, Time, and Space in the City

There is a well-documented emphasis within transport policy on speed and efficiency, with the benefits of transport schemes frequently assessed in these terms. The focus on reducing journey times is also evident in pedestrian policy, with the ‘time-saving’ attributes of walking often promoted. However, this emphasis on speed within the transport policy arena reflects linear understandings of time as nothing more than ‘clock time’ passing. In contrast, this paper explores the multiple forms of temporality and spatiality that emerge out of and shape urban pedestrian movement. The discussion draws upon in-depth interview and diary data from fieldwork undertaken in London and in so doing provides a ‘timely’ empirical engagement with theoretical understandings of time and space. Within this examination of the multiple temporalities of urban walking, it is suggested that people become aware of the experiential dimensions of time when they are made to wait. The paper moves on to explore the issues of physical mobility difficulties in the context of highlighting the multiple spatialities of walking and attention is also drawn to how people use temporal and spatial concerns to frame their identities as to who they are in relation to others. It is suggested that notions of rhythm provide a productive means for engaging with how time, space and identity interrelate as people walk