The Making of Flawed Democracies in the Americas [electronic resource] : The United States, Chile, Argentina, and Peru /

This book strives to answer two interrelated questions: Why have certain states in the Americas been more successful than others at creating stable democratic regimes? Why have certain states in the Americas failed to create stable democratic regimes? To answer both questions, the author focuses on four states – the United States, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. Throughout the analysis, he isolates and evaluates the conditions that helped or hindered the development of each state and of its political regime. He presents his conclusions in the form of time-related explanatory hypotheses. By identifying and examining the conditions that brought about the transformation of each states and of its political regimes, this study ultimately facilitates a discussion of the future of democracy in each of these countries as well as in the world. Alex Roberto Hybel is the Susan Eckert Lynch Emeritus Professor of Government and International Relations at Connecticut College, USA.1. Introduction: State Creation and Democratization in Four American States: The Nature of the Problem -- 2. Theories of State Creation and Democratization -- 3. The Processes of State Creation and Democratization in the United States -- 4. The Processes of State Creation and Democratization in Chile, Peru, and Argentina -- 5. Exploratory Hypotheses: Chile, Peru, and Argentina -- 6. An Exploratory Theory of State Creation and Democratization in the United States, Chile, Peru, and Argentina.This book strives to answer two interrelated questions: Why have certain states in the Americas been more successful than others at creating stable democratic regimes? Why have certain states in the Americas failed to create stable democratic regimes? To answer both questions, the author focuses on four states – the United States, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. Throughout the analysis, he isolates and evaluates the conditions that helped or hindered the development of each state and of its political regime. He presents his conclusions in the form of time-related explanatory hypotheses. By identifying and examining the conditions that brought about the transformation of each states and of its political regimes, this study ultimately facilitates a discussion of the future of democracy in each of these countries as well as in the world. Alex Roberto Hybel is the Susan Eckert Lynch Emeritus Professor of Government and International Relations at Connecticut College, USA

Booth-Kelly Mixed-Use District

51 pagesGraduate and undergraduate architecture students in Professor Brook Muller’s terminal studio during winter and spring terms of 2012 examined potential redevelopment scenarios for the Booth-Kelly site, located in downtown Springfield. The city anticipated redevelopment concepts and guidelines developed as part of the studio could potentially be adopted into the Downtown Refinement Plan and implemented in the future. Students identified several programmatic schemes that describe how the site could become a destination location with a pedestrian-friendly appeal. Seen as a collision of industry and nature, sharing multiple habitats and crossing paths, the site’s industrial beauty and rich history are ideal for unique design solutions that exemplify these characteristics. An in-depth focus on its ecology led many students to incorporate much of the surrounding context in a systems thinking approach. Many of the designs seek to interconnect various processes, from both onsite and offsite byproducts and resources, and to bridge natural and urban resource flows. Common themes emerged with different programmatic emphases, including: adaptive reuse, agricultural production and distribution, community education, linking downtown to industry, and adaptable piecemeal development. While each project holds a different focus, the studio collectively promoted many of the same design values