The Evolution of the Retail Trade sector in Iberian Cities from the Nineteenth Century to the Second World War.

This is an Accepted Manuscript version of an article published by Taylor & Francis on 16 May 2017, available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2373518X.2017.1329195.The evolution of retail trade in European cities during the first decades of the twentieth century can be a powerful indicator about their urban and social dynamics. The growth in the number of shops, the spatial rearrangement of their distribution, and the increased social and political relevance of shopkeepers are features commonly highlighted by the historiography. But this picture is better known for Central and Northern European cities. As for the Iberian Peninsula although some efforts can be mentioned, there are still progress to be made. The papers discussed in this introductory essay address those questions through a double perspective: first, an analysis of the urban space and its impact on the development of the retail trade's spatial distribution and evolution; second, a historical and comparative analysis of four Iberian cities trying to build a better picture about the spatial, social and economic relevance of their retail trade. These perspectives will be explored for the cities of La Coruña, Barcelona, Bilbao and Lisbon studying the retail trade spatial distribution and the introduction of new forms of commercial concentration and consumption, roughly between 1840 and 1940Peer reviewe

A Whole-of-Government Approach to Reducing Tropical Deforestation

Tropical forests provide critical global and local ecosystem services and habitat for many of the world’s plants and animals. Their loss threatens the sustainable economic growth and social stability of developing countries, and illegal deforestation abroad places U.S. producers at an unfair disadvantage. For these and other reasons, the United States has long been engaged in programs to reduce forest loss. This engagement has recently increased, with the new Presidential Global Climate Change Initiative including a pillar dedicated to slowing forest loss. While promising, this new funding and coordination is insufficient, with a narrow focus on climate-based development assistance. Engaging the full suite of forest policy levers in the federal government, or taking a “whole-of-government” approach, would provide greater immediate impact in preventing forest loss while building the foundations of a working landscape ethic. In this discussion paper, we explore the opportunities to expand U.S. contributions to reducing tropical deforestation through this approach. A whole-of-government approach to international deforestation consists of coordinating and focusing the programs across the federal government that could reduce the rate of tropical forest loss. It is an integrated strategy that employs existing activities and authorities of the U.S. government and directs them under an overarching goal of reducing deforestation in tropical forest countries, while continuing to support other developing-country goals, such as economic development, health, food security, and biodiversity. We identify three major areas where policy adjustments and actions by relevant authorities can have immediate and tangible impact on reducing deforestation.tropical deforestation, forest conservation, U.S. policy, REDD, reducing emissions from deforestation, whole-of-government, environment and trade, forest policy