Coastal Architectures and Politics of Tourism: Leisurescapes in the Global Sunbelt

This book explores how leisure tourism transformed coastal lands, traditional societies, and national economies after World War II, through 21 chapters analyzing architectural spaces and landscapes in the Mediterranean littoral, Soviet bloc seaside resorts, and beachscapes and tourism architectures in the Western and Eastern hemispheres. It argues that leisurescapes have often concealed histories of conflict, violence, social inequalities, and environmental degradation.

Format: Hardback
Length: 364 pages
Publication date: 29 July 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive volume delves into the intricate and multifaceted relationship between leisure tourism and the global landscape following World War II, presenting a critical and nuanced portrayal of its transformative effects on coastal regions, traditional societies, and national economies. Spanning 21 chapters, this book explores a diverse range of architectural spaces and altered coastal landscapes through a contextualization of selected case studies within economic geographies of national development, the geopolitics of the Cold War, the legacies of colonialism, and the international dynamics of decolonization.

Postwar leisure tourism evokes a captivating array of architectural spaces and transformed coastal landscapes, which are examined in depth within this collection. Through discussions of tourism developments in the Mediterranean littoral, including Greece, Turkey, and southern France, as well as compelling analyses of Soviet bloc seaside resorts along the Black Sea and Baltic coasts, and in beachscapes and tourism architectures of both the Western and Eastern hemispheres, from Southern California to Sri Lanka, South Korea, and Egypt, the book offers a rich tapestry of insights.

What sets this collection apart is its compelling argument that leisurescapes, often perceived as supra-ideological and apolitical expressions of modernization, development, and progress, have frequently concealed histories of conflict, violence, social inequalities, and environmental degradation. By delving into these hidden narratives, the book sheds light on the complex and multifaceted ways in which leisure tourism has shaped and influenced the world.

This volume will appeal to a wide audience, including architectural and urban historians, architects and planners, urban geographers, economic and environmental historians, and scholars and researchers interested in the intersections of tourism, architecture, and society. It provides valuable insights into the historical, cultural, and spatial dimensions of leisure tourism and its impact on the global landscape, offering a valuable resource for scholars, students, and professionals alike.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032147208