A sweeping social and environmental history, The Riviera, Exposed illuminates the profound changes to the physical space that we know as the quintessential European tourist destination. Stephen L. Harp uncovers the behind-the-scenes impact of tourism following World War II, both on the environment and on the people living and working on the Riviera, particularly North African laborers, who not only did much of the literal rebuilding of the Riviera but also suffered in that process. Outside of Paris, the Riviera has been the most visited region in France, depending almost exclusively on tourism as its economic lifeline. Until recently, we knew a great deal about the tourists but much less about the social and environmental impacts of their activities or about the life stories of the North African workers upon whom the Riviera's prosperity rests. The technologies embedded in roads, airports, hotels, water lines, sewers, beaches, and marinas all required human intervention—and travelers were encouraged to disregard this intervention. Harp's sharp analysis explores the impacts of massive construction and public works projects, revealing the invisible infrastructure of tourism, its environmental effects, and the immigrants who built the Riviera. The Riviera, Exposed unearths a gritty history, one of human labor and ecological degradation that forms the true foundation of the glamorous Riviera of tourist mythology.
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Introduction: The Hidden Riviera 1. Building Hotels and Housing for the Rich and the Rest 2. Reconstructing the Riviera, Sleeping in Squats and Shantytowns 3. Providing Potable Water and WCs 4. Fattening Up Beaches and Polluting the Mediterranean 5. Erecting an Airport and Living with Jet Planes 6. Remaking Roads and Disciplining Drivers Epilogue: The More Things Change
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This engrossing environmental and social history of the French Riviera invites us to critically interrogate the profound interplay between environmental destruction and social inequality more generally, and will surely give readers much to ponder when they plan their next vacation.
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Stephen L. Harp's compelling new book considers the environmental impact and hidden history of North African workers after World War II in the French Riviera, a site politically dominated by the anti-immigrant Far Right. Readers will never again view the Riviera in the same way.
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781501773549
Publisert
2023-12-15
Utgiver
Vendor
Cornell University Press
Vekt
454 gr
Høyde
229 mm
Bredde
152 mm
Dybde
21 mm
Aldersnivå
01, G, 01
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet

Forfatter
Foreword by

Biographical note

Stephen L. Harp is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Akron. He is the author of A World History of Rubber, Au Naturel, and Marketing Michelin.