Book excerpt: The Built Environment through the Prism of the Colonial Periodical Press is a venture of the International Group for Studies of Colonial Periodical Press of the Portuguese Empire (IGSCP-PE), who are also interested in comparative studies and conceptual discussions. Through a focus on the understudied role of colonial periodicals in the creation and public discussion of colonial built environments, the present book contributes to a cultural history of the idea of built environment. The studies underscore the role of press in articulating environment imaging and transformations with colonial ideologies, projects and policies, and the fixing, othering and disputing of identities, while still retaining the epochal circulation of ideas. This role is evidenced through discussions of forests, clubs, hotels, barracks, hospitals, houses, verandas and gardens, railways, Catholic churches and Hindu "templescapes", restorations and exhibitions. The book also examines a non-canonical variety of periodicals, such as newspapers, bulletins, women’s magazines, and professional journals. Published within the sphere of Portuguese, Belgium, Italian, British formal and informal Empire, the analysis of these periodicals provides a multilingual, plural and complex comprehension of the discursive creation of modern built environments in colonial ambiances. This volume is indispensable for scholars and students interested in Media Studies, Architectural and Engineering studies, Built Environment studies as well as Colonial and Imperial history.