ALBERT

All Library Books, journals and Electronic Records Telegrafenberg

X
feed icon rss

Your email was sent successfully. Check your inbox.

An error occurred while sending the email. Please try again.

Proceed reservation?

Export
Filter
  • Articles  (1,587)
  • Institute of Physics  (1,440)
  • American Institute of Physics
  • Hindawi
  • 2010-2014  (1,587)
  • 1955-1959
  • 1935-1939
  • Geography  (1,587)
Collection
  • Articles  (1,587)
Source
Publisher
Years
Year
Journal
Topic
  • 1
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    “Trench Town Rock”: Reggae Music, Landscape Inscription, and the Making of Place in Kingston, Jamaica (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-01
    Description: This paper examines place inscriptions in Trench Town, Jamaica, and explores the ways these are used to reinforce, shape, or challenge dominant images of this inner-city community. On one hand, Trench Town is like many of its neighbouring communities, characterised by high levels of poverty, unemployment, political and gang violence, derelict buildings, and overcrowded homes. On the other hand, Trench Town is iconic and unique as it is recognised worldwide for being the birth place of reggae music and home to a number of well-known reggae artists including reggae superstar Bob Marley. Today, Trench Town’s landscape is filled with inscriptions reminiscent of its rich cultural past. Linked to this is a conscious effort by its residents to identify themselves with reggae music and to recapture and sustain the positive legacies that have made the community popular. This is manifested in the numerous murals, statues, and graffiti seen throughout the community evoking past images of reggae music icons such as Marley and Tosh alongside renowned black leaders such as Marcus Garvey. These inscriptions are conceived as texts and are seen as part of a broader discourse on issues relating to urban spatial identity, commoditisation, exclusion, struggle, resistance, and change.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 2
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Grade Point Average Differences between Dual and Nondual Credit College Students (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-02-21
    Description: We examined the first and final term grade point averages (GPA) for a class of students at a Texas community college to determine how dual enrollment credit influenced GPA. Five statistically significant differences, albeit small effect sizes, were present by gender and by ethnic membership. Dual credit students had higher GPAs than did nondual credit students. Interestingly, dual enrollment did not have a statistically significant influence on GPAs for Asian students or for students after two years at this community college. As such, this study is the first research investigation of which we are aware in which student GPA in the first college semester and at the end of the second year was compared between dual credit and nondual credit students. Implications of our findings and suggestions for future research are provided.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 3
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Diversity Management in the Canadian Workplace: Towards an Antiracism Approach (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-11-15
    Description: Most diversity management programs in Canada maintain that enhancing workforce diversity is of tremendous significance for business organizations in today’s competitive global urban markets. Since well-meaning diversity management initiatives have been largely ineffective thus far in dealing with workplace discrimination and racism in the Canadian workplace, this paper underscores the need to decenter the focus of diversity management from a business imperative to an antidiscrimination and social justice imperative. Within this latter perspective, the paper examines the strengths and limitations of the antiracism approach that has been implemented in various developed countries in recent years. The antiracism approach is an action-oriented strategy for institutional and systemic change that has at its core the interrogation of privilege, power disparities, and other forms of inequity within the organization. Drawing from the lessons of various initiatives that have utilized this approach, the present paper emphasizes the need for a nuanced antiracism approach in the multicultural Canadian society if diversity management is to attain its goal of greater inclusion of all individuals in informal networks and formal organizational programs.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 4
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    The Spatial-Temporal Dynamics of China’s Changing Urban Hierarchy (1950–2005) (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-11-15
    Description: This paper examines the dynamic spatial and temporal patterns of China’s urban hierarchy from 1950 to 2005. We limit the study to mainland China’s 137 urban agglomerations of 750,000 or more population as of 2005. The paper improves upon a classic approach to measuring shifting ranks within an urban hierarchy by applying advanced spatial analysis techniques. We use a Getis-Ord , a space-time Moran scatter plot, and dynamic LISA paths to examine the regional difference and change for these urban agglomerations. Our study revealed a north-south divide in the changing urban hierarchy of China after 1990. The analysis demonstrated that the spatial and temporal shift of urban dominance in China was closely associated with policy and economic factors. The paper concludes with a discussion of the differences across the six different time periods of change from 1950 to 2005.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 5
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    The Coexistence of Humans and Companion Animals in the City Parks of Xanthi: The Views of the Citizens (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-12-11
    Description: Companion animals are very important to people of big cities. In Greece the families which own those animals take them for a walk in the parks and streets of their town but not always with care to not disturb other citizens. Laws and regulations for companion and stray animals are not respected in Greece, although as a result of the Athens Olympics in 2004 the Greek government started to provide funds for the collection, care, and sterilization of stray animals. This paper is a first attempt to record, through the aid of a structured questionnaire, the view of the citizens of the city of Xanthi in northern Greece regarding companion animals and what they do when animals become old. The paper also examines the extent to which the existence of stray and companion animals in parks disturbs the people who visit green areas looking for a place to get a rest or play on the grass. The majority preferred that stray animals are collected off the streets, recorded, treated from parasites, vaccinated, and sterilized and after that are available for adoption or are returned to the area they were found at.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 6
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Grade Point Average Differences between Dual and Nondual Credit College Students (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-02-12
    Description: We examined the first and final term grade point averages (GPA) for a class of students at a Texas community college to determine how dual enrollment credit influenced GPA. Five statistically significant differences, albeit small effect sizes, were present by gender and by ethnic membership. Dual credit students had higher GPAs than did nondual credit students. Interestingly, dual enrollment did not have a statistically significant influence on GPAs for Asian students or for students after two years at this community college. As such, this study is the first research investigation of which we are aware in which student GPA in the first college semester and at the end of the second year was compared between dual credit and nondual credit students. Implications of our findings and suggestions for future research are provided.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 7
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Streets Apart: Does Social Capital Vary with Neighbourhood Design? (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-09-03
    Description: While neighbourhood differences in social capital have been mapped, few empirical studies have considered the nexus between specific physical characteristics of communities and social capital. In this study we hypothesised that social capital would be positively associated with a more walkable street network design, but inversely associated with negative experiences and perceptions of neighbourhood environments. Data was gathered through a random cross-sectional telephone survey of adults (
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 8
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Conundrums in Conservation: Complexity in Control (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-08-28
    Description: The departure point for this investigation is to highlight the centrality of regulation theory as a praxis in planning enforcement. The value of the conceptual framework is demonstrated by application in the problematic arena of conservation regulatory compliance, where there is currently a dearth of investigation. It is evidenced that this thematic approach provides a lens to scrutinise problematic areas of control and provides a deeper understanding of the difficulties faced by planning enforcement operational practice generally and heritage regimes specifically. The utility of the proposed mechanism is that it remedies the current, well documented, pitfalls of disjointed, piecemeal strategies by providing a framework for robust, coherent decision making not only in planning but in the wider regulatory arena.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 9
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Assessing Resilience to Climate Change in US Cities (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: In the face of uncertainties associated with climate change, building adaptive capacity and resilience at the community level emerges as an essential and timely element of local planning. However, key social factors that facilitate the effective building and maintenance of urban resilience are poorly understood. Two groups of US cities differing markedly in their commitment to climate change are contrasted with respect to their planning approaches and actions related to mitigation and adaptation strategies, and also in relation to social features that are believed to enhance adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change. The first group manifests a strong commitment to climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the second group has demonstrated little or no such commitment. These cities are compared with respect to several noteworthy social features, including level of social capital, degree of unconventional thought, and level of cultural diversity. These characteristics are postulated to contribute to the adaptive capacity of communities for dealing with the impacts of climate change. The aim is to determine to what extent there is a relationship between social/cultural structures and urban commitment and planning for climate change that could discriminate between climate change resilient and nonresilient urban areas.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 10
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Optimum Arrangement of Photovoltaic Systems in Housing at Khartoum: Application of Renewable Energy in Urban Design (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: This paper searches to find out of building integrated photovoltaic system designs in Khartoum. It discussed technical issues and designed an integrated of photovoltaic in domestic using, within an urban approach towards sustainability in energy. Photovoltaic systems can be used to develop the solar energy in almost all kinds of applications. Exploiting of solar energy for domestic use is one avenue where the energy produced from the sun is converted into electricity to power most if not all the appliances available at our homes and residences. Building a photovoltaic system is the process of designing, selecting, and calculating the ratings of the equipments employed in the system. This process depends on a range of factors such as geographical location, solar irradiation, and load requirements. I introduce the procedures utilize, in building and selecting the equipments of a grid-connected photovoltaic system based on the Watt-hour demand of 3.8 kw. As a case study, a residence in Khartoum with low-energy consumption is selected.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 11
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Quality of Life and Socioenvironmental Degradation in the Cantareira System Environmental Protected Area, SP, Brazil (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-07-17
    Description: Studies on quality of life can contribute to a better understanding of situations where socioenvironmental transformations are evident, from environmental, social, cultural, and political perspectives. This paper analyzes the quality of life of the inhabitants of the Moinho rural settlement in the context of the surrounding conditions of environmental degradation. Moinho is located in Nazaré Paulista municipality, which belongs to the Cantareira System Environmental Protected Area (Cantareira EPA), state of São Paulo, Brazil. The methodology used was based on secondary data collection and interviews with local residents. The results explore the interface between the transformation of land use and the growing change of rural life that are greatly influenced by expanding urban sprawl in the region. Over recent decades, changes in the production systems, substitution of agriculture crops, and the impacts of these variables on environmental health and water availability, as well as damage to the Municipal Human Development Index (HDI-M) of its municipalities, are indicators of the region’s present social complexity. This study shows that an improvement in the quality of life has an intimate relationship with the creation of sustainable economic activities and the real participation of the local population in decision making processes.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 12
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    A History of Urban Planning and Infectious Diseases: Colonial Senegal in the Early Twentieth Century (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: This paper deals with the spatial implications of the French sanitary policies in early colonial urban Senegal. It focuses on the French politics of residential segregation following the outbreak of the bubonic plague in Dakar in 1914, and their precedents in Saint Louis. These policies can be conceived as most dramatic, resulting in a displacement of a considerable portion of the indigenous population, who did not want or could not afford to build à l’européen, to the margins of the colonial city. Aspects of residential segregation are analysed here through the perspective of cultural history and history of colonial planning and architecture, in contrast to the existing literature on this topic. The latter dilates on the statutory policies of the colonial authorities facing the 1914 plague in Dakar, the plague's sociopolitical implications, and the colonial politics of public health there. In the light of relevant historiography, and a variety of secondary and primary sources, this paper exposes the contradictions that were inherent in the French colonial regime in West Africa. These contradictions were wisely used by the African agency, so that such a seemingly urgent segregationist project was actually never accomplished.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 13
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Use of the Planning Outreach Liaison Model in the Neighborhood Planning Process: A Case Study in Seattle's Rainier Valley Neighborhood (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: Our study examines a nontraditional engagement process employed by the City of Seattle during neighborhood plan updates. Adapting the trusted advocates model from the public health field, the city hired planning outreach liaisons (POLs) from 13 diverse community groups to solicit input from traditionally underrepresented residents. To explore the efficacy of this approach, we collected data through interviews with residents, neighborhood leaders, community development firm employees, university researchers, and municipal staff; a review of planning documents; observation at planning meetings. We found that the POLs effectively engaged underrepresented groups—including more than 1,200 stakeholders—particularly those characterized as self-organized, centralized or having strong social networks and were important in the advancement of democratic principles. Greater transparency by the city about process goals and constraints, along with strategies to address power issues, may have facilitated better communication and relationship building among the city, newly enfranchised residents, and the “usual suspects.”
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 14
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Economic Development Perspective and City Leadership (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: The viability of traditional economic development strategies has long been questioned by urban policy scholars; yet traditional strategies remain the norm among city leaders. Traditional concerns emphasize economic and business considerations at the expense of nontraditional community considerations such as quality of life. In this paper, we examine the conditions under which city leaders give weight to nontraditional community concerns when making economic development decisions. Our analysis of the results of a survey conducted of more than 200 leaders in over 150 Texas cities indicates that although traditional economic development concerns remain dominant, certain conditions may exist that allow or compel city leaders to give increased weight to non-traditional community considerations. Conditions revealed by our study include the socioeconomic status of Texas cities and the relative differences in leadership positions and professionalism among city leaders. The paper concludes with a discussion of how our study contributes to the literature about economic development policy and points to avenues for future research on the conditions under which decision-making strategies are pursued by city leaders.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 15
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Public Housing Construction and the Cities: 1937–1967 (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: Public housing advocates argue that the nation should expand the federal public housing program as part of an effort to increase the supply of affordable rental housing. This paper examines federal public housing construction in the largest US cities over the period 1937–1967, a period during which the public housing program was the primary program to provide low-income households with affordable rental housing. Public housing is found to depend upon the population level of the city, factors that characterize the housing stock as of 1950, the poverty level in the city, and the size of the nonwhite population in the city. The National Commission on Urban Problems (National commission on urban problems 1968, page 128) found that this supply response meant that “… the great need of the large central cities for housing for poor families was largely unmet.” Changes in racial segregation from 1940 to 1960 are found to be unrelated to public housing construction. While the current situation is different in many respects from circumstances of these earlier decades, a renewed effort to supply public housing might produce similar outcomes.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 16
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Mega Events and Urban Conflicts in Valencia, Spain: Contesting the New Urban Modernity (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: The local and regional administrations of Valencia, Spain, have been working to position the city, which is the country's third largest in terms of population, as an international destination for luxury tourism through sports mega-events. Valencia's new image as a “mega-events city” has been criticized by citizens and urban-based movements on social and environmental grounds, resulting in various urban conflicts. The aim of this paper is to examine the causes and dynamics of these conflicts in order to understand the discourse and rationales behind the criticism. This will also include an examination of the ways in which these conflicts were managed by the local administration, especially in the months leading up to and during the events, when the city was receiving worldwide media coverage. Researching local print media, we focused on urban conflicts that took place in Valencia between 1995 and 2010. We also looked at the performance of urban-based movements and the administration as conflicting actors. One of the main findings was the strong consensual authoritarianism manifested by the administration and mega-event organizers when making decisions and managing urban conflicts related to mega-events.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 17
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Including Accident Information in Automatic Bicycle Route Planning for Urban Areas (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: Between 2005 and 2007 there were 9071 traffic accidents involving bicycles within London and this paper demonstrates the utility of Geographic Information Systems as a tool for analysing and visualising these occurrences. Through linkage of these spatial locations to a street network dataset it was possible to create a variety of intelligence about the types of street infrastructure where accidents predominantly occur. Additionally, a network routing algorithm was adapted to account for the frequency of accidents within a series of proposed journeys. This pilot routing application compared the quickest route with an accident avoidance weighted route between a series of origins and destinations. The results demonstrated that the routes avoiding areas of high accident volume did not increase journey length significantly; however they did provide a “safer” route based on empirical evidence over the volume of accident locations.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 18
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Public Spaces in Lithuanian Cities: Legacy of Dependence and Recent Tendencies (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: The object of discussion of the current paper is transformations of urban public spaces since Czarist Russia's colonial rule up to the period after the restoration of Lithuania's independence. While reviewing the transformations of public spaces (first and foremost squares) of the country's larger cities, the authors noted that this field is distinguished by extremely contradictory tendencies: on one hand, we are dealing with the urban legacy of previous regime as well as its impact on the “physiognomies” of Lithuanian cities as well as hurried often premature attempts to change the earlier function of public spaces simply by eliminating the symbols of Soviet ideology continued; on the other, a rapid campaign for creating new ideological symbols related to independence was launched, which often involved sacrificing the actual function of public spaces and the artistic quality of monuments. It is noted that similar processes took place in the earlier periods of history: whenever the repertoire of certain visual signs and symbols was exhausted, in urbanistic spaces it would be replaced with the visual symbols of the new era and a new structure of a public space. One more tendency of restructuring public spaces has recently become distinct: under the influence of interests of private capital, part of the former traditional city squares with monuments is being converted into parking lots or other uses changing their functions and meaning.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 19
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Adolescent Offending and the Segregation of Poverty in Urban Neighbourhoods and Schools: An Assessment of Contextual Effects from the Standpoint of Situational Action Theory (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: Contextual research on adolescent offending is primarily based on the idea that residential areas provide a major ecological setting that (indirectly) shapes observed differences in adolescent offending. The social disorganisation/collective efficacy perspective has tried to explain why structural disadvantage of residential areas affects residents' involvement in offending. On the other hand, contextual research has also been conducted within the school setting. This separate contextual approach is problematic as it does not reflect the reality of adolescents' lives. Adolescents are exposed to different ecological settings. They are also exposed to many other settings that may provide opportunities to offend, as outlined in the situational action theory (SAT) of crime causation. This study contributes to the literature on the urban context of offending in three ways. First, the effects of adolescents' residential neighbourhood and school context on adolescent offending are assessed simultaneously. Second, this study elaborates on SAT from a cross-level point of view. Third, this contribution makes use of non-hierarchical multilevel modelling, which is a statistically correct method of testing hypotheses that involve multiple contexts. Our study revealed the existence of small contextual effects of school-level disadvantage, whereas the effect of neighbourhood-level disadvantage is entirely due to neighbourhood composition.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 20
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    The Impact of Anthropogenic Heat on Formation of Urban Heat Island and Energy Consumption Balance (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: This paper investigates the impact of anthropogenic heat on formation of urban heat island (UHI) and also determines which factors can directly affect energy use in the city. It explores literally the conceptual framework of confliction between anthropogenic heat and urban structure, which produced UHI intensity and affected energy consumption balance. It then discusses how these two factors can be affected and gives implication to the city and then focuses on whether actions should be taken for balancing adaptation and mitigation of UHI effects. It will be concluded by making the three important strategies to minimise the impact of UHI on energy consumption: landscaping, using albedo materials on external surfaces of buildings and urban areas, and promoting natural ventilation.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 21
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Japan's Evolving Nested Municipal Hierarchy: The Race for Local Power in the 2000s (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: In agreement with Nested City theory, this paper illustrates how Japan's municipal hierarchy has evolved and remained embedded within that nation's particular historical-political-economic context. It chronicles how municipalities have attained status based upon the role they have played in the country's political, economic, and military history, and, more recently, their population size. It then shows how during the post-war period, the tiers within this urban stratification system were expanded and institutionalized by national laws governing municipalities. Drawing upon more than 100 interviews with local government officials in nine prefectures, it then reveals how a shift in national policy toward decentralization in the late-1990s sparked a race for higher municipal status in Japan's national hierarchy, during the 2000s, and thereby, local power.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 22
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Producing a “Successful City”: Neoliberal Urbanism and Gentrification in the Tourist City—The Case of Palma (Majorca) (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: Since the 1990s, the intensification of capital accumulation, especially in its financial dimension, has been one of the keystones for the triumph of neoliberalism. Spanish neoliberal policies have focused on the flexibilization of the real estate sector, leading to the specialization in the secondary circuit of accumulation. This has generated a third real estate boom which has been accompanied with an outstanding housing bubble. The Balearic Islands are a paradigmatic case within these logics, tourist specialization being the main trigger of the process. In Palma, the region's capital, neoliberal urban planning policies have been implemented in order to convert it into a “successful city” within the global urban network competition. These policies have led to Palma's uneven geographical development through processes like gentrification, as is the case of the Gerreria, a neighborhood of Palma's city center.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 23
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    The Structure of Witnessed Community Violence amongst Urban African American Mothers: Latent Class Analysis of a Community Sample (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: The prevalence of witnessed community violence (WCV) amongst urban populations in the USA is striking. WCV can be harmful to one's psychological health, and for mothers, the consequences may be more far-reaching as their mental health affects parenting and child development. This study used telephone interviews (n = 209) to explore the patterns and covariates of WCV amongst a sample of urban, African American mothers of infants. Mothers reported whether they had witnessed 11 different forms of violence in their current neighborhoods. A latent class analysis revealed two distinct groups of mothers, those with higher versus lower-exposure to WCV. Mothers in the higher-exposure group were more likely to be low-income, to have a high school education or less, and to have higher anxiety scores than those in the lower-exposure group. Depression was not associated with higher exposure to WCV. Distinguishing between higher- and lower-exposure samples can inform the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies for metropolitan areas.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 24
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Extending Spatial Interaction Models with Agents for Understanding Relationships in a Dynamic Retail Market (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: For many years, effective model-based representations of the dynamics and evolution of urban spatial structure have proved elusive. While some progress has been made through the deployment of spatial interaction models, these approaches have been limited by the difficulty of representing behavioural mechanisms and processes. In this paper, it is demonstrated that evolutionary models grounded in the principles of spatial interaction are compatible with the more novel approaches of agent-based modelling. The incorporation of agents provides a much more flexible means for the representation of behavioural mechanisms. The paper illustrates the way in which three more complicated situations can be handled through the fusion of spatial interaction and agent modelling perspectives. These situations comprise discontinuous evolution (in which structural adjustment takes place in discrete steps, and not as a continuously smooth process); nonequilibrium dynamics (in which the underlying system parameters continue to evolve through time); the incorporation of new decision variables (which we illustrate through the addition of land rents into the model). The conclusion of the paper is that the combination of spatial interaction and agent-based modelling methods provides encouraging prospects for the social simulation of real urban systems.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 25
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Beliefs about the Causes of Racial Inequality: The Persisting Impact of Urban and Suburban Locations? (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-22
    Description: The purpose of this paper is to assess the classical theoretical propositions of Wirth and Stouffer regarding the independent impact of urban and suburban residency on beliefs about racial inequality. This paper further assesses the impacts of these social locations over a three-decade period. While scholars pose that city size positively impacts behavior, there is debate regarding the impact of these locations over time. Using the General Social Survey, findings demonstrate that while urbanism continues to have an independent impact on beliefs, the impact of suburban residency is much weaker and inconsistent. Analyses of over time trends reveal that the gap between urban and rural residents appears to have increased, with rural residents expressing more intolerant beliefs about the causes of racial inequality over time. These findings are further discussed in a broader theoretical context.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 26
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    22@ and the Innovation District in Barcelona and Montreal: A Process of Clustering Development between Urban Regeneration and Economic Competitiveness (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: This paper analyzes the governance strategy of the 22@ District in Barcelona in order to assess the factors that explain its success and could support the economic reconversion of Montreal’s future Innovation District (ID), as well as that of other cities. We examine the case of the 22@ District as a former industrial neighbourhood seen as a “model” of urban regeneration and economic revitalization. Our assumption is that the world’s major cities are going through a phase based on the reorganization of central urban areas. Our article evaluates the main factors of urban regeneration in the 22@—district of innovation and it identifies elements of best practices in terms of governance which can be constructive for the “Quartier de l’Innovation” in Montreal and similar projects of other cities. The paper highlights the role of decision makers concerning the process of governance of 22@ and its historic changes, and insists on the the role of socioeconomic actors and territorial factors that could support the level of integration and implementation of Montreal@ID. Our paper highlights the importance of the integration process based on socio-territorial innovations characterizing the Catalan context of 22@ as well as the Innovation District, something useful for other similar initiatives.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 27
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Differences in Architects and Nonarchitects' Perception of Urban Design: An Application of Kansei Engineering Techniques (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-21
    Description: We analyse architects and nonarchitects' emotional assessments of different districts in their own city (Valencia, Spain) by applying Kansei engineering techniques. A field study was carried out on a sample of 140 subjects (70 architects and 70 nonarchitects) who were asked to express their opinions on different areas in the city. The set of emotional impressions used by architects and non-architects to describe their sensations was obtained using differential semantics. The semantic space was described by 9 independent axis which explained 62% of the variability. Then, for each collective the set of impressions which influence the final residential or investment area decision was analysed. This relationship was obtained applying linear regression models. The results showed no significant differences between both groups so that the emotional attributes determining the choice of area were very similar for architects and non-architects. Greater discrepancies were found when the purpose of the choice was investment and not residential. Finally a neighbourhood was semantically profiled to represent and compare both collectives' perceptions.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 28
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Human Capital, Skills, and Uneven Intraurban Employment Growth: The Case of Göteborg, Sweden, 1990–2008 (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-03-13
    Description: Recent research has elucidated the role of talents to explain urban growth differences but it remains to be shown whether urban dynamics, such as human capital and a mixed local population, can be linked to intraurban employment growth. By use of a unique longitudinal database, we track the economic development through the lens of intraurban employment growth of a number of primary urban areas (PUA) in Göteborg, Sweden. Regarding factors influencing employment growth, we find that relative concentrations of human capital protect areas from rising unemployment during severe recession (1990–1993) and recovery (1990–2000) while the composition of skills is beneficial during recovery (1990–2000) and long-term growth (1990–2008). Our findings suggest that neither too high concentrations of creative occupations nor too low ones are beneficial. Thus, human capital drives much of the employment changes in relation to the recession and early transition from manufacturing to service but composition of skills is more relevant for explaining long-term intraurban employment growth.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 29
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Neighborhood Social Capital, Neighborhood Disadvantage, and Change of Neighborhood as Predictors of School Readiness (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-02-27
    Description: Neighborhood income and social capital are considered important for child development, but social capital has rarely been measured directly at an aggregate level. We used Canadian data to derive measures of social capital from aggregated parental judgments of neighborhood collective efficacy and neighborhood safety. Measures of neighborhood income came from Census data. Direct measures of preschoolers’ school readiness were predicted from neighborhood-level variables, with regional indicators and household/parental characteristics taken into account. Our findings show that (1) residing in Quebec, being Black, and having a parent who was born outside Canada are positively associated with children’s living in disadvantaged or low collective efficacy neighborhoods as well as with their living in low-income households. (2) Children’s odds of residential mobility were reduced when the origin neighborhood had higher collective efficacy but increased when the family rented rather than owned. (3) Both neighborhood collective efficacy and children’s ever having lived in a poor neighborhood were correlated with receptive vocabulary scores, but results were mixed for other cognitive dimensions. Children of younger mothers scored worse on receptive vocabulary. There were similar patterns for demographic predictors related to visible minority status, sibship size, and birth order. Neighborhood average income had no effect on cognitive outcomes when the region was controlled.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 30
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Urban Sprawl in the Mediterranean Urban Regions in Europe and the Crisis Effect on the Urban Land Development: Madrid as Study Case (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-11-27
    Description: The middle of 2007 saw the beginning of a worldwide financial crisis that led to a sharp reduction in investment based on construction and urban development. This new situation is generating a new process, characterised by a slowdown that has almost reached a standstill when compared with the frenzied development of previous decades. In order to analyse these processes, this study examines urban land use changes and the urban growth rate and spatial dynamics of the metropolitan region of Madrid. The analysis has been carried out on a large scale between two periods (2000–2006 and 2006–2009) using a regional land use geodatabase. The results show the changes in the urban land use dynamics that took place over these two periods that could characterise the cities of Mediterranean Europe, where contrarily to the general pattern in Europe built-up areas are combining scattered built-up areas with new aggregated compact developments.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 31
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Economic Transition in the City of Paterson, New Jersey (America’s First Planned Industrial City): Causes, Impacts, and Urban Policy Implications (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-09-04
    Description: This paper examines the dynamics of economic change in the City of Paterson, New Jersey, from the time of its founding in the late eighteenth century to 1990, with emphasis on the post-1945 era. Analysis shows that from the time of its founding to the first half of the twentieth century, Paterson experienced a period of economic growth followed by economic decline in the 1960s, characterized by major changes in its principal industries of cotton, locomotives, and silk. Economic growth in Paterson up to the early part of the twentieth century is attributable to several locational factors, including the availability of water resources, transportation, labor supply, and markets. Its decline in the post-1945 era is attributable to a combination of local, national, and global economic factors including periods of depression, labor discord, product substitution, decentralization of economic activities, and deindustrialization. Economic decline resulted in a high rate of unemployment, poverty, and urban decay. The most significant effort to reverse urban decline in the city is the urban enterprise zone (UEZ) program. The impacts of this program on economic growth in the city, however, remain inconclusive.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 32
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Planning Office and Community Influence on Land-Use Decisions Intended to Benefit the Low-Income: Welcome to Chicago (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-07-11
    Description: This study explores urban planning office and community influence on land-use decision making in two poverty-stricken but redeveloping neighborhood areas in Chicago. The Department of Planning and Development in this study had marginal impact on land-use decisions due to administrative limitations. Community influence is moderated by the degree to which low-income housing advocates can act directly as developers and produce housing units. The research findings indicate that land-use decisions intended to benefit the low-income resulted not from community-based political conflict but more so from community organization cooperation with political actors.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 33
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Gentrification in Latin America: Overview and Critical Analysis (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-02-18
    Description: This paper offers a critical review and interpretation of gentrification in Latin American cities. Applying a flexible methodology, it examines enabling conditions associated with societal regime change and local contingencies to determine its presence, nature, extent, and possibilities. Questioning the uncritical transfer of constructs such as gentrification from the Global North to the Global South, the paper advocates analyses of mediating structures and local conditions to determine their applicability and possible variations. Overall, the review questions the feasibility of self-sustained, large scale gentrification in central areas of the region’s cities today tying it to each city’s level of incorporation into global circuits and the role of local governments. Rather than an orthodox hypothesis testing, this is an exercise in interpretation that calls for nuanced approaches to the study of urban restructuring in cities of the global South.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 34
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Dual Credit Enrollment: A Multiyear Study of Gender and Ethnic Differences (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-11-29
    Description: In this investigation, we ascertained the extent to which differences were present in dual credit enrollment by gender and by ethnicity for students () enrolled in a Texas community college from the 2005-2006 through the 2011-2012 academic years. Statistical analyses revealed an increase in the numbers (i.e., from 3,069 to 3,664) and percentages (i.e., from 12.2% to 19.5%) of students who were enrolled in dual credit courses over the time period analyzed. Moreover, higher percentages of women (i.e., 20.8% in the most recent academic year) had enrolled in dual credit courses while in high school than men (i.e., 17.9% in the most recent academic year). Differences were also present as a function of ethnicity, with 33.1% Asian, 25.3% White, 17.4% Hispanic, and 7.5% Black students having been enrolled in dual credit in the most recent academic year. Differences were also revealed by gender for Hispanic and White students, but not for Asian and Black students. Implications of our findings are discussed.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 35
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Youth Exposure to Violence in an Urban Setting (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-11-11
    Description: To inform a city-wide youth Violence Prevention Initiative, we explored youth narratives about their exposure to violence to gain insight into their understanding of the causes and effects of violence in their communities. At-risk youth were recruited through street outreach for individual interviews and focus group sessions. Types of experiential violence identified included (1) street, (2) family/interpersonal, (3) school, (4) indirect exposure (e.g., neighborhood crime), and (5) prejudice/discrimination. Reactions ranged from motivating positive effects (resilience, determination to escape) to negative effects (fear, paranoia, and aggression). For some, experiences with violence motivated them to pursue educational achievement and positive lifestyles. Causes of violence were described by participants as existing at a number of different levels (societal, neighborhood, interpersonal, and individual), reflecting a social-ecological perspective. Our findings highlight a need for violence prevention efforts that focus on a broad definition of violence, as well as on the poly-victimization of children and youth. At the same time, our findings highlight the challenges of conducting effective community-based prevention programs in urban settings characterized by spatial inequalities and social exclusion of community residents.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 36
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Production of Quality Housing in Urban Transformation in Areas under Disaster Risk: Osmangazi and Yıldırım, Bursa, Turkey (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-12-31
    Description: Bursa is one of the cities with high disaster risk and a quality housing problem in Turkey. Urban transformation activities are carried out in order to improve quality of life and create safe living spaces for sustainable urban development. Quality housing production does not signify merely a need to be satisfied quantitatively. Housing and its environment, where physical and social needs of the users are satisfied, should be designed considering local conditions and in a way that they will be suitable for users’ life styles and cultural habits. In this study, the selected study area comprises neighborhoods which are under disaster risk, have been determined as urban transformation areas, and have residents with similar socioeconomic characteristics. With the purpose of improving user satisfaction, this study investigates users’ experience with physical, social, and cultural features of housing and its environment, which identify the quality of housing, and their preferences of new housing units to be produced. Nonprobability sampling method was selected for the field study, and a survey study was conducted. SPSS 17.0 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) was employed for data entry. In order to generate data for quality housing production, relationships between variables were analyzed with Pearson chi-square test.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 37
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Economic Transition in the City of Paterson, New Jersey (America’s First Planned Industrial City): Causes, Impacts, and Urban Policy Implications (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014
    Description: This paper examines the dynamics of economic change in the City of Paterson, New Jersey, from the time of its founding in the late eighteenth century to 1990, with emphasis on the post-1945 era. Analysis shows that from the time of its founding to the first half of the twentieth century, Paterson experienced a period of economic growth followed by economic decline in the 1960s, characterized by major changes in its principal industries of cotton, locomotives, and silk. Economic growth in Paterson up to the early part of the twentieth century is attributable to several locational factors, including the availability of water resources, transportation, labor supply, and markets. Its decline in the post-1945 era is attributable to a combination of local, national, and global economic factors including periods of depression, labor discord, product substitution, decentralization of economic activities, and deindustrialization. Economic decline resulted in a high rate of unemployment, poverty, and urban decay. The most significant effort to reverse urban decline in the city is the urban enterprise zone (UEZ) program. The impacts of this program on economic growth in the city, however, remain inconclusive.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 38
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Developing Student Housing Quality Scale in Higher Institutions of Learning: A Factor Analysis Approach (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013
    Description: The researchers developed an instrument for measuring student housing quality (SHQ) in Higher Institutions of Learning (HIL) in Ghana. The paper sought to validate the student housing quality scale (SHOQUAL) through factor analysis approach. 700 respondents were sampled from two public HIL in Ghana in a cross-sectional survey that used a self-administered structured questionnaire for data collection. Confirmatory factor fnalysis (CFA) was conducted to detect the underlying latent variables that significantly determine SHQ in Ghanaian HIL. The findings indicate that four emerged SHQ dimensions relevant to the research context were labelled as follows: core facility quality, enabling facility quality, support facility quality, and cost of housing. The constructs in the derived model possess high reliability and validity. Student housing service providers could conveniently use the derived instrument items for measuring SHQ in HIL. Implications are discussed and limitations are noted. The paper contributes to the literature in the areas of models of service quality in student housing management in HIL.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 39
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Dual Credit Enrollment: A Multiyear Study of Gender and Ethnic Differences (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013
    Description: In this investigation, we ascertained the extent to which differences were present in dual credit enrollment by gender and by ethnicity for students () enrolled in a Texas community college from the 2005-2006 through the 2011-2012 academic years. Statistical analyses revealed an increase in the numbers (i.e., from 3,069 to 3,664) and percentages (i.e., from 12.2% to 19.5%) of students who were enrolled in dual credit courses over the time period analyzed. Moreover, higher percentages of women (i.e., 20.8% in the most recent academic year) had enrolled in dual credit courses while in high school than men (i.e., 17.9% in the most recent academic year). Differences were also present as a function of ethnicity, with 33.1% Asian, 25.3% White, 17.4% Hispanic, and 7.5% Black students having been enrolled in dual credit in the most recent academic year. Differences were also revealed by gender for Hispanic and White students, but not for Asian and Black students. Implications of our findings are discussed.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 40
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    The Geography of Clusters: The Case of the Video Games Clusters in Montreal and in Los Angeles (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013
    Description: The aim of our research was to examine how clusters appear and develop in the video game sector. We thus did a comparative study of the video games cluster in Montreal and Los Angeles. This paper shows that concentration of human creativity in arts and in technology is a significant economic localization factor, but cross-fertilization of sectors and public policy also contributes to the understanding of the emergence of clusters in certain urban regions. Thus, political and industrial factors offer an explanation as to why clusters emerge and how they evolve, going beyond the purely geographic or economic factors. In LA as in Montreal, the cross-fertilization with film is important. However, in Montreal, it is the public policy contributing to financing jobs in the Multimedia City and the French language that brought Ubisoft to the city; this contributed to make the city well known in the field, creating a “brand” for the city and thus fuelling the cluster development.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 41
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Sustainable Approach to Regenerating Residential Form and Density: Case in Dhaka (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013
    Description: This paper presents principles and praxis of sustainable approach to maintaining targeted “residential regeneration by density” yet achieving innovations in urban form in a contextual scenario of Dhaka City, the capital of Bangladesh. It is evident from the context that Dhaka is experiencing a dramatic transformation in residential density due to demographic changes during the past two decades due the concentration of social, administrative, institutional, recreational, small-scale industries, and associated housing facilities. The transformation is visible in residential built footprint, significantly due to the demand-driven and density-led market, originated from low rise and low density and transforming to high density high rise. This transformation has been consistently threatening social and environmental realm indicated by depletion of garden houses; reduction of public parks; shrinking walkways; deletion of setback for ventilation and sun shade from trees; slowing down mobility; and obstruction of physical and visual permeability. The paper discussed a pragmatic approach that professionals have adopted to control the density and to introduce scopes for innovative urban forms by way of applying floor area ratio (FAR) methods and further discusses the merits of the methodological process of exercising morphology with a set of new building rules without undermining the market demand.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 42
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    The World Bank and the Building of Local Institutionality in Senegal: A Path toward Municipal Adjustment (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-07-23
    Description: This paper examines the impacts of municipal adjustment strategies on territorial governance in Africa, with specific reference to Senegal, as the result of the action of the World Bank. The paper identifies the process through which the World Bank is reconfiguring the system of actors and changing the local institutional environment to embody its philosophy of governance modernization. The paper shows how the local actor is brought to contribute to the new focus on governance and the reshaping of local institutions, which together comprise a type of urban development that aligns with the tenets of globalization.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 43
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Consequences of Economic Deconcentration in Italy and Rome: Unplanned Processes in a Highly Regulated Country (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-06-26
    Description: This paper analyses the relationship between deconcentration processes, planning policies, and governance in the metropolitan area of Rome, Italy, from 1991 to 2001. It points out that Rome does not have an explicit policy either in favor of or against deconcentration and that the public authorities are not in fact aware of the problem. Deconcentration is mainly driven by market forces and business location decisions. These decisions are strongly influenced by material factors such as accessibility, land availability, and real estate prices, as well as immaterial factors such as the natural, cultural, and social environment. Public players can take action to influence these factors. Even though Italy has a very strictly regulated planning system, there has traditionally been a high degree of freedom in actual behaviors.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 44
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Morphology and Spatial Dynamics of Urban Villages in Guangzhou’s CBD (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-03-20
    Description: Studies on the urban village (chengzhongcun) over the past ten years have focussed on legalistic and structural aspects, as well as the social outcomes of village-led redevelopment. Studies on the morphology of villages, their spatial and economic linkage with the city, and their internal spatial dynamics are, in comparison, limited in number and scope. This study of village space in the new central area of Guangzhou focusses on the spatial relationships between village space and the surrounding city—the exchange of people and goods, the movement system in relation to commercial activity, and the relationship between the pattern of building and movement networks—as a primer for new approaches to physical renewal. Primary field data, interviews, and archival research support the analysis of Shipai village, in particular. It was found that Shipai plays a significant role in transport and economy at the district and central city level. The internal movement system functions to connect surrounding areas while supporting a commercial and services system of local and district-level significance. The built form of the village is also self-generated by location and internal rule making. The physical and activity patterns of the self-rebuilt village exhibit the characteristics of emergent spontaneous order.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 45
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Urban Households' Willingness to Pay for Improved Solid Waste Disposal Services in Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-04-29
    Description: Solid waste management within Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly area continues to be a major challenge for the municipal assembly and one of the key issues is its financial constraints. This study was undertaken to examine households' willingness to pay for improved solid waste management services. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select six hundred respondents for the study. Logistic regression model was used to establish the determinants of willingness to pay for solid waste management whilst the Tobit model was used to evaluate the factors influencing the amount of money the households are willing to pay for improved solid waste management. The logistic model shows that income, age, number of children, quantity of waste generated, and education have significant effects on the willingness to pay, while the amount of money the households are willing to pay was influenced by their income, quantity of waste generated, education, house ownership, and number of children. Thus, the assembly can increase waste collection fees between GHC 3 and GHC 5.00. This would lead to improvement in the waste management within the metropolis. However, the additional charge should take into consideration location and income levels.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 46
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Urban Areas in the Transformation of the South: A Review of Modern History (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-05-28
    Description: Since the 1940s, the southern US has been transformed from a region of backward agriculture, low-wage industries located in small towns and rural areas, and unrelenting racial segregation into a modern society and economy. In 1950, there were no metropolitan areas in the South with a population of one million or more, but 18 had populations in excess of one million in 2000. The populations of the Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Miami metropolitan areas grew to over 4 millions. Population growth in the 18 largest metropolitan areas accounts for 63% of the total population growth in the South from 1950 to 2000. The transformation of the South is, to a sizable extent, a transformation to an urbanized society. This paper documents this urbanization by examining population and employment growth in those 18 metropolitan areas.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 47
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    From the City to the Suburbs: Characteristics of Suburban Neighborhoods Where Chicago Housing Choice Voucher Households Relocated (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-06-17
    Description: The Housing Choice Voucher program (HCV) is a federally supported demand-side housing subsidy. According to HCV, eligible households are encouraged to secure affordable housing in favorable neighborhoods, including suburban neighborhoods. To what extent, however, is the supply of affordable rental housing located in suburban communities that offer favorable amenities meeting the increased demand? Using the Geography of Opportunity as a framework, this study examines the mobility results of traditional HCV households who moved from the city of Chicago to surrounding suburban neighborhoods to reveal characteristics of destination communities. Findings indicate that HCV households tend to move into suburban renter neighborhoods that have high poor, African American, and female-headed household populations. Policy makers are encouraged to consider findings to improve life outcomes of suburban HCV program participants.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 48
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Assessing Resilience to Climate Change in US Cities (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: In the face of uncertainties associated with climate change, building adaptive capacity and resilience at the community level emerges as an essential and timely element of local planning. However, key social factors that facilitate the effective building and maintenance of urban resilience are poorly understood. Two groups of US cities differing markedly in their commitment to climate change are contrasted with respect to their planning approaches and actions related to mitigation and adaptation strategies, and also in relation to social features that are believed to enhance adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change. The first group manifests a strong commitment to climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the second group has demonstrated little or no such commitment. These cities are compared with respect to several noteworthy social features, including level of social capital, degree of unconventional thought, and level of cultural diversity. These characteristics are postulated to contribute to the adaptive capacity of communities for dealing with the impacts of climate change. The aim is to determine to what extent there is a relationship between social/cultural structures and urban commitment and planning for climate change that could discriminate between climate change resilient and nonresilient urban areas.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 49
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Beliefs about the Causes of Racial Inequality: The Persisting Impact of Urban and Suburban Locations? (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: The purpose of this paper is to assess the classical theoretical propositions of Wirth and Stouffer regarding the independent impact of urban and suburban residency on beliefs about racial inequality. This paper further assesses the impacts of these social locations over a three-decade period. While scholars pose that city size positively impacts behavior, there is debate regarding the impact of these locations over time. Using the General Social Survey, findings demonstrate that while urbanism continues to have an independent impact on beliefs, the impact of suburban residency is much weaker and inconsistent. Analyses of over time trends reveal that the gap between urban and rural residents appears to have increased, with rural residents expressing more intolerant beliefs about the causes of racial inequality over time. These findings are further discussed in a broader theoretical context.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 50
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Streets Apart: Does Social Capital Vary with Neighbourhood Design? (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: While neighbourhood differences in social capital have been mapped, few empirical studies have considered the nexus between specific physical characteristics of communities and social capital. In this study we hypothesised that social capital would be positively associated with a more walkable street network design, but inversely associated with negative experiences and perceptions of neighbourhood environments. Data was gathered through a random cross-sectional telephone survey of adults (
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 51
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Optimum Arrangement of Photovoltaic Systems in Housing at Khartoum: Application of Renewable Energy in Urban Design (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: This paper searches to find out of building integrated photovoltaic system designs in Khartoum. It discussed technical issues and designed an integrated of photovoltaic in domestic using, within an urban approach towards sustainability in energy. Photovoltaic systems can be used to develop the solar energy in almost all kinds of applications. Exploiting of solar energy for domestic use is one avenue where the energy produced from the sun is converted into electricity to power most if not all the appliances available at our homes and residences. Building a photovoltaic system is the process of designing, selecting, and calculating the ratings of the equipments employed in the system. This process depends on a range of factors such as geographical location, solar irradiation, and load requirements. I introduce the procedures utilize, in building and selecting the equipments of a grid-connected photovoltaic system based on the Watt-hour demand of 3.8 kw. As a case study, a residence in Khartoum with low-energy consumption is selected.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 52
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    A History of Urban Planning and Infectious Diseases: Colonial Senegal in the Early Twentieth Century (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: This paper deals with the spatial implications of the French sanitary policies in early colonial urban Senegal. It focuses on the French politics of residential segregation following the outbreak of the bubonic plague in Dakar in 1914, and their precedents in Saint Louis. These policies can be conceived as most dramatic, resulting in a displacement of a considerable portion of the indigenous population, who did not want or could not afford to build à l’européen, to the margins of the colonial city. Aspects of residential segregation are analysed here through the perspective of cultural history and history of colonial planning and architecture, in contrast to the existing literature on this topic. The latter dilates on the statutory policies of the colonial authorities facing the 1914 plague in Dakar, the plague's sociopolitical implications, and the colonial politics of public health there. In the light of relevant historiography, and a variety of secondary and primary sources, this paper exposes the contradictions that were inherent in the French colonial regime in West Africa. These contradictions were wisely used by the African agency, so that such a seemingly urgent segregationist project was actually never accomplished.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 53
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Differences in Architects and Nonarchitects' Perception of Urban Design: An Application of Kansei Engineering Techniques (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: We analyse architects and nonarchitects' emotional assessments of different districts in their own city (Valencia, Spain) by applying Kansei engineering techniques. A field study was carried out on a sample of 140 subjects (70 architects and 70 nonarchitects) who were asked to express their opinions on different areas in the city. The set of emotional impressions used by architects and non-architects to describe their sensations was obtained using differential semantics. The semantic space was described by 9 independent axis which explained 62% of the variability. Then, for each collective the set of impressions which influence the final residential or investment area decision was analysed. This relationship was obtained applying linear regression models. The results showed no significant differences between both groups so that the emotional attributes determining the choice of area were very similar for architects and non-architects. Greater discrepancies were found when the purpose of the choice was investment and not residential. Finally a neighbourhood was semantically profiled to represent and compare both collectives' perceptions.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 54
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    22@ and the Innovation District in Barcelona and Montreal: A Process of Clustering Development between Urban Regeneration and Economic Competitiveness (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: This paper analyzes the governance strategy of the 22@ District in Barcelona in order to assess the factors that explain its success and could support the economic reconversion of Montreal’s future Innovation District (ID), as well as that of other cities. We examine the case of the 22@ District as a former industrial neighbourhood seen as a “model” of urban regeneration and economic revitalization. Our assumption is that the world’s major cities are going through a phase based on the reorganization of central urban areas. Our article evaluates the main factors of urban regeneration in the 22@—district of innovation and it identifies elements of best practices in terms of governance which can be constructive for the “Quartier de l’Innovation” in Montreal and similar projects of other cities. The paper highlights the role of decision makers concerning the process of governance of 22@ and its historic changes, and insists on the the role of socioeconomic actors and territorial factors that could support the level of integration and implementation of Montreal@ID. Our paper highlights the importance of the integration process based on socio-territorial innovations characterizing the Catalan context of 22@ as well as the Innovation District, something useful for other similar initiatives.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 55
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Producing a “Successful City”: Neoliberal Urbanism and Gentrification in the Tourist City—The Case of Palma (Majorca) (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: Since the 1990s, the intensification of capital accumulation, especially in its financial dimension, has been one of the keystones for the triumph of neoliberalism. Spanish neoliberal policies have focused on the flexibilization of the real estate sector, leading to the specialization in the secondary circuit of accumulation. This has generated a third real estate boom which has been accompanied with an outstanding housing bubble. The Balearic Islands are a paradigmatic case within these logics, tourist specialization being the main trigger of the process. In Palma, the region's capital, neoliberal urban planning policies have been implemented in order to convert it into a “successful city” within the global urban network competition. These policies have led to Palma's uneven geographical development through processes like gentrification, as is the case of the Gerreria, a neighborhood of Palma's city center.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 56
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Public Spaces in Lithuanian Cities: Legacy of Dependence and Recent Tendencies (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: The object of discussion of the current paper is transformations of urban public spaces since Czarist Russia's colonial rule up to the period after the restoration of Lithuania's independence. While reviewing the transformations of public spaces (first and foremost squares) of the country's larger cities, the authors noted that this field is distinguished by extremely contradictory tendencies: on one hand, we are dealing with the urban legacy of previous regime as well as its impact on the “physiognomies” of Lithuanian cities as well as hurried often premature attempts to change the earlier function of public spaces simply by eliminating the symbols of Soviet ideology continued; on the other, a rapid campaign for creating new ideological symbols related to independence was launched, which often involved sacrificing the actual function of public spaces and the artistic quality of monuments. It is noted that similar processes took place in the earlier periods of history: whenever the repertoire of certain visual signs and symbols was exhausted, in urbanistic spaces it would be replaced with the visual symbols of the new era and a new structure of a public space. One more tendency of restructuring public spaces has recently become distinct: under the influence of interests of private capital, part of the former traditional city squares with monuments is being converted into parking lots or other uses changing their functions and meaning.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 57
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Extending Spatial Interaction Models with Agents for Understanding Relationships in a Dynamic Retail Market (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: For many years, effective model-based representations of the dynamics and evolution of urban spatial structure have proved elusive. While some progress has been made through the deployment of spatial interaction models, these approaches have been limited by the difficulty of representing behavioural mechanisms and processes. In this paper, it is demonstrated that evolutionary models grounded in the principles of spatial interaction are compatible with the more novel approaches of agent-based modelling. The incorporation of agents provides a much more flexible means for the representation of behavioural mechanisms. The paper illustrates the way in which three more complicated situations can be handled through the fusion of spatial interaction and agent modelling perspectives. These situations comprise discontinuous evolution (in which structural adjustment takes place in discrete steps, and not as a continuously smooth process); nonequilibrium dynamics (in which the underlying system parameters continue to evolve through time); the incorporation of new decision variables (which we illustrate through the addition of land rents into the model). The conclusion of the paper is that the combination of spatial interaction and agent-based modelling methods provides encouraging prospects for the social simulation of real urban systems.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 58
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Mega Events and Urban Conflicts in Valencia, Spain: Contesting the New Urban Modernity (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: The local and regional administrations of Valencia, Spain, have been working to position the city, which is the country's third largest in terms of population, as an international destination for luxury tourism through sports mega-events. Valencia's new image as a “mega-events city” has been criticized by citizens and urban-based movements on social and environmental grounds, resulting in various urban conflicts. The aim of this paper is to examine the causes and dynamics of these conflicts in order to understand the discourse and rationales behind the criticism. This will also include an examination of the ways in which these conflicts were managed by the local administration, especially in the months leading up to and during the events, when the city was receiving worldwide media coverage. Researching local print media, we focused on urban conflicts that took place in Valencia between 1995 and 2010. We also looked at the performance of urban-based movements and the administration as conflicting actors. One of the main findings was the strong consensual authoritarianism manifested by the administration and mega-event organizers when making decisions and managing urban conflicts related to mega-events.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 59
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Migration, Occupational Mobility, and Regional Escalators in Scotland (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: This paper seeks to unpick the complex relationship between an individual’s migration behaviour, their place of residence, and their occupational performance in the Scottish labour market between 1991 and 2001. We investigate whether Edinburgh has emerged as an occupational escalator region and whether individuals moving there experience more rapid upward occupational mobility than those living and moving elsewhere. Using country of birth, we also control for an individual’s propensity to make long distance moves during earlier periods of their life course. Using data from the Scottish Longitudinal Study, linking 1991 and 2001 individual census records, and logistic regressions, we show that those who migrate over long distances within or to Scotland are most likely to achieve upward occupational mobility. We also found that Edinburgh is by far the most important regional escalator in Scotland; those moving to Edinburgh are the most likely to experience upward occupational mobility from low to high occupational status jobs. This is an important finding as most of the literature on escalator regions focuses on international mega cities.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 60
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Urban Environmental Stress and Behavioral Adaptation in Bhopal City of India (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: The study assessed the effect of the urban environmental stress on the subjective well-being of the people in Bhopal city of India. The objectives were to assess the perceived urban environmental stressors and to explore the coping strategies adopted by the people to combat the outcomes of Urban Environmental Stress. Perceived Urban Environmental stressors’ Scale (UES) and Urban Hassle Index were administered. The findings indicated that though people described their city as pleasant, a high level of stress was still perceived and its major reasons were found to be noise, waste accumulation, polluted air with smoke, and unhealthy environment in slums. The outcome of research suggests that the city planners should give equal priority to the natural resources and environment by various pollution management interventions and proper city planning. It is crucial for the well-being of the human beings to lower down the effect of stressors, so that the life in the city can be livable and of good quality. This paper provided guidelines for other metropolitan cities too for developing Environmental Competence and for generating mass awareness about the Urban Environmental Stress and its possible management options to help people develop Environmental Resilience and functional coping.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 61
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Diversity Management in the Canadian Workplace: Towards an Antiracism Approach (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: Most diversity management programs in Canada maintain that enhancing workforce diversity is of tremendous significance for business organizations in today’s competitive global urban markets. Since well-meaning diversity management initiatives have been largely ineffective thus far in dealing with workplace discrimination and racism in the Canadian workplace, this paper underscores the need to decenter the focus of diversity management from a business imperative to an antidiscrimination and social justice imperative. Within this latter perspective, the paper examines the strengths and limitations of the antiracism approach that has been implemented in various developed countries in recent years. The antiracism approach is an action-oriented strategy for institutional and systemic change that has at its core the interrogation of privilege, power disparities, and other forms of inequity within the organization. Drawing from the lessons of various initiatives that have utilized this approach, the present paper emphasizes the need for a nuanced antiracism approach in the multicultural Canadian society if diversity management is to attain its goal of greater inclusion of all individuals in informal networks and formal organizational programs.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 62
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Conundrums in Conservation: Complexity in Control (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: The departure point for this investigation is to highlight the centrality of regulation theory as a praxis in planning enforcement. The value of the conceptual framework is demonstrated by application in the problematic arena of conservation regulatory compliance, where there is currently a dearth of investigation. It is evidenced that this thematic approach provides a lens to scrutinise problematic areas of control and provides a deeper understanding of the difficulties faced by planning enforcement operational practice generally and heritage regimes specifically. The utility of the proposed mechanism is that it remedies the current, well documented, pitfalls of disjointed, piecemeal strategies by providing a framework for robust, coherent decision making not only in planning but in the wider regulatory arena.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 63
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Public Transport Subsidies and Affordability in Mumbai, India (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: This paper describes the role of public transport and incidence of transport subsidies in Mumbai, India, where public transport is used for over 75% of all motorized trips. On average, expenditure on public transit constitutes a larger share of income for the poor than for the middle class. However, a larger fraction of transit users are middle class. In terms of incidence, the poorest 27% of the population receives only 19% of bus subsidies and 15.5% of rail subsidies. One-quarter of these households do not use rail, and 10% do not use bus, implying that they receive no transit subsidies. Improving the welfare of the poor through demand-side subsidies or cash transfer is, however, difficult. We therefore examine the optimal level of transit subsidies, based solely on distributional considerations.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 64
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Consequences of Economic Deconcentration in Italy and Rome: Unplanned Processes in a Highly Regulated Country (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: This paper analyses the relationship between deconcentration processes, planning policies, and governance in the metropolitan area of Rome, Italy, from 1991 to 2001. It points out that Rome does not have an explicit policy either in favor of or against deconcentration and that the public authorities are not in fact aware of the problem. Deconcentration is mainly driven by market forces and business location decisions. These decisions are strongly influenced by material factors such as accessibility, land availability, and real estate prices, as well as immaterial factors such as the natural, cultural, and social environment. Public players can take action to influence these factors. Even though Italy has a very strictly regulated planning system, there has traditionally been a high degree of freedom in actual behaviors.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 65
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Quality of Life and Socioenvironmental Degradation in the Cantareira System Environmental Protected Area, SP, Brazil (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: Studies on quality of life can contribute to a better understanding of situations where socioenvironmental transformations are evident, from environmental, social, cultural, and political perspectives. This paper analyzes the quality of life of the inhabitants of the Moinho rural settlement in the context of the surrounding conditions of environmental degradation. Moinho is located in Nazaré Paulista municipality, which belongs to the Cantareira System Environmental Protected Area (Cantareira EPA), state of São Paulo, Brazil. The methodology used was based on secondary data collection and interviews with local residents. The results explore the interface between the transformation of land use and the growing change of rural life that are greatly influenced by expanding urban sprawl in the region. Over recent decades, changes in the production systems, substitution of agriculture crops, and the impacts of these variables on environmental health and water availability, as well as damage to the Municipal Human Development Index (HDI-M) of its municipalities, are indicators of the region’s present social complexity. This study shows that an improvement in the quality of life has an intimate relationship with the creation of sustainable economic activities and the real participation of the local population in decision making processes.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 66
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    The Influences of Actual and Perceived Familiarity on Environmental Preferences for the Design of a Proposed Urban Square (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: People gain actual familiarity through direct experience of environments, but environments we have never visited can still seem familiar. To date, few academic studies have investigated this phenomenon of perceived familiarity. This paper discusses the concept of perceived familiarity and environmental preference from the perspective of people who may be asked to make judgements of future urban designs as part of the planning process. A sample of local and nonlocal people were asked to rate images of two versions (existing environment and proposed redesign) of an urban square on scales of preference and perceived familiarity. Results showed that the mean ratings for the proposed design were similar for both local and non-local samples. However, we found a clearly discernible difference in the way psychological antecedents are associated with environmental preference. For nonlocals, preference for the existing design is significantly associated with preference for the proposed design, but for local people this is not the case. In addition, for non-locals perceived familiarity of the proposed design is associated with perceived familiarity of the existing environment, but for the local sample this is not the case. Implications for public participation processes in urban design, as well as limitations and future lines of research, are discussed.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 67
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Adolescent Offending and the Segregation of Poverty in Urban Neighbourhoods and Schools: An Assessment of Contextual Effects from the Standpoint of Situational Action Theory (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: Contextual research on adolescent offending is primarily based on the idea that residential areas provide a major ecological setting that (indirectly) shapes observed differences in adolescent offending. The social disorganisation/collective efficacy perspective has tried to explain why structural disadvantage of residential areas affects residents' involvement in offending. On the other hand, contextual research has also been conducted within the school setting. This separate contextual approach is problematic as it does not reflect the reality of adolescents' lives. Adolescents are exposed to different ecological settings. They are also exposed to many other settings that may provide opportunities to offend, as outlined in the situational action theory (SAT) of crime causation. This study contributes to the literature on the urban context of offending in three ways. First, the effects of adolescents' residential neighbourhood and school context on adolescent offending are assessed simultaneously. Second, this study elaborates on SAT from a cross-level point of view. Third, this contribution makes use of non-hierarchical multilevel modelling, which is a statistically correct method of testing hypotheses that involve multiple contexts. Our study revealed the existence of small contextual effects of school-level disadvantage, whereas the effect of neighbourhood-level disadvantage is entirely due to neighbourhood composition.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 68
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Including Accident Information in Automatic Bicycle Route Planning for Urban Areas (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: Between 2005 and 2007 there were 9071 traffic accidents involving bicycles within London and this paper demonstrates the utility of Geographic Information Systems as a tool for analysing and visualising these occurrences. Through linkage of these spatial locations to a street network dataset it was possible to create a variety of intelligence about the types of street infrastructure where accidents predominantly occur. Additionally, a network routing algorithm was adapted to account for the frequency of accidents within a series of proposed journeys. This pilot routing application compared the quickest route with an accident avoidance weighted route between a series of origins and destinations. The results demonstrated that the routes avoiding areas of high accident volume did not increase journey length significantly; however they did provide a “safer” route based on empirical evidence over the volume of accident locations.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 69
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Use of the Planning Outreach Liaison Model in the Neighborhood Planning Process: A Case Study in Seattle's Rainier Valley Neighborhood (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: Our study examines a nontraditional engagement process employed by the City of Seattle during neighborhood plan updates. Adapting the trusted advocates model from the public health field, the city hired planning outreach liaisons (POLs) from 13 diverse community groups to solicit input from traditionally underrepresented residents. To explore the efficacy of this approach, we collected data through interviews with residents, neighborhood leaders, community development firm employees, university researchers, and municipal staff; a review of planning documents; observation at planning meetings. We found that the POLs effectively engaged underrepresented groups—including more than 1,200 stakeholders—particularly those characterized as self-organized, centralized or having strong social networks and were important in the advancement of democratic principles. Greater transparency by the city about process goals and constraints, along with strategies to address power issues, may have facilitated better communication and relationship building among the city, newly enfranchised residents, and the “usual suspects.”
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 70
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    The Spatial-Temporal Dynamics of China’s Changing Urban Hierarchy (1950–2005) (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: This paper examines the dynamic spatial and temporal patterns of China’s urban hierarchy from 1950 to 2005. We limit the study to mainland China’s 137 urban agglomerations of 750,000 or more population as of 2005. The paper improves upon a classic approach to measuring shifting ranks within an urban hierarchy by applying advanced spatial analysis techniques. We use a Getis-Ord , a space-time Moran scatter plot, and dynamic LISA paths to examine the regional difference and change for these urban agglomerations. Our study revealed a north-south divide in the changing urban hierarchy of China after 1990. The analysis demonstrated that the spatial and temporal shift of urban dominance in China was closely associated with policy and economic factors. The paper concludes with a discussion of the differences across the six different time periods of change from 1950 to 2005.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 71
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Creative Careers and Territorial Development: The Role of Networks and Relational Proximity in Fashion Design (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: Geater Montreal is the third largest city in North America for the garment industry in terms of labour force, after Los Angeles and New York. The industry has however changed partly into a service industry, centered on fashion design, with a focus on international competitiveness but also the role of fashion in Montreal's economic and territorial development. Our article analyzes careers in the fashion design sector, sheds light on the evolution of creative sectors, and shows how these sectors could be better supported to favor local development, as neighborhoods and space design appear important in these creative sectors. We situate our analysis in the theoretical context of career theories, and analyze key moments in careers and the role of intermediate organizations and government programs in supporting these careers. Our paper makes a contribution to our knowledge of career paths in the fashion industry, but also to the role of relational proximity in supporting these careers, and thus local development. It highlights the importance of personal connections, the milieu in which the individual works and functions, the creativity of the individual, as well as the role of the local support organizations and professional associations, including agencies of the provincial government.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 72
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Public Housing Construction and the Cities: 1937–1967 (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: Public housing advocates argue that the nation should expand the federal public housing program as part of an effort to increase the supply of affordable rental housing. This paper examines federal public housing construction in the largest US cities over the period 1937–1967, a period during which the public housing program was the primary program to provide low-income households with affordable rental housing. Public housing is found to depend upon the population level of the city, factors that characterize the housing stock as of 1950, the poverty level in the city, and the size of the nonwhite population in the city. The National Commission on Urban Problems (National commission on urban problems 1968, page 128) found that this supply response meant that “… the great need of the large central cities for housing for poor families was largely unmet.” Changes in racial segregation from 1940 to 1960 are found to be unrelated to public housing construction. While the current situation is different in many respects from circumstances of these earlier decades, a renewed effort to supply public housing might produce similar outcomes.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 73
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    “Trench Town Rock”: Reggae Music, Landscape Inscription, and the Making of Place in Kingston, Jamaica (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: This paper examines place inscriptions in Trench Town, Jamaica, and explores the ways these are used to reinforce, shape, or challenge dominant images of this inner-city community. On one hand, Trench Town is like many of its neighbouring communities, characterised by high levels of poverty, unemployment, political and gang violence, derelict buildings, and overcrowded homes. On the other hand, Trench Town is iconic and unique as it is recognised worldwide for being the birth place of reggae music and home to a number of well-known reggae artists including reggae superstar Bob Marley. Today, Trench Town’s landscape is filled with inscriptions reminiscent of its rich cultural past. Linked to this is a conscious effort by its residents to identify themselves with reggae music and to recapture and sustain the positive legacies that have made the community popular. This is manifested in the numerous murals, statues, and graffiti seen throughout the community evoking past images of reggae music icons such as Marley and Tosh alongside renowned black leaders such as Marcus Garvey. These inscriptions are conceived as texts and are seen as part of a broader discourse on issues relating to urban spatial identity, commoditisation, exclusion, struggle, resistance, and change.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 74
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Approaching Neighborhood Democracy from a Longitudinal Perspective: An Eighteen-Year Case Study of a Homeowner Association in Beijing (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: Neighborhood democracy was introduced into urban China in the early 1990s as a way to manage the social conflicts associated with the housing reform. Based on a case study of Dragon Villas, Beijing, this paper explores the causes, processes, and consequences of neighborhood democracy at the microlevel from a longitudinal perspective. Three insights are particularly noteworthy. First, the decrease in rental revenue and occupancy rate and the arrival of Chinese owner-occupiers contributed to the emergence of neighborhood democracy in Dragon Villas. Second, the establishment of a homeowner association, far from ending in the conclusion of neighborhood democratization, was only a first step. Furthermore, conflicts between the developer and the homeowners, and among homeowners, played a crucial role in lengthening the process of neighborhood democratization. Third, democratic self-governance resulted in improved governance, a more diverse built form that articulates individuation through consumption, and changes that reflect the importance of privacy and exclusivity.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 75
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    The Coexistence of Humans and Companion Animals in the City Parks of Xanthi: The Views of the Citizens (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: Companion animals are very important to people of big cities. In Greece the families which own those animals take them for a walk in the parks and streets of their town but not always with care to not disturb other citizens. Laws and regulations for companion and stray animals are not respected in Greece, although as a result of the Athens Olympics in 2004 the Greek government started to provide funds for the collection, care, and sterilization of stray animals. This paper is a first attempt to record, through the aid of a structured questionnaire, the view of the citizens of the city of Xanthi in northern Greece regarding companion animals and what they do when animals become old. The paper also examines the extent to which the existence of stray and companion animals in parks disturbs the people who visit green areas looking for a place to get a rest or play on the grass. The majority preferred that stray animals are collected off the streets, recorded, treated from parasites, vaccinated, and sterilized and after that are available for adoption or are returned to the area they were found at.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 76
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Economic Development Perspective and City Leadership (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: The viability of traditional economic development strategies has long been questioned by urban policy scholars; yet traditional strategies remain the norm among city leaders. Traditional concerns emphasize economic and business considerations at the expense of nontraditional community considerations such as quality of life. In this paper, we examine the conditions under which city leaders give weight to nontraditional community concerns when making economic development decisions. Our analysis of the results of a survey conducted of more than 200 leaders in over 150 Texas cities indicates that although traditional economic development concerns remain dominant, certain conditions may exist that allow or compel city leaders to give increased weight to non-traditional community considerations. Conditions revealed by our study include the socioeconomic status of Texas cities and the relative differences in leadership positions and professionalism among city leaders. The paper concludes with a discussion of how our study contributes to the literature about economic development policy and points to avenues for future research on the conditions under which decision-making strategies are pursued by city leaders.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 77
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    The Impact of Anthropogenic Heat on Formation of Urban Heat Island and Energy Consumption Balance (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-22
    Description: This paper investigates the impact of anthropogenic heat on formation of urban heat island (UHI) and also determines which factors can directly affect energy use in the city. It explores literally the conceptual framework of confliction between anthropogenic heat and urban structure, which produced UHI intensity and affected energy consumption balance. It then discusses how these two factors can be affected and gives implication to the city and then focuses on whether actions should be taken for balancing adaptation and mitigation of UHI effects. It will be concluded by making the three important strategies to minimise the impact of UHI on energy consumption: landscaping, using albedo materials on external surfaces of buildings and urban areas, and promoting natural ventilation.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 78
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    The Influences of Actual and Perceived Familiarity on Environmental Preferences for the Design of a Proposed Urban Square (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-10-23
    Description: People gain actual familiarity through direct experience of environments, but environments we have never visited can still seem familiar. To date, few academic studies have investigated this phenomenon of perceived familiarity. This paper discusses the concept of perceived familiarity and environmental preference from the perspective of people who may be asked to make judgements of future urban designs as part of the planning process. A sample of local and nonlocal people were asked to rate images of two versions (existing environment and proposed redesign) of an urban square on scales of preference and perceived familiarity. Results showed that the mean ratings for the proposed design were similar for both local and non-local samples. However, we found a clearly discernible difference in the way psychological antecedents are associated with environmental preference. For nonlocals, preference for the existing design is significantly associated with preference for the proposed design, but for local people this is not the case. In addition, for non-locals perceived familiarity of the proposed design is associated with perceived familiarity of the existing environment, but for the local sample this is not the case. Implications for public participation processes in urban design, as well as limitations and future lines of research, are discussed.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 79
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Creative Careers and Territorial Development: The Role of Networks and Relational Proximity in Fashion Design (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-10-04
    Description: Geater Montreal is the third largest city in North America for the garment industry in terms of labour force, after Los Angeles and New York. The industry has however changed partly into a service industry, centered on fashion design, with a focus on international competitiveness but also the role of fashion in Montreal's economic and territorial development. Our article analyzes careers in the fashion design sector, sheds light on the evolution of creative sectors, and shows how these sectors could be better supported to favor local development, as neighborhoods and space design appear important in these creative sectors. We situate our analysis in the theoretical context of career theories, and analyze key moments in careers and the role of intermediate organizations and government programs in supporting these careers. Our paper makes a contribution to our knowledge of career paths in the fashion industry, but also to the role of relational proximity in supporting these careers, and thus local development. It highlights the importance of personal connections, the milieu in which the individual works and functions, the creativity of the individual, as well as the role of the local support organizations and professional associations, including agencies of the provincial government.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 80
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Public Transport Subsidies and Affordability in Mumbai, India (2012)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-11-22
    Description: This paper describes the role of public transport and incidence of transport subsidies in Mumbai, India, where public transport is used for over 75% of all motorized trips. On average, expenditure on public transit constitutes a larger share of income for the poor than for the middle class. However, a larger fraction of transit users are middle class. In terms of incidence, the poorest 27% of the population receives only 19% of bus subsidies and 15.5% of rail subsidies. One-quarter of these households do not use rail, and 10% do not use bus, implying that they receive no transit subsidies. Improving the welfare of the poor through demand-side subsidies or cash transfer is, however, difficult. We therefore examine the optimal level of transit subsidies, based solely on distributional considerations.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 81
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Approaching Neighborhood Democracy from a Longitudinal Perspective: An Eighteen-Year Case Study of a Homeowner Association in Beijing (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-10
    Description: Neighborhood democracy was introduced into urban China in the early 1990s as a way to manage the social conflicts associated with the housing reform. Based on a case study of Dragon Villas, Beijing, this paper explores the causes, processes, and consequences of neighborhood democracy at the microlevel from a longitudinal perspective. Three insights are particularly noteworthy. First, the decrease in rental revenue and occupancy rate and the arrival of Chinese owner-occupiers contributed to the emergence of neighborhood democracy in Dragon Villas. Second, the establishment of a homeowner association, far from ending in the conclusion of neighborhood democratization, was only a first step. Furthermore, conflicts between the developer and the homeowners, and among homeowners, played a crucial role in lengthening the process of neighborhood democratization. Third, democratic self-governance resulted in improved governance, a more diverse built form that articulates individuation through consumption, and changes that reflect the importance of privacy and exclusivity.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 82
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Migration, Occupational Mobility, and Regional Escalators in Scotland (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-01
    Description: This paper seeks to unpick the complex relationship between an individual’s migration behaviour, their place of residence, and their occupational performance in the Scottish labour market between 1991 and 2001. We investigate whether Edinburgh has emerged as an occupational escalator region and whether individuals moving there experience more rapid upward occupational mobility than those living and moving elsewhere. Using country of birth, we also control for an individual’s propensity to make long distance moves during earlier periods of their life course. Using data from the Scottish Longitudinal Study, linking 1991 and 2001 individual census records, and logistic regressions, we show that those who migrate over long distances within or to Scotland are most likely to achieve upward occupational mobility. We also found that Edinburgh is by far the most important regional escalator in Scotland; those moving to Edinburgh are the most likely to experience upward occupational mobility from low to high occupational status jobs. This is an important finding as most of the literature on escalator regions focuses on international mega cities.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 83
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Urban Environmental Stress and Behavioral Adaptation in Bhopal City of India (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-01-01
    Description: The study assessed the effect of the urban environmental stress on the subjective well-being of the people in Bhopal city of India. The objectives were to assess the perceived urban environmental stressors and to explore the coping strategies adopted by the people to combat the outcomes of Urban Environmental Stress. Perceived Urban Environmental stressors’ Scale (UES) and Urban Hassle Index were administered. The findings indicated that though people described their city as pleasant, a high level of stress was still perceived and its major reasons were found to be noise, waste accumulation, polluted air with smoke, and unhealthy environment in slums. The outcome of research suggests that the city planners should give equal priority to the natural resources and environment by various pollution management interventions and proper city planning. It is crucial for the well-being of the human beings to lower down the effect of stressors, so that the life in the city can be livable and of good quality. This paper provided guidelines for other metropolitan cities too for developing Environmental Competence and for generating mass awareness about the Urban Environmental Stress and its possible management options to help people develop Environmental Resilience and functional coping.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 84
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Developing Student Housing Quality Scale in Higher Institutions of Learning: A Factor Analysis Approach (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-11-01
    Description: The researchers developed an instrument for measuring student housing quality (SHQ) in Higher Institutions of Learning (HIL) in Ghana. The paper sought to validate the student housing quality scale (SHOQUAL) through factor analysis approach. 700 respondents were sampled from two public HIL in Ghana in a cross-sectional survey that used a self-administered structured questionnaire for data collection. Confirmatory factor fnalysis (CFA) was conducted to detect the underlying latent variables that significantly determine SHQ in Ghanaian HIL. The findings indicate that four emerged SHQ dimensions relevant to the research context were labelled as follows: core facility quality, enabling facility quality, support facility quality, and cost of housing. The constructs in the derived model possess high reliability and validity. Student housing service providers could conveniently use the derived instrument items for measuring SHQ in HIL. Implications are discussed and limitations are noted. The paper contributes to the literature in the areas of models of service quality in student housing management in HIL.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 85
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Sustainable Approach to Regenerating Residential Form and Density: Case in Dhaka (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-11-06
    Description: This paper presents principles and praxis of sustainable approach to maintaining targeted “residential regeneration by density” yet achieving innovations in urban form in a contextual scenario of Dhaka City, the capital of Bangladesh. It is evident from the context that Dhaka is experiencing a dramatic transformation in residential density due to demographic changes during the past two decades due the concentration of social, administrative, institutional, recreational, small-scale industries, and associated housing facilities. The transformation is visible in residential built footprint, significantly due to the demand-driven and density-led market, originated from low rise and low density and transforming to high density high rise. This transformation has been consistently threatening social and environmental realm indicated by depletion of garden houses; reduction of public parks; shrinking walkways; deletion of setback for ventilation and sun shade from trees; slowing down mobility; and obstruction of physical and visual permeability. The paper discussed a pragmatic approach that professionals have adopted to control the density and to introduce scopes for innovative urban forms by way of applying floor area ratio (FAR) methods and further discusses the merits of the methodological process of exercising morphology with a set of new building rules without undermining the market demand.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 86
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    The Geography of Clusters: The Case of the Video Games Clusters in Montreal and in Los Angeles (2013)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2013-08-14
    Description: The aim of our research was to examine how clusters appear and develop in the video game sector. We thus did a comparative study of the video games cluster in Montreal and Los Angeles. This paper shows that concentration of human creativity in arts and in technology is a significant economic localization factor, but cross-fertilization of sectors and public policy also contributes to the understanding of the emergence of clusters in certain urban regions. Thus, political and industrial factors offer an explanation as to why clusters emerge and how they evolve, going beyond the purely geographic or economic factors. In LA as in Montreal, the cross-fertilization with film is important. However, in Montreal, it is the public policy contributing to financing jobs in the Multimedia City and the French language that brought Ubisoft to the city; this contributed to make the city well known in the field, creating a “brand” for the city and thus fuelling the cluster development.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 87
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    A More Accurate Measure of Local Public Goods: Overlapping Government Combinations as Units of Analysis (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-02-11
    Description: This study posits and tests the viability of a new unit of analysis for local public goods in metropolitan areas: overlapping government combinations (OGCs). Counties, municipalities, school districts, and other special districts operate simultaneously within the same space, each providing their own set of local public goods. Residents of the same city can live within the boundaries of different counties, school districts and other special districts and thus receive (and pay for) very different quantities and qualities of public goods. Though there is a great deal of literature devoted to the variation of local public goods in a fragmented metropolitan region, there is none that cumulates the different local government types into units that represent the true bundles of local public goods that are provided to citizens and property owners. This study tackles this problem through the application of geographic information systems (GIS) to stack counties, municipalities, and school districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington CMSA into unique OGCs. The unique OGCs are compared to their underlying component governments with respect to property tax rates and school performance and are found to be statistically distinct.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 88
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    From the City to the Suburbs: Characteristics of Suburban Neighborhoods Where Chicago Housing Choice Voucher Households Relocated (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014
    Description: The Housing Choice Voucher program (HCV) is a federally supported demand-side housing subsidy. According to HCV, eligible households are encouraged to secure affordable housing in favorable neighborhoods, including suburban neighborhoods. To what extent, however, is the supply of affordable rental housing located in suburban communities that offer favorable amenities meeting the increased demand? Using the Geography of Opportunity as a framework, this study examines the mobility results of traditional HCV households who moved from the city of Chicago to surrounding suburban neighborhoods to reveal characteristics of destination communities. Findings indicate that HCV households tend to move into suburban renter neighborhoods that have high poor, African American, and female-headed household populations. Policy makers are encouraged to consider findings to improve life outcomes of suburban HCV program participants.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 89
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Planning Office and Community Influence on Land-Use Decisions Intended to Benefit the Low-Income: Welcome to Chicago (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014
    Description: This study explores urban planning office and community influence on land-use decision making in two poverty-stricken but redeveloping neighborhood areas in Chicago. The Department of Planning and Development in this study had marginal impact on land-use decisions due to administrative limitations. Community influence is moderated by the degree to which low-income housing advocates can act directly as developers and produce housing units. The research findings indicate that land-use decisions intended to benefit the low-income resulted not from community-based political conflict but more so from community organization cooperation with political actors.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 90
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Production of Quality Housing in Urban Transformation in Areas under Disaster Risk: Osmangazi and Yıldırım, Bursa, Turkey (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014
    Description: Bursa is one of the cities with high disaster risk and a quality housing problem in Turkey. Urban transformation activities are carried out in order to improve quality of life and create safe living spaces for sustainable urban development. Quality housing production does not signify merely a need to be satisfied quantitatively. Housing and its environment, where physical and social needs of the users are satisfied, should be designed considering local conditions and in a way that they will be suitable for users’ life styles and cultural habits. In this study, the selected study area comprises neighborhoods which are under disaster risk, have been determined as urban transformation areas, and have residents with similar socioeconomic characteristics. With the purpose of improving user satisfaction, this study investigates users’ experience with physical, social, and cultural features of housing and its environment, which identify the quality of housing, and their preferences of new housing units to be produced. Nonprobability sampling method was selected for the field study, and a survey study was conducted. SPSS 17.0 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) was employed for data entry. In order to generate data for quality housing production, relationships between variables were analyzed with Pearson chi-square test.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 91
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Urban Sprawl in the Mediterranean Urban Regions in Europe and the Crisis Effect on the Urban Land Development: Madrid as Study Case (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014
    Description: The middle of 2007 saw the beginning of a worldwide financial crisis that led to a sharp reduction in investment based on construction and urban development. This new situation is generating a new process, characterised by a slowdown that has almost reached a standstill when compared with the frenzied development of previous decades. In order to analyse these processes, this study examines urban land use changes and the urban growth rate and spatial dynamics of the metropolitan region of Madrid. The analysis has been carried out on a large scale between two periods (2000–2006 and 2006–2009) using a regional land use geodatabase. The results show the changes in the urban land use dynamics that took place over these two periods that could characterise the cities of Mediterranean Europe, where contrarily to the general pattern in Europe built-up areas are combining scattered built-up areas with new aggregated compact developments.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 92
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Youth Exposure to Violence in an Urban Setting (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014
    Description: To inform a city-wide youth Violence Prevention Initiative, we explored youth narratives about their exposure to violence to gain insight into their understanding of the causes and effects of violence in their communities. At-risk youth were recruited through street outreach for individual interviews and focus group sessions. Types of experiential violence identified included (1) street, (2) family/interpersonal, (3) school, (4) indirect exposure (e.g., neighborhood crime), and (5) prejudice/discrimination. Reactions ranged from motivating positive effects (resilience, determination to escape) to negative effects (fear, paranoia, and aggression). For some, experiences with violence motivated them to pursue educational achievement and positive lifestyles. Causes of violence were described by participants as existing at a number of different levels (societal, neighborhood, interpersonal, and individual), reflecting a social-ecological perspective. Our findings highlight a need for violence prevention efforts that focus on a broad definition of violence, as well as on the poly-victimization of children and youth. At the same time, our findings highlight the challenges of conducting effective community-based prevention programs in urban settings characterized by spatial inequalities and social exclusion of community residents.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 93
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Neighborhood Social Capital, Neighborhood Disadvantage, and Change of Neighborhood as Predictors of School Readiness (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014
    Description: Neighborhood income and social capital are considered important for child development, but social capital has rarely been measured directly at an aggregate level. We used Canadian data to derive measures of social capital from aggregated parental judgments of neighborhood collective efficacy and neighborhood safety. Measures of neighborhood income came from Census data. Direct measures of preschoolers’ school readiness were predicted from neighborhood-level variables, with regional indicators and household/parental characteristics taken into account. Our findings show that (1) residing in Quebec, being Black, and having a parent who was born outside Canada are positively associated with children’s living in disadvantaged or low collective efficacy neighborhoods as well as with their living in low-income households. (2) Children’s odds of residential mobility were reduced when the origin neighborhood had higher collective efficacy but increased when the family rented rather than owned. (3) Both neighborhood collective efficacy and children’s ever having lived in a poor neighborhood were correlated with receptive vocabulary scores, but results were mixed for other cognitive dimensions. Children of younger mothers scored worse on receptive vocabulary. There were similar patterns for demographic predictors related to visible minority status, sibship size, and birth order. Neighborhood average income had no effect on cognitive outcomes when the region was controlled.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 94
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Gentrification in Latin America: Overview and Critical Analysis (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014
    Description: This paper offers a critical review and interpretation of gentrification in Latin American cities. Applying a flexible methodology, it examines enabling conditions associated with societal regime change and local contingencies to determine its presence, nature, extent, and possibilities. Questioning the uncritical transfer of constructs such as gentrification from the Global North to the Global South, the paper advocates analyses of mediating structures and local conditions to determine their applicability and possible variations. Overall, the review questions the feasibility of self-sustained, large scale gentrification in central areas of the region’s cities today tying it to each city’s level of incorporation into global circuits and the role of local governments. Rather than an orthodox hypothesis testing, this is an exercise in interpretation that calls for nuanced approaches to the study of urban restructuring in cities of the global South.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 95
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Human Capital, Skills, and Uneven Intraurban Employment Growth: The Case of Göteborg, Sweden, 1990–2008 (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014
    Description: Recent research has elucidated the role of talents to explain urban growth differences but it remains to be shown whether urban dynamics, such as human capital and a mixed local population, can be linked to intraurban employment growth. By use of a unique longitudinal database, we track the economic development through the lens of intraurban employment growth of a number of primary urban areas (PUA) in Göteborg, Sweden. Regarding factors influencing employment growth, we find that relative concentrations of human capital protect areas from rising unemployment during severe recession (1990–1993) and recovery (1990–2000) while the composition of skills is beneficial during recovery (1990–2000) and long-term growth (1990–2008). Our findings suggest that neither too high concentrations of creative occupations nor too low ones are beneficial. Thus, human capital drives much of the employment changes in relation to the recession and early transition from manufacturing to service but composition of skills is more relevant for explaining long-term intraurban employment growth.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 96
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    A More Accurate Measure of Local Public Goods: Overlapping Government Combinations as Units of Analysis (2014)
    Hindawi
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014
    Description: This study posits and tests the viability of a new unit of analysis for local public goods in metropolitan areas: overlapping government combinations (OGCs). Counties, municipalities, school districts, and other special districts operate simultaneously within the same space, each providing their own set of local public goods. Residents of the same city can live within the boundaries of different counties, school districts and other special districts and thus receive (and pay for) very different quantities and qualities of public goods. Though there is a great deal of literature devoted to the variation of local public goods in a fragmented metropolitan region, there is none that cumulates the different local government types into units that represent the true bundles of local public goods that are provided to citizens and property owners. This study tackles this problem through the application of geographic information systems (GIS) to stack counties, municipalities, and school districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington CMSA into unique OGCs. The unique OGCs are compared to their underlying component governments with respect to property tax rates and school performance and are found to be statistically distinct.
    Print ISSN: 2090-4185
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-4193
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
    Published by Hindawi
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 97
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Kaplan turbine tip vortex cavitation – analysis and prevention (2012)
    Institute of Physics
    Details
    Publication Date: 2012-11-26
    Print ISSN: 1755-1307
    Electronic ISSN: 1755-1315
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences , Physics
    Published by Institute of Physics
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 98
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Velocity and pressure fluctuations induced by the precessing helical vortex in a conical diffuser (2014)
    Institute of Physics
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-03-01
    Print ISSN: 1755-1307
    Electronic ISSN: 1755-1315
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences , Physics
    Published by Institute of Physics
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 99
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Very Low Head Turbine Deployment in Canada (2014)
    Institute of Physics
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-03-01
    Print ISSN: 1755-1307
    Electronic ISSN: 1755-1315
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences , Physics
    Published by Institute of Physics
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
  • 100
    facet.materialart.
    Unknown
    Pelton turbine Needle erosion prediction based on 3D three- phase flow simulation (2014)
    Institute of Physics
    Details
    Publication Date: 2014-03-01
    Print ISSN: 1755-1307
    Electronic ISSN: 1755-1315
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences , Physics
    Published by Institute of Physics
    Location Call Number Expected Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    PAPER CURRENT
Close ⊗
This website uses cookies and the analysis tool Matomo. More information can be found here...