Where is the ‘Social’ in Constructions of ‘Liveability’? Exploring Community,Social Interaction and Social Cohesion in Changing Urban Environments

Ongoing changes in the urban environment have renewed interest in the transformation of cities and suburbs as liveable places. This article examines the limitations inherent in a functional (objective) notion of liveability that commonly underpins government policy directions. Through an examination of key debates in the literature we consider how the delivery of the social (subjective) dimension of liveability, linked to community, social interaction and social cohesion, poses unique challenges for policy makers, urban planners and developers. We argue for a deeper understanding of the social constructs of liveability that acknowledges the complexity of changing urban environments in contemporary society.     

Social in SoHo

这块地方曾经是基督教会的成员——科学家们进行礼拜的场所．现在却成为了那些墨水爱好者的祭坛。SoHo的伍斯特街社交俱乐部（WoosterStreetSocialClub）不仅从事纹身的业务．而且还是OriginalMedia拍摄其电视真人秀节目”NYInk（纽约墨水）”的现场。OriginalMedia的执行总裁查理·考尔文（CharlieCorwin）说．他曾经设想过这样一个”当代的工厂．工厂里一些富有创意的人们和项目能够通过展览、剧本阅读和现场表演来实现不同品种之间的相互影响和借鉴。”     

Review of the Research on Urban Social Problems in Recent Years

In the last 10 years, China has madeconsiderable progress in urbanization withincreasing numbers of both city and urbanpopulation. This has played a positive rolein promoting the country's political, eco-nomic and cultural development. However,the process of urbanization has broughtalong new problems and contradictionswhich require theoretical exploration.Against this background, urban sociology, a     

Narratives of Spatial Division： The Role of Social Memory in Shaping Urban Space in Belfast

The paper examines the role of shared spaces in divided cities in promoting future sustainable communities and spaces described as inclusive to all. It addresses the current challenges that prevent such inclusiveness and suggests future trends of its development to be of benefit to the wider city community. It explains how spaces in divided cities are carved up into perceived ownerships and territorialized areas, which increases tension on the shared space between territories; the control of which can often lead to inter-community disputes. The paper reports that common shared space in-between conflicting communities takes on increased importance since the nature of the conflict places emphasis on communities＇ confidence, politically and socially, while also highlighting the necessity for confidence in inclusion and feeling secure in the public domain. In order to achieve sustainable environments, strategies to promote shared spaces require further focus on the significance of everyday dynamics as essential aspects for future integration and conflict resolution.     

Challenges of Structure in Today＇s Architectural,Economic and Social Context

The recent establishment of a digital culture and society, together with current financial crisis and urgent energetic and climatic needs, has radically changed the architectural scene from the optimism of some years ago to a situation of uncertainty and huge social demands and challenges. In this context, it is suggested to rethink the role of structure in architecture, such as an enabler, a guide and a catalyst. The purpose of this paper is to present the economic, cultural and social context in which architecture develops nowadays. The method, to suggest a discussion on which role the structure may adopt in the architecture to come. The achievement, to highlight its potential to face current requirements and challenges.     

Social individualism: Walter Gropius and his appropriation of Franz Müller-Lyer's idea of a new man

In 1929, Walter Gropius developed the "High-Rise Steel Frame Apartment Building" that was based on theories about the emergence of a New Man put forward by sociologist Franz Müller-Lyer. In his lecture at the Congrès International d’Architecture Moderne conference in 1929, Gropius appropriated Müller-Lyer's sociology in order to promote and prompt the re-development of high-rise tenements and master households. Gropius’ 1931 contribution to the Deutsche Bauausstellung in Berlin incorporated a full-scale community lounge and a recreation area with sporting equipment, as well as a model and plans for a "High-Rise Steel Frame Apartment Building" that were designed in accordance with Müller-Lyer's theories. While it shows Müller-Lyer's influence, the boxing equipment found in the recreation area reflects the importance that sport, and boxing in particular, had gained after 1900. Boxing was perceived as a sport that would not only further fitness but also raise the spirits and help the inhabitant to succeed in the modern urban environment. By providing boxing equipment, Müller-Lyer's vision, which envisaged master households as furthering a community of peaceful individuals living in a condition of mutual trust, is weakened. In 1923, the sociologist Helmuth Plessner had regarded utopian visions of ideal communities as antithesis to actual events in the Weimar Republic. The embracing of theories that promised an evolutionary and linear development towards peaceful communities can be regarded as a counterreaction to a present that was perceived as an imperfect and temporary condition. Furthermore, Gropius’ appropriation of Müller-Lyer's sociology not only helped to distinguish his position from Marxist and socialist theories but also illustrated the contemporary tendency to accept utopian ideas while simultaneously doubting the practicality of some.     

The Politics of “Parental Co-Habitation”: Austerity,Household, and the Social Evils of Dependency

The household as a social formation is being assigned a renewed function in the provision of social welfare via neoliberal austerity politics. Government inaction regarding housing provision is forcing millions of young adults into “parental co-habitation”. In contrast to the dominant ideological view of the family as a school of liberty through the provision of welfare, this article argues that the dependence of millions of young adults on the parental household is degenerative both for the individual “recipient” and for the future democratic character of the polity. Mobilizing a Neo-Roman analysis of Liberty, I argue that housing policy is promoting the long-term creation of “slaves” as part of a wider strategy of oligarchic domination. The article seeks to articulate an explicitly political theoretical critique of “parental co-habitation” and advocates for directed government action in the area of housing provision to secure the autonomy and independence of a generation otherwise reduced to “slavishness”.     

‘Every Tenant Matters’? The New Governance of Social Housing in England

This paper begins by considering the series of reviews of aspects of housing policy carried out by the Westminster government between 2004 and 2007. It then moves on to describe and evaluate the legislative changes derived from those reviews in the form of the Housing and Regeneration Act, 2008. Responsibility for funding social housing was separated from the regulatory role, after more than 30 years during which they had been combined within the Housing Corporation. The changes were intended to introduce and promote a new culture, on the one hand encouraging wider involvement of private, profit-seeking organisations in the production and management of social housing. On the other hand, the expressed intention was to develop a more consumer oriented approach to the regulation of social housing. The paper concludes by asking whether the Act marks a new era for social housing in England.     

Social Participation in the Context of the Urban Public Space Renewal： The Case of Lagarteiro Neighborhood in Oporto

In 1980, Giancarlo de Carlo wrote in the Perspecta： Yale Journal, ＂An Architecture of the Participation＂. Carlo, proposed a sequence of procedures： the problem definition, the solution and the results evaluation, in all the three steps, the social communities should be integrated in as part of a share and dynamic process. This text corresponds to a new way of understanding the importance of the social communities in the architecture definition. From de Carlo＇s text, the main goal of this paper is to present the results of an intervention in public space renewal of the Lagarteiro neighborhood （in Oporto city） and the relation of this process with the participation of the resident population. The urban context of Lagarteiro＇s neighborhood presented before the intervention the typical and classic signs of disqualification of environmental and urban peripheral areas of resettlement. The term ＂disadvantaged areas＂ is associated with these areas in urban or peri-urban case, was framed in a specific Portuguese policy, called Initiative Critical Neighborhoods. Being a recent intervention, the renewal of the public space in Lagarteiro is a complete case study that allows comprehending the participation phenomenon in nowadays, at the same time that seduces a reflexion about technical and architectural solutions for ＂critical＂ neighborhood.     

Participatory Planning of Social and Spatial Organization in Agrarian Reform Policy in Brazil： An Assessment of the Implementation Challenges

The social endeavors for Agrarian Reform in Brazil have a history of at least sixty years. Throughout this time, distinct political regimes, increased land concentration, disordered urbanization and the development of a dynamic agribusiness sector inserted in global economy led to both the aggravation of social conflicts over land in Northern and Southern Brazil as well as new inquiries on the features necessary for an efficient Agrarian Reform Plan in the authors＇ country. Focused on the agrarian reform projects in the Brazilian Amazon, this work discusses on the political and methodological perspectives drawn in II PNRA （second National Plan of Agrarian Reform）. The authors frame their account mostly along the theoretical scaffolding provided by the Bloomington School of Institutional Analysis. The authors analyze the multiple challenges facing the organization and the maintenance of the institutional structure designed to facilitate participatory planning and governance of collective resources in periurban settlements. The authors portrait these settlements as highly complex socio-ecological systems wherein socioeconomic asymmetries, cultural diversity and poor social capital and education promote political and ideological disputes that jeopardize safeguarding global commons.     

Social representations of children in higher density housing: enviable,inevitable or evil?

Abstract

An increased focus on housing diversity in planning policy, international flows of capital and changing lifestyle preferences are resulting in increased higher density housing often marketed towards professional singles, couples without children and ‘empty nesters.’ Despite this, families with children currently dwell in higher density housing, either by choice or by necessity. This research identifies the social representations surrounding children in higher density housing in Australia’s third largest city, Brisbane. It does this by analysing newspaper media published between 2007 and 2014 and through 46 interviews with residents and built-form professionals from Brisbane. The research finds four key representations; that children belong in the suburbs; increasing support for wealthy families in higher density housing; an economic argument for the lack of family-appropriate apartments; and an increasing acceptance of medium-density housing for younger households. This research draws attention to the winners and losers in housing debates and the ‘common-sense’ assumptions that impact housing outcomes.     

伦敦的Pollen Street Social餐厅

电视中播出的烹饪节目比过去多了很多。因此展示烹饪技术已经成为一种潮流。厨师们凭借着自身的实力变成与节目主持人和演员拥有相同知名度的名人。通过BBC被许多英国观众所熟悉的贾森·阿瑟顿就是一位这样的明星。     

The Effect of Informal Settlement Upgrading on Women’s Social Networks: Layout Versus Location

Informal settlements are prevalent in the South African urban landscape. Part of the attempt by the government to meet housing and infrastructure needs has been the in situ upgrading of these informal settlements. This paper explores the effect of in situ informal settlement upgrading on women’s social networks. Social networks are important as they allow access to various livelihood assets that are crucial for building sustainable livelihoods and resilient communities. The results of the research undertaken indicate that the newly upgraded informal settlements have not been conducive to the preservation or creation of women’s social networks due to poor layout planning and inadequate infrastructure provision. There is an assumption that if the informal settlements are upgraded in situ, social networks will not be disrupted. It is anticipated that, because the residents are in the same geographical area, they will be able to maintain their social networks. The paper makes the argument that, when it comes to sustaining social networks, settlement layout and infrastructure provision are just as important and geographical location.     

Social Promotion Mechanism under the Dai People’s Traditional Worship of “Dragon Forest”

"Dragon Forest" culture has a long history, and it is the oldest and most primitive traditional culture of the Dai Ethnic Group. As the holy forest of the Dai Ethnic Group,"Dragon Forest" is the resting place for the souls of the "Meng God (tribal ancestor)" and "Zhai God (clan ancestor)" of the Dai people.Dai people not only respect and worship "Dragon Forest", but also set up a temple in "Dragon Forest"and hold sacrificial activities regularly, to pray for health and happiness from their ancestors."Dragon Forest" is the combination of multiple factors, and has been continuously protected by worship and taboo for thousands of years. It combines closely the natural system, belief system and social culture system,becomes a place that supports people’s ideas, values and spirits, and solidifies into a structural force in the social structure, which plays a certain role in promoting the social mechanism of local village community.     

Achieving a Socio-Spatial Mix? Prospects and Limitations of Social Housing Policy in Santiago de Chile

In the Chilean housing sector, the combination of free-market imperatives guiding investment decisions and a long tradition of social housing subsidies has generally had remarkable success in quantitative terms but has also contributed to the large-scale segregation of poor families on the urban periphery. With the goal of a better socio-spatial mix and, ultimately, social integration, the Chilean government recently revised its guidelines for housing subsidies, promoting small-scale social housing in central locations. This paper examines the early effects of this new housing policy in a cluster of the so-called “pericentral” municipalities in Santiago de Chile. Specifically, it raises the question of whether the policy has a chance of achieving its objectives in light of prevailing free-market conditions. We demonstrate strong interrelations between the current dynamics of real-estate investment and government-led housing programs which together continue to promote uneven socio-spatial development and segregation of the urban poor on a smaller scale.     

Investigating the Social Dimensions of Transport Disadvantage—I. Towards New Concepts and Methods1

This article is the first of two papers that engage critically and productively with the relationship between the socio-economic transformations of cities, the differentiation of vulnerable groups within urban space and the distribution of transport services. This article undertakes a comprehensive review of the major conceptual and methodological approaches by which scholars and policy researchers have sought to address the connection between social disadvantage and access to transport. The article critically assesses the relative merits of various spatial analytical methodologies in illuminating social–transport links. The study finds that there is a need for greater sophistication in the use of analytical methods in transport research as well as an imperative for greater sensitivity to social differentiation within urban areas and relative to infrastructure and services. The article concludes by developing a method for combining spatial social and transport service data that is then deployed in the empirical case study reported in the second paper.     

厨房的社交性伦敦Pollen Street Social餐厅

Pollen Street Social餐厅坐落于伦敦名声显赫的梅菲尔(Mayfair)区,是名厨Jason Atherton的第一家独立餐厅。Jason Atherton曾担任过Gordon Ramsay的米其林星级餐厅Maze的主厨。     

Social outcomes in the construction industry: the case of the Western Australian ‘Percent for Art’ policy

Social outcomes, in particular intangible social outcomes, are generally difficult to achieve in the construction industry due to the predominantly episodic, fragmented and heavily regulated nature of construction that presupposes a tendency towards mainstream construction processes and design. The Western Australian ‘Percent for Art’ policy is recognized for stimulating social outcomes, by creating richer and more aesthetically pleasing social environments through the incorporation of artwork into public buildings. A case study of four Percent for Art projects highlights the role of the Artwork Selection Committee in incorporating artwork into construction. A total of 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with committee members and policy officers. Data analysis involved a combination of pattern coding and matrix categorization, and resulted in the identification of the committee’s three key elements of collaborative communication, democratic decision-making and project champions. The findings suggest these key elements foster the interaction, communication and relationships needed to facilitate feedback, enhance relationships, create cross-functional teams and lower project resistance, which are all necessary to overcome constraints to social outcomes in construction. The findings provide greater insight into the mechanisms for achieving social outcomes and a basis for future discussion about the processes for achieving social outcomes in the construction industry.     

Social networks of rural–urban migrants after residential relocation: evidence from Yangzhou,a medium-sized Chinese city

This paper analyses the effects of residential relocation on China’s rural–urban migrants’ social networks in light of evidence from Yangzhou, Jiangsu province. Our study contrasts voluntary moves with forced moves driven by demolition-led redevelopment of urban villages. Based on data from a survey conducted between 2012 and 2013, the regression analysis shows that voluntarily relocated migrants are more likely than forced movers to use phone/computer to contact their former neighbours, and communication technology allows them to maintain the frequency of their contact. Furthermore, when moving to a gated neighbourhood, voluntary movers are more likely than forced movers to participate in public activities, to have more contact with new neighbours and thereby to get more help from the residents’ committee and new neighbours. The results suggest that forced moves have negative effects on migrants’ social networks in the neighbourhood and that the demolition-led redevelopment programmes do not promote the migrants’ integration in the city.