The contribution of human and social capital to building community well-being: a research agenda relating to citizen participation in local governance in Australia

This paper discusses the interrelationships between concepts such as human and social capital, community well-being, citizen participation, community capacity building and community engagement. Working from this discussion a research agenda is presented relating to citizen participation in local governance with particular emphasis on the role of local government in building human and social capital, thereby contributing to the well-being of communities.     

The contribution of human and social capital to building community well-being: a research agenda relating to citizen participation in local governance in Australia

This paper discusses the interrelationships between concepts such as human and social capital, community well-being, citizen participation, community capacity building and community engagement. Working from this discussion a research agenda is presented relating to citizen participation in local governance with particular emphasis on the role of local government in building human and social capital, thereby contributing to the well-being of communities.     

The contribution of urban green spaces to the improvement of environment in cities: Case study of Chania,Greece

This paper investigates how vegetation, mainly through evapotranspiration, affects the improvement of microclimatic conditions in urban areas and, more specifically, it examines the case for the city of Chania in Crete. The objectives of this study are to examine the bioclimatic role of green areas in urban sites as they affect the thermal comfort of residents, and to study the cross-correlation of factors that participate in this process.     

The role,organisation and contribution of community enterprise to urban regeneration policy in the UK

This monograph investigates the organisation, constitution and delivery of community-based organisations which are normally called community enterprises in the UK. These are organisations which emerge from local communities at the neighbourhood level, work in partnership with the public and private sectors, and provide a range of services to meet social, economic and environmental needs. The main focus of the paper is to explore how these organisations contribute to local regeneration strategies, generate social capital and contribute towards the promotion of civil society in general. The main emphasis is on organisations in England and Wales but comparisons are made with the USA and other countries where relevant literature is available. The key questions to be answered relate to the organisation and management of these bodies; the extent to which they engage with and contribute to local regeneration strategies; and the impact they have particularly in acquiring and managing assets. The diversity of the sector, and the range, scale and level of benefits it can deliver is illustrated through five detailed case studies of community enterprises established at different times, in different geographical locations and with different objectives and funding regimes. But, whilst the UK political economy is moving towards less state intervention and more community self-help, the community development corporations in the USA provide an indication of the future direction community enterprises might take in the UK as part of a broad trend towards civic capacity building.     

The cooling effect of green spaces as a contribution to the mitigation of urban heat: A case study in Lisbon

Green areas in the urban environment can contribute to the mitigation of the Urban Heat Island. In a context of climate change, with the expected increase in temperature, dryness and intensity of heat waves, green areas assume even higher importance as they can create a cooling effect that extends to the surrounding areas. This study analyses the thermal performance of a small green space (0.24 ha) and its influence in the surrounding atmospheric environment of a densely urbanised area in Lisbon. Measurements of weather parameters (temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, solar and infrared radiation) were carried out along a selected path, starting from inside the green area to surrounding streets with different orientations and solar exposure. It was found that the garden was cooler than the surrounding areas, either in the sun or in the shade. These differences were higher in hotter days and particularly related to the mean radiant temperature (Tmrt). The highest difference found was of 6.9 °C in relation to air temperature and 39.2 °C in relation to Tmrt; in both cases this difference occurred between the shaded site inside the garden and the sunny site in an E–W oriented street in the southern part of the studied area. Besides the local weather conditions, particularly the low wind speed, the sun exposure and the urban geometry are the potential factors that explain these differences. The cooling effect of green areas on the surrounding environment can be enhanced by additional measures related to the urban features of each city.     

Urban rent and urban dynamics: The determinants of urban development in Italy

Many empirical analyses have proved the existence of an optimal city size through the measurement of economies or diseconomies of scale, generally applied either to the costs of urban services or to elegant econometric estimates of urban and sectoral production functions. But, unfortunately these studies have never produced a common result, and have often been subject to criticism for their restrictive hypotheses. The aim of the present paper is twofold. First of all, urban dynamics in Italy is described through an indicator of urban costs and advantages, i.e. urban rent. House prices are in fact a good indicator of the attraction of an urban area, as they are synthetic and avoid a time lag between the occurrence of phenomena such as demographic change, and the availability of data to capture these phenomena. This study is based on the idea that the difference in house prices between large and small cities is a measure of their relative attraction (and thus their relative location advantage). The second aim is to highlight the determinants of urban dynamics, and especially to understand whether urban development patterns are similar in cities of different size. For this second issue, the paper enters the debate on the existence of an optimal city size for all cities and draws attention to other possible determinanats of urban development. Received: May 2000/Accepted: January 2002     

Education,practice and professionalism: a comparative history of the development of urban and regional planning in Italy and Australia

This paper outlines the historical relationship between planning legislation, planning practice and planning education in Italy and Australia by identifying the positive and negative roles of institutional influences and the emergence of professional planning communities. The key findings revolve around the gap between plan preparation and plan implementation, and the role of institutions and professional communities in resisting political interference and maintaining a technocratic imperative within planning systems. While the exertion of professional power can be seen to achieve positive planning and development outcomes, it is often at the expense of the democratic traditions that have come to characterize postmodern planning systems.     

Egypt: The state,foreign aid and community participation in urban shelter projects

The interplay between international policies and the interests and internal pressures of the state is examined in the context of project‐based community participation in urban shelter provision in Egypt. Three contrasting upgrading projects are used. Using the concept of interest mediation, the paper argues that, whilst the state may be receptive to external pressure for community participation, this reciprocity is constrained by the extent to which external agendas fit domestic needs and the social contract between the state and various class interests. The paper shows how the well‐recognized malleability of the concept and the limitations to effective implementation, cannot be explained by conventional project evaluation methodology and technical or bureaucratic factors. Instead, a method is used which links macro‐level international interests (such as aid agendas, geostrategic objectives) to micro‐level grass‐roots variables. Despite the growing centrality of the urban sector and modes of community participation in the changing paradigms of development, local outcomes are primarily influenced by decisions made in the broader context of the political economy—not by the specific objectives of housing sector policies or methods of community involvement in their implementation.     

A spirit of urban capitalism: market cities,people cities,and cultural justifications

ABSTRACT

Diverse urban theories discuss how economic processes shape conceptions of a city, but less research focuses on how pragmatic situations of urban life contribute to the characterisation of cities. We argue that pragmatic justifications reify socially constructed meanings of cities by creating a ‘spirit of urban capitalism.’ This framework conceives of two spirits: the market city, which aligns with neoliberal assumptions, and the people city, which foregrounds a resident-focused model. Using case studies of Copenhagen and Houston, we showcase how these conceptions of cities are justified by elites and residents, and thereby build empirical scaffolding connecting urban economies and cultures.     

Development of an urban health and wellbeing index for work precincts: A comparative study in Sydney,Australia

Work precincts are recognized for their significant role as generators of employment and associated commerce within urban areas. This study describes a method for analyzing the physical characteristics of urban work precincts in promoting the health and wellbeing of their occupants. The following physical parameters are analyzed: public transport accessibility, green and blue spaces, food environments, fitness facilities, supermarkets, and grocery stores. The parameters are assessed using quantitative spatial analysis based on street network data, as well as point of interest data acquired from OpenStreetMap (OSM). The streets and their intersections are stored in the OSM database as links and nodes, respectively. The evaluation of the performance metrics involves measuring the street network distance from each node to the closest node of interest for each parameter. The metrics are then combined, forming an urban health and wellbeing index (UHWI), which can be used to compare the performance of different precincts. The method was tested by investigating four work precincts in Sydney, Australia, all hosting a large office building belonging to the same business institution. Our results identified two of the four precincts with a high UHWI and resulted in the identification of one underperforming precinct.     

Sequencing and combining participation in urban planning: The case of tsunami-ravaged Onagawa Town,Japan

Onagawa, a remote rural town in Japan, is on the verge of crisis: its population is aging and shrinking, and this adversity has been even more pronounced since the town was ravaged by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and resulting tsunami. In its struggle to survive and revive, the town has emerged as a gem of participatory governance by instituting a multitude of participatory mechanisms with renewed leadership. This development shows how disasters induced by natural hazards can be a catalyst for progressive democratic change in a rural town like Onagawa, in contrast with earlier findings that disasters adversely affect democratic institutions and values. Onagawa's case also draws scholarly and policy attention to how to sequence and combine different participatory mechanisms in urban planning. Informed by field work, the study modifies an existing theoretical model to systematically highlight Onagawa's participatory mechanisms during the reconstruction planning, including their differences and complementarities. This institutional plurality served multiple purposes, including (i) allowing lay stakeholders to brainstorm a general reconstruction plan, (ii) avoiding the conflation of technical and lay discussions, (iii) reaching out to evacuees who were not able to participate, and (iv) educating citizens on town planning in hopes of nourishing a participatory culture in the long run.     

普通高校城乡规划本科专业导论课程比较研究

城乡规划专业导论课是学生认知专业知识体系宏观架构的基础性课程,在城乡规划教育中有着不可替代的引领作用。文章基于29所高校城乡规划专业评估数据,分析其专业导论课设置特征及实践成效,回顾专业导论课的内容组织、课时时长和后续课程衔接等,并提出改进建议。研究得出：高校城乡规划导论课程设置主要受办学定位影响,研究型大学导论课偏向贯穿整个大学教育,应用型大学的导论课集中设置在第一学年;导论课内容组织上多数学校仅关注原理导引和专业介绍,学科素养、专业学习和职业相关的引导性内容缺项;导论课多采用考试和写小论文的方式考查学习效果,效果不佳,导论课与后续课程设置衔接不够好,存在导论课与后续课程内容一致,教学方法接近等问题。研究建议：城乡规划导论课在内容组织上应关注职业发展和专业学习能力培养,教学方式应增加辩论、校外调研、演讲比赛等方式,在教学内容与方式上应明晰与后续课程的边界。     

The chemical risk management process in Italy. A case study: The Seveso accident

This paper describes, by means of a unique case study, i.e. the ICMESA accident at Seveso, the process of chemical risk management in Italy under emergency conditions which involved more than 200 000 people and about 1800 ha of a densely populated area. The paper also deals with the aims, the results, and the organizational aspects of the medium- and long-term activities that were carried out to rehabilitate the affected ecological and social systems. Problems of co-ordination at different levels (national, regional, provincial and local), as well as of interaction of decision-makers with scientific and technical experts and local staff responsible for action, have also been addressed.     

The Historic Urban Landscape paradigm and cities as cultural landscapes. Challenging orthodoxy in urban conservation

Today, for the first time in human history, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. According to UN-Habitat, within two decades, five billion people will live in cities. Coincidentally, within the field of cultural heritage conservation, increasing international interest and attention over the past two decades has been focused on urban areas. This is timely because pressure for economic development and for the prioritising of engagement with the global economy has accompanied rapid urbanisation. In many societies, pressures for economic development have privileged modernisation efforts leading to the loss of traditional communities. Accompanying this has been a concentration in the field of urban conservation on famous buildings and monuments rather than seeing cities as communities of people with values and belief systems that are reflected in the city’s overall setting: its cultural landscape. This paper explores alternative ways of seeing cities particularly through the Historic Urban Landscape paradigm.     

Political economy and urban planning: a comparative study of Hong Kong,Singapore and Taiwan

This study compares urban planning mechanisms that operate within Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. The political economy of Hong Kong is in a state of flux. While the power of the government and the corporate interests remain largely intact, they are challenged by pro-China interests and a democratizing civil society. The land use planning system reflects this power contest. In face of both strong resistance from the development industry and China's eagerness to perpetuate a market-led society in post-1997 Hong Kong, the outcome of the power contest remains uncertain. The state-centred political economy of Singapore has bred a top–down land use planning system centrally controlled by the government. Not only has the government dominated the plan making process, the legislation has entrusted the public sector to scrutinize and guide private development through a discretionary development control system. The government is able to mobilize resources to implement plans with the tacit consent of a regulated and meritocracy-based society. In contrast, Taiwan's multi-layered government structure and its complicated relationships with business interests (`gold-power' alliance) within a cultural milieu with scant respect for rules and regulations, have produced a complex and yet loosely coordinated land use planning system. The Urban Planning Law emphasizes plan making and implementation by the public sector at the district level, but local authorities lack resources to implement plans. The regulatory development control system, to a large extent, is abused by the community and land use zoning is not taken seriously in general. As plan amendments can be made behind closed doors, the `gold-power' alliance has tried to rezone land for speculative purposes. The impact of the recent democratization process on the society's legal attitudes and the roles of planning in urban governance in Taiwan remains to be seen.     

Exploring the concept of green infrastructure in urban landscape. Experiences from Italy,Canada and Finland

Several disciplines, such as landscape architecture, species conservation and water management, have contributed to the advancement of knowledge of Green Infrastructure (GI). However, doubts remain on the best approach to embed the concept of GI and related components in planning policies and practice. This paper presents a literature review of the scientific and policy frameworks of GI as well as the knowledge gap that exists between academics and practitioners. Furthermore, a discourse analysis of planning documents was conducted in the metropolitan regions of Milan, Montreal and Helsinki. The three metropolitan regions are challenging new forms of cooperation between academics and practitioners. The results show that while studies on GI are used to support planning strategies, they struggle to address spatial, landscape and environmental issues at the local scale. Closer interdisciplinary cooperation between academics, as well as between academics and practitioners, can help to find new approaches to urban landscape.     

Evaluation of ornamental plant resources to urban biodiversity and cultural changing: A case study of residential landscapes in Trabzon city (Turkey)

The residential vegetation features in urban landscapes play an important role as indicators regarding urban biodiversity potential and cultural changing. They also include ornamental resources in the context to landscape appreciation for human environment. Therefore, this paper provides quantitative information on the distribution of plant species in urban residential landscape areas of Trabzon city (Turkey). In a total of 218 sampled areas, 274 plants species belonging to 70 families were surveyed with respect to residential use types of the city. The study results showed that among the species recorded in five residential type (traditional housing, detached housing, villa, apartment blocks and sites, mass housing for employees), non-native taxa frequency of a total species are much and dominantly represent residential landscape structure. Additionally, the species richness and diversity is positively related to new urban development areas. But, it was clearly determined that the vegetation structure has tended to ornamental purposes different from traditional residential gardens including fruit and other benefiting species. Consequently, it can be evidence that the residential vegetation is ornamental plant resources to urban biodiversity and that the distribution of the species in urban landscapes follows necessities of city and human quality.     

西欧中世纪城市与汉唐城市建设比较研究

主要从城市发展史、规划建设特征、城市形态、城市意象和城市规划思想等方面,探讨了西欧中世纪城市和汉唐城市建设的特点,进而对西欧中世纪城市和汉唐城市建设进行初步比较研究,并分析了同处于封建社会两种不同地域城市建设产生差异的原因,对建设有中国特色的城市规划体系有重要的意义。