Improving Planning Mechanism to Upgrade the Planning Level of Old Cities

Before 1980,in the development ofChina's cities,emphysis was laid on theconstruction of new cities and expansionof new urban districts.As for old citiesand old urban districts,the principle of“full utilization and gradual transforma-tion”was adopted.Therefore,accordingto general comprehension,old cities main-ly refer to the areas which were formed inhistory and need to be maintained andtransformed now,and they usually in-clude inner city and areas built before     

Private Developers and the Public Good: Can a Socially Constructed Market Deliver Quality Affordable Housing for Australian Cities?

Australian government housing policy relies on the private housing industry contributing to the supply of affordable and social housing in cities. However, the diminishing availability of suitable housing for many households raises the question of whether the private housing industry is interested in, or capable of, catering for this market segment. Engagement would require both inducements and regulation, partnerships with government and non-profit actors, and an alignment of attitudes regarding the need and responsibility for providing dwellings in housing sub-markets. This paper explores perceptions and strategies of actors regarding the role for the industry in the context of Melbourne.     

Planning for Climate Change: Is Greater Public Participation the Key to Success?

Within most democracies there is an assumption that greater public participation and engagement in policy processes results in more effective policy measures. These assumed benefits include better framed and more robust policies and a more informed, articulate and engaged citizenry. Similar assumptions exist also in planning for climate adaptation where more public participation and engagement are seen as vital components of any adaptation strategy and policy development process. This article explores these assumptions and considers whether there is any evidence that the success of planning for unavoidable climate change is related to the extent of public participation. Using an evaluation framework based on three aspects of participation we critically review a set of climate adaptation policy instruments developed within each of the three levels of government in Australia but with a specific focus on the region of South East Queensland.     

Financing the Low-Carbon City: Can Local Government Leverage Public Finance to Facilitate Equitable Decarbonisation?

As decarbonisation interventions proliferate within cities, local governments setting ambitious targets are increasingly engaged in complex financial relations. Recognising the necessary cost of renewable and energy efficient infrastructures, and the ever-present constraints on public funds, this paper argues that finance is a critical node through which local governments advance decarbonisation in urban localities. While local decarbonisation strategies have been viewed cautiously for their potential to overburden individuals at the expense of more systematic and organisational change, this paper reveals a more complex picture. Drawing on decarbonisation initiatives in two Melbourne municipalities—Moreland and Darebin—it identifies four ways in which local governments are using public finance to achieve their sustainability objectives. Local governments are brokering bulk product purchases for residents; lending upfront capital for solar PV via local property taxes; purchasing energy efficient products and funding innovative technology pilots; and procuring renewable energy supply through multi-stakeholder power purchase agreements. By targeting lower income households and pooling resources with other organisations, the paper shows that local governments can address socio-economic inequality and facilitate extra-local change towards a low-carbon city. However, these incremental achievements emphasise the need for co-ordination and state engagement to realise decarbonisation at a meaningful scale.     

Valuing Social Resources or Capitalizing on Them? Limits to Pro-poor Urban Governance in Nine Cities of the South

Drawing on research in nine cities of Africa, Asia and Latin America, evidence of local-level networks and associational life is analysed, to assess where benefits accrue when they are harnessed in the interests of city governance. Adopting a critical approach to the concept of social capital, it is concluded that the social resources of the urban poor (family, kinship, social networks and community-level organization) are as much an asset for urban development institutions and processes as they are for the poor themselves. Although urban government and other development agencies may draw upon the social resources of poor communities and benefit from or respond to public action, this does not mean that they depend on them. Although public action is important to ensure local democracy, social capital, it is concluded, does not guarantee pro-poor governance.     

Denied Reality, Retarded Perception or Inaction?: Official Responses to the Incidence of Home-based Enterprises (HBES) and its Housing Corollary in Nigerian Cities

In Nigeria, the notion of the house or dwelling as a mono-functional (residential) unit is quite dominant and it forms the basis of housing policies as well as physical planning strategies. Yet, field evidence emerging from the cities presents a contrasting image of the house as a workplace. This reveals a gap between the official perception of the house and housing needs on one hand and what they are in reality. Against this background, the paper reviews the responses of government and its agencies to the incidence of home-based enterprises (HBEs) and its housing corollary with a view to gauging their reactions to this inescapable feedback. The paper discovers that HBEs and other urban informal enterprises are still neglected in official circles. Direct planning intervention by government agencies are seldom, haphazard, and very inconsistent because of the absence of well defined guidelines and strategies for dealing with this peculiar physico-economic phenomenon. The recommendations put forward here reiterate the need to tackle this reality with the right attitude and appropriate actions.     

Are project-based organizations willing to learn compliance lessons from sanctioned organizations close to them? The moderating effect of knowledge base compatibility and strength of the event

To crack down on rule violations by organizations, previous studies have mainly advocated improving the deterrent effect of sanctions by increasing punishment and strengthening supervision. However, violations stepping on the ‘red line’ remain rampant, despite an increasingly serious regulatory environment. In this respect, factors determining an organization's ability to learn from sanctions against others have barely been investigated. To address this issue, this study investigated the deterrent effect of sanctions from the perspective of the social distance between the sanctioned organization and observing organization and explored the moderating effects of knowledge base compatibility, as well as the strength of sanction event. Empirical evidence based on three vignette-based experiments that simulated a multinational project-based organization in the construction industry, a typical industry with serious violations, was sanctioned for failure to comply with host country regulations, showed that the deterrent effect of a sanction event is greater for organizations that are closer to the sanctioned organization than for those that are far from the target. Moreover, when knowledge base compatibility with the sanctioned organization was higher or when the sanction event was more novel, disruptive and critical for observing organizations, the deterrent effect of sanctions was extended and the observing organizations learned more compliance lessons from the sanction. Based on these findings, this study contributes to project governance and provides useful strategies for regulators and policymakers to control violations by expanding the deterrent effect of sanctions.