Neighbourhood change in Genesee and Kent Counties,Michigan, 1970–2019

Michigan was an industrial powerhouse until the onset of deindustrialization in 1970. This paper compares socio-economic and demographic changes at the neighbourhood level between 1970 and 2019 in two medium-sized cities/counties in Michigan (Flint/Genesee County and Grand Rapids/Kent County) that underwent deindustrialization. Only 35% of neighbourhoods in the two counties were of the same class in 2019 as in 1970. Middle-class neighbourhoods declined while poor and upper-middle class neighbourhoods increased. The contemporary spatial structure of neighbourhoods in these two counties is a mixture of classic concentric ring/sectoral models interspersed with socio-economic downgrading inner-ring suburbs identified within other US cities since the 1990s.     

Does downtown office property perform better in live–work–play centers?

Live–work–play (LWP) centers in US metro markets are attracting young workers and employers, and downtowns are the locations often providing LWP. These centers are compact, diverse, mixed-use, and walkable places that improve economic, environmental, fiscal, public health, and social outcomes. This empirical analysis examines the dimensions and features of LWP centers, considers alternative LWP measures, and determines whether real estate performance increases when LWP centers improve. We find that downtown office rents are higher and capitalization rates are lower in better LWP centers ceteris paribus. However, the expected cap rate relationship is not statistically significant.     

Who,Mies?

This essay interrogates Mies van der Rohe's Federal Center Courthouse vis-à-vis the events of the Trial of the Chicago Seven, which was held there beginning in 1969. In doing so, the essay reveals how Mies subverted the conventions of courtroom design and consequently disrupted the precise rituals and power relationships that comprise the performance of jurisprudence. Specifically, Mies removed “the bar” from the courtroom space, which typically divides spectators from trial participants, producing a Brechtian estrangement of the courtroom and of trial procedure that played out in the various forms of misconduct that marked the theatrical trial.     

Geographic variation in change in income inequality among US states, 1970–1990

Income inequality in the United States has increased greatly over the last 25 years. This paper examines geographic variation across the states in income inequality from 1970 to 1990 for family and for non-family households. Richer and larger metropolitan states, which had less inequality in 1970, became far more unequal, while many less metropolitan, poorer states in 1970, changed less. Associated with greater inequality or increase in inequality were economic restructuring (low wage versus high end services), surplus labor (babyboom entry, immigration), deregulation and tax changes, spatial polarization within metropolitan areas, family instability and higher shares of proprietary income; and with lesser inequality (or less change) manufacturing growth, higher (female) labor force participation and metro-politan growth (as in the South and the Plains). Received: February 1998/Accepted: July 1998     

Towards democratic planning? Negotiating change in St Kilda,Melbourne

Are planners ‘dealmakers’ caught up in selling urban areas to the highest bidder, or are they negotiators concerned to maintain democratic planning and social diversity in areas that are subject to gentrification? This paper explores this question through the example of two sites in St Kilda, Melbourne. The sites highlight planning strategies used at the local government level by planners who are attempting to negotiate change and to maintain the social and cultural diversity of the area. The first example illustrates the processes of ‘democratic planning’ where planners question what is ‘legitimate’ and draw on discourses of local need. The second example illustrates the problems of co‐opting local culture within a process of democratic planning that is based on community consultation. Together, the examples illustrate the need for tighter local government policies, including stricter policies about the use of developer contributions, and a closer and more critical focus on the term ‘community consultation’, if democratic planning is to be achieved.     

Metropolitan planning and downtown redevelopment: The Cincinnati and Dallas experiences, 1940–60

This study explores the parallel experiences of two rather different American cities with regard to planning and post‐war redevelopment. In both cities, the business‐supported planning movements of the 1940s focused on metropolitan‐wide issues and included a social as well as an economic emphasis. Initial efforts at redevelopment after the war, which included improvement of housing, also mirrored this metropolitan focus. By the mid‐1950s, however, the focus of the planning movement had shifted to the central business district: viewed as an economic problem and calling for massive redevelopment of both cities’ downtowns.

This changing emphasis ‐ from planning for the metropolis to planning for the CBD ‐ is placed within the context of a changing discourse about the relationship between the city and the suburb which was taking place between 1940 and 1960.     

Landscape change in Ramallah—Palestine (1994–2014)

The Palestinian landscape has always been subjected to dynamic processes of change. This article examines the landscape change in Ramallah city during the last 20 years by analysing two aerial photographs from two periods—1994 and 2014—to create land cover maps which illustrate the change in different landscape classes in the city. The article aims to quantify the landscape change in the specified periods using GIS and FRAGSTATS analysis, and to identify and explain spatial patterns of the landscape, taking into consideration the political, social, and economic circumstances. The results reveal a considerable change and fragmentation. The main change is an increase in the built-up area at the expense of a decrease in the permanent trees and scrub areas. This change, due to the occupation policies, is a reflection of many indicators, including population growth, migration, and an economic boom in the construction sector.     

The “Pink Pound” in the “Gaybourhood”? Neighbourhood Deprivation and Sexual Orientation in Scotland

Abstract

The emergence of geographic concentrations of non-heterosexual individuals – so-called “gaybourhoods” – is often linked to housing, demographic characteristics of the non-straight population and wider discrimination. These neighbourhoods are associated with narratives of gentrification with the non-straight population acting as gentrification pioneers. In popular imagery, non-straight households are typically portrayed with higher disposable income, and more likely to live in owner-occupied apartments in affluent neighbourhoods. This paper presents data from the Scottish Health Survey showing a disproportionate concentration of non-heterosexual people in the most deprived places in Scotland. These neighbourhoods are predominantly peripheral housing estates, dominated by social housing; not gentrifying inner-city neighbourhoods. We use data from the Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) to interrogate individual characteristics that might explain this spatial concentration of residence. We argue this means the narratives of LGBT gentrification and affluence should be regarded with caution given ongoing exclusion and deprivation among the non-heterosexual population.     

Urban sprawl in the Mediterranean?: Patterns of growth and change in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region 1993–2000

Debates on the urban form have become strongly polarized between the advocates and opponents of the compact and of the dispersed or “sprawled” city. In this paper we argue that this may be the result of an excessive concentration on the study of the American experience and the neglect of other urban contexts, and examine the recent process of urban growth against the background of urban compactness and extreme densification represented by the Barcelona Metropolitan Region (BMR). The comparison of two detailed land-cover maps of 1993 and 2000 shows a progressive transformation in the traditional urban character of the region. Lower urban densities, high losses of non-urban land covers, depopulation of the metropolitan inner core, an increasing importance of single housing or the expansion of transportation infrastructures confirm the generalization of the dispersed urban model. However, the presence of numerous medium sized towns has also proved to be a deterrent of excessive dispersion. In conclusion, polycentric metropolitan areas such as the BMR may be more adjusted to absorb the negative effects of dispersion than monocentric areas.     

Does developers' ownership structure shape their market behavior? Evidence from state owned enterprises in Chengdu,Sichuan, 2004–2011

Real estate development is a complex speculative endeavor and developer firms take a variety of forms throughout the world. State run development companies are relatively common and China is no exception. State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) have played a major role in China's transition to a market-based real estate sector, yet we know relatively little about the housing they build relative to private companies currently. To assess how their performance differs from private companies, we use a comprehensive set of georeferenced housing transactions, joined with remote sensing data and data on neighborhood amenities and transportation infrastructure, to analyze the dynamics of the Chengdu housing market from 2004 to 2011. We observe a drop in the variation in housing price and size, as well as a growing premium for larger units that we connect to changes in government regulations. Importantly, we find that units developed by SOE sell at a discount of roughly 7%. To explain this discount, we draw on literature and examine pricing strategy, difficult to measure quality elements, preferred treatment by local governments, and efforts to fulfill social goals related to housing provision. The study outlines directions for future research and we recommend the Chinese government formalize the relationship between SOEs in national housing policy to facilitate the production of lower-cost housing in a more consistent and equitable manner.     

Hydrochemical distribution patterns in stream waters, Trøndelag, central Norway

A regional geochemical sampling program of stream waters has been carried out in the Nord-Tr?ndelag region of central Norway. This area has hitherto been little affected by regional anthropogenic sources of pollution. Hydrochemical trends appear to be dominated by interplay of two main factors: (i) input of sea salts via marine aerosols in precipitation: and (ii) geological sources (mineral weathering). Factor (i) results in a predominance of Na-Cl waters near the coast, and may also be partially responsible (via proton displacement from soil ion-exchange sites by marine cations) for lower pH values in near-coastal waters. Further inland, the importance of marine salts decreases and waters become dominantly Ca-(Na)-HCO3. Sub-regional anomalies in geochemical maps for, e.g. nitrate and copper may indicate anthropogenic sources for these parameters from agriculture or mining activities.     

The Kano–Kazaure highway,north central Nigeria: the significance of the engineering geology in construction

Kano–Kazaure highway traverses granitic rock with minor occurrences of metasediments and fine sandy deposits. The soil profiles were studied to determine their suitability in the proposed dualization of the highway route as part of the Trans-Sahara international highway construction project. The soils derived from the granitic rocks are well graded, with a high maximum dry density and low optimum moisture content. The soils derived from the schistose and quartzite zone are also suitable for road base and sub-base but the transported loose silty fine sand/sandy silty soils of the Chad Formation are only limited suitability.     

Soft contractualism? Facilitating institutional change in planning and development relations in Scotland

Devolution in the United Kingdom has involved the creation of different quasi-autonomous political administrations. As part of an attempt to encourage institutional learning, there has been a turn to concordats to facilitate cooperation on matters of shared concern, to communicate appropriately and in a timely way, to work in a helpful and open manner and to treat information in confidence. In parallel, the reform of statutory land-use planning systems in the devolved United Kingdom has involved debates around the need for a cultural change to implement a relatively more positive model of planning and development amongst the diversity of stakeholders which have similarly invoked new forms of public diplomacy. The Edinburgh Planning Concordat sets out in some detail the agreed step-by-step actions to be effected and the respective responsibilities of the local authority and developers at the different stages in the land-use planning process. Such anticipated cooperation and coordination in the land-use planning and property development community could suggest a stronger basis for decision making and the articulation of the public interest. Locating the discussion against the backdrop of devolution and planning reform in Scotland, and within theories of new contractualism, this article examines the rise of ‘soft’ forms of public diplomacy as a means to facilitate cultural change and planning reform.     

Who leaves rental housing? Examining possible explanations for ethnic housing segmentation in Uppsala,Sweden

Swedish cities are not only segregated but also segmented along ethnic lines; i.e., different ethnic groups are unevenly distributed across the different tenure segments in the housing market. Immigrants are generally overrepresented in rental housing and underrepresented in home ownership and tenant–owner cooperative housing. In this paper, an attempt is made to evaluate the importance of socioeconomic resources in explaining this segmentation, using the Uppsala housing market as a case. By means of binary logistic regression an evaluation is made of the relative importance of socioeconomic resources and ethnic background, while controlling for demographic factors, in explaining whether a person leaves rental housing for home ownership or cooperative housing or remains in the rental segment. The results show that the socioeconomic situation of the individual is indeed very important. A high income and a stable position in the labor market seem to be crucial in order to advance in the housing market. Demographic and socioeconomic factors cannot, however, fully account for the differences found between Swedes and immigrant groups such as Africans and Eastern Europeans. The results imply that ethnic discrimination cannot be ruled out as an explanation for the underrepresentation of immigrants in the cooperative and owner-occupied segments.     

Who are the typical commuters in the post-socialist metropolis? The case of Riga,Latvia

There have been important changes in the geographical mobility of the populations of post-socialist countries since the 1990s. Drawing on an extensive sample survey—the Geographic Mobility of the Labour Force survey conducted by the University of Latvia in 2006—this paper, examines the demographic and socio-economic differences between commuters and stayers in the suburbs, as well as commuting time. The results of the study indicate that people who have suburbanised over the past decade are much more likely to commute than stayers. We show that commuters to Riga differ from non-commuters with regard to most demographic and socio-economic variables. For instance, the probability of commuting is higher for the younger and more affluent suburban residents. Somewhat surprisingly, our analysis shows that there are no significant differences in commuting time between socio-demographic population groups.     

Increased incidence of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii in temperate zones--is climate change responsible?

The bloom-forming, toxic cyanobacterium, Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii exhibits global distribution. In recent years both the occurrence and dominance of this species, particularly in temperate regions, has increased. Whilst this may be due to increased sensitivity of analytical detection methods or more rigorous sampling routines, it is possible that this expansion has been assisted by a number of changing conditions in these environments. The geographical expansion of both the organism and toxin production can be attributed to phenomena such as eutrophication and climate change. In this review, we discuss the occurrence of C. raciborskii with respect to current literature against the backdrop of increasing global temperatures. Critically, we identify a concerning trend between the geographical spread of this organism and global climate change.