People,transport systems,and the urban scene: an overview—I

This paper—which is divided into two parts—examines the problem of transport in towns, with particular relevance to the relationship between the motor vehicle and the urban environment.

This, the first part, briefly traces the development of urban transport to the situation where it is today. In so doing particular attention is paid to the motor car, and to its effects on the environment, after which discussion is turned toward how best to reconcile the quality of life in urban areas with long‐term land use and transport developments. Future developments in relation to transport in towns are discussed at length, and it is concluded that no radical developments in movement technology are likely within the foreseeable future.     

Modelling and instrumentation of the storm overflows of the combined sewer system of Sélestat

For several years now, combined sewer overflows (CSOs) have been subject to regulations relating to the monitoring of discharge. This paper shows that ultrasound instrumentation of CSOs is both fundamentally possible and practically useful. The contribution of 1D and 3D modelling is necessary to select the location of sensors and to determine the overflow law. Current modelling tools are sufficiently developed to characterize the hydraulic phenomena involved in such storm overflows. Simulation results allow instrumentation to be relevant for both the installation of sensors and the processing of results.     

Partition of pollution between dissolved and particulate phases: what about emerging substances in urban stormwater catchments?

This paper presents results about the occurrence, the concentrations of urban priority substances on both the dissolved and the particulate phases in stormwater. Samples were collected at the outlet of a dense urban catchment in Paris suburb (2.30 km²). 13 chemical groups were investigated including 88 individual substances. Results showed that stormwater discharges contained 45 substances among them some metals, organotins, PAHs, PCBs, alkylphenols, pesticides, phthalates, cholorophenols and one volatile organic compound, i.e. methylene chloride. With respect to the European Water Framework Directive, these substances included 47% of the priority hazardous substances (n = 8), 38% of the priority substances (n = 10). The remaining substances (n = 27) belong to a list of others specific urban substances not included in the Water Framework Directive but monitored during this work. Finally, stormwater quality was evaluated by comparing the substance concentrations to environmental quality standards (EQS) and the particulate content to Canadian sediment quality guidelines. This showed that stormwater was highly contaminated and should be treated before being discharged to receiving waters in order to avoid any adverse impact on the river quality.     

“May the Force move you”: Roles and actors of information sharing devices in urban mobility

The innovation recently brought into the market for mobility innovation (by apps, social networks and sharing economy practices) impacts upon the economic appeal of urban areas and strongly influences the preferences of individuals in happiness, lifestyles and related aspect of urban consumption. Several sharing devices are nowadays producing such effects, offering innovative solutions to support the availability of mobility supply. They do so by conveying useful tools to the whole community of users, by proposing new ways of producing knowledge and services, and by favoring symmetric information in the urban mobility market. The paper aims to discuss the impact of these innovation devices in shaping individual’s mobility preferences, by drawing on a wide set of experiences that have introduced new technologies and shared mobility practices that provide significant information related to mobility. Drawing on a literature review referred to a wide set of new technologies and shared mobility practices based on significant information related to mobility, the paper draws its discussion on three analytical dimensions: the role that information has in shaping individual mobility choices, and how it may interact with individual preferences and needs; the varied forms of relevant mobility information made available by information-sharing devices; the many actors (corporations, public administrations, community groups…) who produce information collecting data and making them available in different forms. Drawing on these elements, a policy framework is discussed, to define suitable operational approaches to urban mobility that are more attentive to individual needs and more effective in terms of sustainability.     

“Glocalising” urban landscapes: Athens and the 2004 olympics

This paper deals with transformations of urban landscape in the era of globalization. First, it attempts to describe and understand how particular aspects of urban morphology, such as built heritage and innovative design of space, have become the competitive edge in terms of landscape. Second, it develops the argument that on the basis of their great potential for (a) promoting economic growth and (b) enhancing place identity of cities, both built heritage and innovative design of space appear to be expansively used as major components of contemporary strategic plans of cities for the transformation and improvement of urban landscape. Combining and promoting built heritage and innovative design of space as two central themes in urban landscape transformations generates, for the 21st century city, a new landscape collage dominated by two extremes: (a) that of tradition with rather local spatial references and (b) that of innovation having more universal or global spatial references. Thus, under the forces of globalization, the new emerging urban landscapes may be termed as “glocalised” ones. As a case study, Athens and the landscape transformations for Olympic Games 2004 are analysed.     

Contention for urban state space and the rise of society in China: A case study of “housing planting” in Hohhot

Existing literature has overemphasized the power of state in the theorization of China's urbanization and transition, and after the reform and opening-up, substantial attention has been given to the interaction between state and market. Comparatively, the role of society has been vastly underestimated. The paper selects housing planting in Hohhot to explain how local villagers contended actively with local states for and over space to increase compensation for land requisition. The contention has caused severe social conflicts, high compensation cost, and forced demolition, thereby threatening local states' land finance and development. Essentially, space has become a useful tool for citizens to preserve their interests. This implies that with the rise of society, China's urbanization is transitioning from a high-speed and low-cost stage to a high-quality and high-cost stage. Due to the changing relation between state, capital, and society, many pertinent institutions need to be adjusted as well. The paper calls for additional attention to the state-society-relation perspective when theorizing China's urban development.     

Grindsamhälle: the rise of urban gating and gated housing in Sweden

Sweden does not have gated communities, but this paper argues that processes of gating and the associated consequences are apparent in Sweden, particularly in metropolitan regions. Based on interviews, observations and analysis of previous research, the article identifies the rise of urban gating and gated housing. Urban gating restricts access to previously public land through material gating and results in a loss of the right to use-value of urban land. The rise of a new and exclusive form of gated housing associated with the lifestyles of the mobile middle class, referred to here, as the residential hotel, is spotlighted, prompting questions about the concentration of affluence in already privileged areas and the reinforcing effect of gating on existing patterns of socio-spatial polarization.     

Transnational urban spaces and urban environmental reforms: analyzing Beijing’s environmental restructuring in the light of globalization

In this era of globalization, ‘transnational spaces’ are being created within urban settings, providing a direct connection between the ‘local’ and the ‘global’. Corporate headquarters, hotels, shopping malls, and airports are typical examples of such spaces, which while located within an urban territory, are often conceived by foreign designers, developers, and manufacturers, as well as maintained by multinational companies and banks. Such local–global interconnection is giving urban management a new shape, as urban management practices are now frequently intertwining with global construction and property management approaches. This paper argues that, at the same time, a set of new mechanisms that may help to tackle problems related to the urban environment and infrastructure is unfolding. Starting with a conceptual discussion of the role of globalization in urban environmental restructuring, this paper subsequently explores the context of Beijing and the environmental management possibilities introduced in this city by global actors (through the examples of World Tower, IBM Tower, and ABN AMRO and ING head offices). Beijing, due to China’s recent economic opening process, provides an intriguing backcloth to demonstrate how transnational urban spaces—standing in-between the local and the global—may canalize environmental innovations from the ‘global’, putting globalization at work for a better urban environment.     

A combined experimental and simulation method for appraising the energy performance of green roofs in Ningbo’s Chinese climate

A passive means of lowering the energy demand of buildings is the application of green roofs. The complexity between heat and moisture exchanges in green roof layers and the large variations of green roof types make the need for experimental or simulation assessments necessary for quantifying the energy benefits from green roofs. The current treatment of green roofs in simulation programs is either over-simplistic, for example by ignoring heat and moisture exchanges such as evapotranspiration, or the more advanced models have limitations and require inputs that are rarely available in practice. In this paper a combination of experimental and modelling techniques are used to assess the potential heating and cooling load reductions from the application of green roofs in the subtropical climate of Ningbo in China. The method provides a generalised energy performance assessment of green roofs in Ningbo by overcoming the limitations of existing green roof simulation models.     

Urban aesthetics and the discovery of the urban fabric in turn‐of‐the‐century Germany

Approaches to planning that developed in the later nineteenth century in Germany (and in Europe generally) were challenged on aesthetic grounds at the end of the century by Camillo Sitte and others. By the turn of the century, practitioners of planning had embraced Sitte's views on a number of matters. Among the changes that occurred were an end to the disencumbering of monumental buildings and a greatly expanded interest in historic preservation. This was not simply a matter of aesthetics gaining more influence over planning practice, however. Sitte's desire to develop systematically the aesthetic dimension of planning was shared by earlier theorists, notably Hermann Maertens, who endorsed many of the practices Sitte rejected. Ultimately, the compatibility of the new aesthetics with more practical needs was crucial to its acceptance. The new interest in historical models reflected an understanding of urban form that enabled planners to reconcile their aesthetic goals with other needs.     

The “neighborhood unit” on trial: a case study in the impacts of urban morphology

The organization of modern city planning into “neighborhood units” – most commonly associated with the Clarence Perry proposal of 1929 – has been enormously influential in the evolution of modern city form, and at the same time has also been the subject of intense controversy and debate that continues to the present day. New issues under debate include social and economic diversity, maintenance of viable pedestrian and public transit modes, viability of internalized community service hubs, and efficient use of energy and natural resources, including greenhouse gas emissions. We trace the history of this controversy up to the present day, and we discuss new developments that may point the way to needed reforms of best practice.     

Topographies of the future: urban and suburban visions in Edward Bellamy’s utopian fiction

In Looking Backward (1888) and Equality (1897), Edward Bellamy offered two distinct but interrelated visions of a utopian future. The first and more famous book was set in a luxuriant, centralized metropolis. The sequel detailed decentralized, suburbanized infrastructures. Within the literature on Bellamy these emendations have been treated as evidence of regressive anti-urbanism. This paper argues instead that Bellamy used correlations between topography and technology to mediate an evolving approach to social reform. The discrepancies between the two texts did not represent abandonment of the city but rather an expansion of the scale and scope necessary to ensure social progress. While Looking Backward has often been invoked in relation the Garden City and City Beautiful movements, a new reading of Equality offers opportunities to rethink Bellamy’s relationship to planning history.     

Evolution of the “Golden Royal City”: Analytical study on urban forms of ancient capital cities in Myanmar

The historical cities in Southeast Asia with distinct characteristics are an important part of Asia's cultural heritage system and the ancient capitals of Myanmar are as an example of these civilizational achievements. Their urban forms through history are essential spatial carriers reflecting the traditional local planning thinking. However, the overall understanding has yet to form due to a lack of systematic research. This study aims to complement it by studying the urban forms of almost all Myanmar's ancient capitals based on verifiable spatial elements, works of literature, archaeology documents and field survey. The location, boundary and layout elements are analyzed to classify and characterize these urban forms, and their evolution rules are then summarized. Furthermore, the urban planning characteristics are discussed, indicating that the regulated structure and distinctive image gradually formed, accompanied by increasingly mature planning thinking and methods. The study reveals that the urban form and the planning thinking of Myanmar's ancient capital cities had undergone an evolution with its own characteristics and that the “Golden Royal City” is of unique value in the genealogy of Asian capitals. The findings will contribute to the mutual learning between civilizations and provide a scientific foundation for the heritage conservation.     

Paradigm of mediocrity: poverty and risk accumulation in urban Africa – the case of Korle Gonno,Accra

This paper examines how poverty has developed in Korle Gonno, an indigenous Ga community in Accra, Ghana, as a concrete challenge. This challenge has gone unnoticed until recently, though several informal studies exist in Ghana. By problematizing vulnerability, the literature is examined within Accra’s development dynamics. Through extensive fieldwork, the results show a socially stratified and highly dependent community experiencing vulnerabilities and the residents’ diverse coping strategies. Drawing upon the empirical data, it is argued that the lack of recognition of urban poverty (i.e., the raison d’être of slum) means many continue to be exposed to health risks. The paper concedes that the problem demands a multifaceted solution that includes more subjective issues like vulnerability and social exclusion, and objective ones like good urban governance and power relations. Failure to do so can lead to a downward spiral into extreme poverty that can affect the entire society.     

Modelling nitrogen in the Yeşilirmak River catchment in Northern Turkey: impacts of future climate and environmental change and implications for nutrient management

Recent research in catchments of rapidly developing countries such as Brazil and China suggests that many catchments of the developing world are already showing signs of nitrogen pollution reminiscent of past experiences in developed countries. This paper looks at both the individual and combined effects of future climate change and other likely environmental changes on in-stream nitrate concentrations in a catchment in Northern Turkey. A model chain comprised of simulated future temperature and precipitation from a Regional Circulation Model (RCM), a conceptual hydrological model (HBV) and a widely tested integrated catchment nitrogen model (INCA-N) is used to model future changes in nitrate concentrations. Two future periods (2021-2050 and 2069-2098) are compared to the 1961-1990 baseline period in order to assess the effectiveness of several possible interventions available to catchment authorities. The simulations show that in the urbanised part of the catchment, the effects of climate change and other environmental changes act in the same direction, leading to peak nitrate concentrations of 7.5 mg N/l for the 2069-2098 period, which corresponds to a doubling of the baseline values. Testing different available policy options reveals that the installation of wastewater treatment works (WWTWs) in all major settlements of the catchment could ensure nitrate levels are kept at near their baseline values for the 2021-2050 period. Nevertheless, a combination of measures including WWTWs, meadow creation, international agreements to reduce atmospheric N concentrations and controls on agricultural practises will be required for 2069-2098. The approach presented in this article could be employed in order to anticipate future pollution problems and to test appropriate solutions, some of which will necessitate international co-operation, in other catchments around the world.     

Icons: the making,meaning and undoing of urban icons and iconic cities†

This is a conference report on the 13th Australasian Urban History/Planning History Conference.     

Modelling the urban future: planning,slums and the seduction of growth in St Louis, 1940–1950

This paper considers the attempts by planners during and after World War II to forecast population change for the purposes of long‐range planning. St Louis is used as a case study to examine the social, economic and political contexts within which decisions about how to map the city’s future were made. At the heart of the problem is the adoption by the city of a growth model to justify a large‐scale slum clearance agenda at the very moment when the city was poised for catastrophic population loss. It is argued that planners allowed themselves to be caught up in the momentary crisis of a wartime population spike, ultimately ignoring their own frequent warnings about underlying trends toward population decline. Within this post‐war crisis of temporary overcrowding, planners made the critical decision to move ahead with slum clearance projects of unprecedented scale. Unfortunately, by the time their projects were complete, the city for which they had been undertaken no longer existed.     

About Les Halles in Paris: the leading role of the historian in the city (1960–1971)

The Argentinean Southern Lakes Region, in the north-west of the ‘mythical’ Patagonia, is blessed with a landscape of amazing beauty. Dominating from a small hill the shores of the Nahuel Huapi Lake and backed by the mountain range of the Andes, the Hotel Llao Llao, built in 1937 as part of a series of schemes of the then recently created Administration of National Parks, is considered to be the showcase of the local architectonic style (Fig. 1). The following study scrutinises the success of architecture as part of a complex process of ‘creating place’ in a wild and beautiful environment. The process includes the extermination and condemnation to oblivion of the primitive aboriginal culture, the colonisation of ‘desert lands’, the arrival of European pioneers, the foundation of cities and the imprint of tourism.     

Changing conceptions of “mandala” in tang china: ritual and the role of images

ABSTRACT

“Changing Conceptions of ‘Mandala’ in Tang China: Ritual and the Role of Images” is concerned with the intersection of visionary experience with visual forms. The focus of the study is a Buddhist incantation, or Dhāranī, titled the Revered and Victorious Dhāranī of the Buddha's Usnīsa. This particular dhāranī was widely circulated in China during the Tang dynasty (618–907); for this reason, it may be approached as an important case study for studying the conceptualization of mandalas in China prior to their transmission to Japan in the early ninth century. Through a detailed examination of successive translations and ritual manuals associated with the Revered and Victorious Dhāranī of the Buddha's Usnīsa, different conceptions of mandalas and the roles that were played by images may be observed. This, in turn, responds to larger questions in East Asian Buddhism and studies of Buddhist art regarding the functions of painted mandalas during Buddhist rituals. Lastly, this article seeks to shed light on lesser-known aspects of esoteric Buddhist art in Asia, as the scholarship to date on Buddhist mandalas has primarily focused upon studies of Japanese and Himalayan works.     

Running hot and cold in the urban home-ownership market: The experience of Japan’s major cities

Urban home-ownership in Japan was destabilised when the bubble economy collapsed at the beginning of the 1990s. This paper looks beyond the social and economic changes in Japanese housing in the post-bubble recession to focus on the ups and downs in current home-ownership markets in Japans major cities. Since the mid-1990s, social fragmentation has created a novel environment for urban home-ownership. The combination of a prolonged recession and a policy to promote housing construction and urban redevelopment has split urban space into hot spots, where the housing market is increasingly active, and cold spots, where the market is persistently inactive.