A walk in the long grass: agriculture,aesthetics, and wildness on Hampstead Heath

Abstract

This article traces a battle over grass mowing and scrub clearance between local campaigners and land managers on London’s Hampstead Heath during the late 1970s. I discuss one of the key arguments in favour of maintaining long grass: its look of ‘naturalness’, which effaced centuries of grazing by sheep and cattle, as well as the extensive land management that went into maintaining this ‘wild’ aesthetic. The 1978 conflict over scrub clearance resulted in a widely reported claim that 20 dead bodies were dumped on the Heath annually. Here, I consider the reality of the claim and the ways in which frictions between local actors point towards a fluid and constantly changing understanding of what is properly ‘wild’ and ‘natural’ on Hampstead Heath. The debate highlights the degree to which both management and historical narratives of public open spaces are the product of complex negotiation.     

Land Conflicts in Informal Settlements: Wallacedene in Cape Town,South Africa

Given the history of South Africa, which has resulted in a significantly skewed pattern of access to scarce resources in favor of a wealthy racial minority, the issue of access to land and shelter is a central and emotive one. It is also a potential arena of conflict and social and political divisions. It is therefore important to understand, monitor, and resolve these conflicts. This paper is the first in a series of case studies, drawn from within greater Cape Town, which examine conflicts over land and housing and how these conflicts are being managed. This case is that of Wallacedene, a primarily informal settlement in the north of the city, which has been the subject of an informal settlement upgrading process. Different forms of conflict occur over the life cycle of an informal settlement. Community-based institutions form an essential component of conflict management strategies. However, there have to be checks and balances on how these institutions operate. Moreover, accurate, local level records of transactions in land rights, which are often informal transactions, are an essential part of land and housing delivery.     

Exogenous pressures and probabilistic assessment of risk and vulnerability of urban water systems in Ghana

ABSTRACT

Risk and vulnerability assessment of urban water systems can be extended to include several components. This work formulates a probable quantitative assessment of risk and vulnerability of urban water system based on climatic conditions and urban population growth. Climate change scenarios and population projections are used to estimate susceptibility to water supply systems’ risk and vulnerability. Quantile regression was used to establish the exponent correlation between the climate variables and population; and evaluate their consequential influences on urban water supply systems. We complemented the analysis with a probabilistic model to assess the robustness of urban water system that depends wholly on the climate for freshwater source. The study established that Climatic conditions, though uncertain, point to freshwater deficiency in the future. Moreover, population trends project a higher urban population thereby increasingly lowering water per capita and subsequently leading to doubtful urban water system’s resilience to the exogenous pressures.     

Contemporary tendencies in Colombian urban planning: the case of the ‘Planes Parciales’ in Medellín

After decades of internal conflict, Colombia is experiencing economic growth and urbanization. It remains, however, one of the most socially unequal countries in Latin America. Medellín, acclaimed the most innovative city, implemented large-scale transport infrastructures to link socially excluded areas to the city; new educational and cultural facilities; new public spaces and housing projects, rooted in the Barcelona model. This so-called ‘social urbanism’ has shifted local perceptions, though its socio-economic impact has been questioned. This paper focuses on the less analysed transformations in planning policy and management through two instruments: the Land Use Plan (Plan de Ordenamiento Territorial – POT) and the ‘Plan Parcial’. The research, based on a desktop review, interviews and site visits, examines the application of these instruments in Medellín, reflecting on how they contribute to achieving the aims of ‘social urbanism’. The paper explores the differences between ‘rhetoric’ and practice that are reflected in those between the city’s overarching plan (POT) and the implementation of ‘planes parciales’, focusing on redevelopment, urban renewal and urban expansion. Such differences mirror the deficiencies in the adaptation of the ‘urban project’ Barcelona model in Medellín, and provide the basis for a call to develop ‘social urbanism’ that is genuinely more socially, territorially comprehensive and inclusive.     

Urban Volunteer Tourism: Orphanages in Johannesburg

Volunteer tourism is one of the most vibrant forms of alternative tourism and a particular focus in Africa. Despite a growing stream of international volunteer tourists, African scholarship is undeveloped. South Africa offers the largest range of different volunteer tourism opportunities in Africa which includes work in community welfare projects such as orphanages. This research opens up debates around urban volunteer tourism in South Africa. The investigation is a case study of international volunteer tourists at orphanages in Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city. The aim was to understand the volunteer tourism channel to Johannesburg and reflect upon the impacts of this controversial form of volunteer tourism. The findings point to the strongly positive benefits of these volunteers for the orphanages and the children in Johannesburg. Among possible explanations is that ‘place matters’ and that volunteers choosing to work in the orphanages of South Africa’s business capital, a city that has a fearful reputation in respect of crime and safety of visitors, are committed to ‘making a difference’ in their volunteer work.     

旧城遗产保护制度中“原真性”的谬误与真理

通过杭州雷锋塔重建引发的争论,展开了对现行旧城遗产保护制度中"原真性"问题的讨论。通过对原真性的概念、国人对此的理解及其遗产保护制度对他的内化等论述,揭示了西方"原真性"舶来之物"内化"过程中存在的制度上、认识上的诸多谬误,并得出:对西方"原真性"舶来之物的不解,以及舶来之物内化,造成了人为的多解的"原真性"与多解的"历史",这是致使谬误的根源。而构筑于文物保护领域的"原真性"强加于旧城历史文化街区、遗产保护,则是造成旧城遗产保护与现实生活相背的根源。基于此,文章指出矫正谬误的关键在于:立足于本国国情,在大胆"拿来"西方之物的同时,更应强调积极的"内化"。     

Corporatist implementation and legitimacy: The case of privatisation in Swedish public housing

‘Corporatist implementation’ plays an important role throughout the Swedish rental sector. It is based on close ideological affiliations and adherence to common policy objectives among the Social Democratic government and the organised interests in the public rental sector. In this article, I describe how it works in rent policy as well in the programme for widened tenant influence over housing management and renewal In the mid‐1980s, however, the public landlord association invited a private company to manage and renew problem estates in public housing. The methods used by that company are examined and found to be in conflict with the objectives hitherto shared by Social Democratic governments and the ‘recognised’ interests in the public rental sector. I then go on to discuss the implications for the legitimacy of the existing ‘corporatist implementation’ structure, suggesting that a ‘de‐legitimisation’ of that structure would prove too costly and difficult for government Once such a structure is established, the sector's governability may increase, but politicians will find their range of options for change substantially limited.     

Conflict Analysis in ‘World Class’ Cities: Urban Renewal,Informal Transport Workers,and Legal Disputes in Lagos

This paper focuses on the disconnect between, on the one hand, the neoliberal aspirations to make Lagos a model megacity for the twenty-first century and, on the other hand, the precarious temporality of the present in which many informal workers weave their routine existence. In particular, the paper examines the corrupt and violent manner in which the Lagos State Road Traffic Law of 2012 has been adapted by the government to restrict the space and mobility of informal workers as a function of making Lagos a ‘world class’ megacity and ‘Africa’s big apple.’ Focusing on commercial motorbike-taxi (okada) riders and their association, the analysis extends to how one group of informal workers in Lagos are responding to neoliberal urban planning that impinge on their opportunities in, and rights to, the city. In this way, the paper illuminates our rather tenuous understanding of how informal workers exercise agency as they attempt to intervene in the unequal processes of urban renewal projects.     

Priority water research questions as determined by UK practitioners and policy makers

Several recent studies have emphasised the need for a more integrated process in which researchers, policy makers and practitioners interact to identify research priorities. This paper discusses such a process with respect to the UK water sector, detailing how questions were developed through inter-disciplinary collaboration using online questionnaires and a stakeholder workshop. The paper details the 94 key questions arising, and provides commentary on their scale and scope. Prioritisation voting divided the nine research themes into three categories: (1) extreme events (primarily flooding), valuing freshwater services, and water supply, treatment and distribution [each > 150/1109 votes]; (2) freshwater pollution and integrated catchment management [100-150 votes] and; (3) freshwater biodiversity, water industry governance, understanding and managing demand and communicating water research [50-100 votes]. The biggest demand was for research to improve understanding of intervention impacts in the water environment, while a need for improved understanding of basic processes was also clearly expressed, particularly with respect to impacts of pollution and aquatic ecosystems. Questions that addressed aspects of appraisal, particularly incorporation of ecological service values into decision making, were also strongly represented. The findings revealed that sustainability has entered the lexicon of the UK water sector, but much remains to be done to embed the concept operationally, with key sustainability issues such as resilience and interaction with related key sectors, such as energy and agriculture, relatively poorly addressed. However, the exercise also revealed that a necessary condition for sustainable development, effective communication between scientists, practitioners and policy makers, already appears to be relatively well established in the UK water sector.     

Are South Africa’s cities too small?

Are South African cities to small? Given the history of South Africa’s spatial development, one might expect that South African cities might be under-sized, and not over-sized as in many other developing countries. It is found that the rank-size distribution explains the sizes of South Africa’s cities but that Zipf’s Law does not hold for the country’s cities. The so-called q-coefficient was found to be equal to −0.75 for the 123 places with population in excess of 100 000. It was also found that urbanisation in South Africa over the past decade seems to have taken the form of the parallel (slow, 1.04%) growth of five large cities. Finally, calculating the “H-measure” for 19 metropolitan areas in South Africa yields an inverse H-measure of 11.3. This suggests a reasonable degree of dispersal, which would only be consistent with optimal city size if transport costs were low and manufacturing not in need of scale economies; two conditions unlikely to apply to South Africa. Finally, the primacy ratio for South Africa’s largest urban agglomeration was found to be 38%. This suggests that the size of the Johannesburg-East Rand urban agglomeration (the primate city) may be relatively too large, whereas more efficient growth may come from larger harbour cities.     

The interplay between formal and informal elements in analysing situations of role conflict among construction participants

The interplay of formal and informal factors in construction teams influences the enactment of roles and the individuals who fulfil those roles. With a specific focus on a phenomenon called role conflict, the aim is to explore if and how the interaction of formal and informal elements would lead to situations of role conflict. This phenomenon proved to lead to frustration, tension and employee burnout. An analytical model of role interaction was developed, which disentangles formal and informal elements that shape role interactions. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews, project documents and observations. Four cases of role conflict are presented here. Contract, as a formal element, and participant’s values and interests, as informal elements, appeared to be the most important factor shaping participants’ expectations and behaviours. The analysis in this study showed that if a participant who faces role conflict is able to influence the formal elements in favour of his or her informal elements, then he or she may experience less frustration. At a more general level, the results suggest that increasing formality can increase participants’ frustration, which then would decrease the likelihood of collaboration. As the theoretical contribution, this research extends organizational role theory to deal with informal and formal aspects. Taking into account formal sources enables the study of how roles are institutionally governed while including informal sources allows for the idea that some of the aspects of the role, even in the context of work role, are socially constructed.     

三方代建模式下共同代理问题研究

三方代建模式中政府投资单位、使用单位和代建单位三者之间是一种基于两个委托人和一个代理人的共同代理关系。运用共同代理理论构建三方代建模型,分析委托人（投资单位和使用单位）之间的利益冲突引发代理人（代建单位）道德风险的内在机制。假设投资单位和使用单位之间不存在利益冲突,通过单一委托代理模型分析投资节余分成制度对代建单位选择社会最优努力水准的激励机制。通过共同代理模型分析和解释了委托人之间的利益冲突导致投资节余分成制度激励失效,进而引发代建单位道德风险的原因。并对三方代建模式的适用条件进行分析,为工程实践中的契约设计提供参考。     

An introductory description of the Lesotho highlands water project, emphasizing implementation of phase IA

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is one of the world's most ambitious multipurpose water schemes now in progress. Its sheer magnitude and ingenious engineering concepts have captured the imagination of engineers all over the world. This is an introductory overview of the project that will transfer water from the high-rainfall, high-runoff mountains of Lesotho to the thirsty industrial heartland of South Africa.     

Root causes of conflict and conflict resolution mechanisms in public-private partnerships: Comparative study between Ghana and China

Conflict is inevitable in public-private partnership (PPP) due to the long-term agreement and multiplicity of stakeholders with varying beliefs and interests. However, a thorough understanding of the root causes of conflict beforehand helps to minimize conflict occurrence, thereby ensuring a smooth PPP process. This paper aims to explore and evaluate the root causes of conflicts in PPPs through a comparative study between Ghana and China. Further, the most suitable conflict resolution mechanisms are explored from the Ghanaian and Chinese perspectives. Results show that causes of conflict ranked higher in Ghana directly relate to poor governance and contract arrangement, whereas causes related to poor risk management and communication are ranked higher in China. Further, arbitration and negotiation are the most suitable conflict resolution mechanisms for PPPs in Ghana and China respectively. The outputs of this study inform international private investors interested in PPPs in Africa and China of the possible sources of disputes and resolution mechanisms in PPPs. This will enable international investors to develop strategic measures before entering into the PPP markets of both regions.     

Towards Facilitative and Pro-poor Land-Use Management in South African Urban Areas: Learning from International Experience

Few would argue with the proposition that land-use management is one of the most powerful tools in the context of planning, both in South Africa and internationally, with the potential to transform the urban landscape. Yet despite its potential, it has been neglected both in terms of academic enquiry and legislative reform. This has resulted in land-use management functioning as an undesirable and unwieldy tool that perpetuates the modernist ideals of land-use separation and sprawling suburbia, and most worryingly, the perpetuation of an urban form that is essentially anti-poor. This paper initiates a search for the appropriate criteria for a land-use management system in South Africa’s urban areas. We argue for a land-use management system that moves away from the traditional exclusive emphasis on zoning towards a more flexible system based on a tiered set of plans. This system must take into account and respond to the dynamics of the urban land market, both its formal and informal dimensions, and directly address the poor and their needs as the central focus of land-use management.     

Conflicting rationalities: implications for planning theory and ethics

The article argues that while certain recent planning theories have attempted to take account of social difference and multiculturalism, there is not yet sufficient recognition of just how deep difference can be, and how planners can frequently find themselves in situations characterized by conflicting rationalities. The article draws on a case of an attempted informal settlement upgrade in Cape Town, South Africa, to illustrate the gap between the notion of ‘proper citizens’ and ‘proper living environments’ espoused by the municipality, and the nature of the rationality guiding the actions of certain of the other parties involved. This understanding, it is suggested, has important implications for both planning theory and ethics.     

Ibadan

The city of Ibadan in Oyo State, Nigeria is one of the few large precolonial cities in Africa. Founded in the early 1820s and with a population today of about a million, it is a unique city. The emergence of British colonial administration in 1893 encouraged the development and coexistence of two physically and culturally distinct ‘cities’. One, a core inner city focused on indigenous customs and popular traditions and the other shaped by modernizing influences, drawn largely from the West. The evolution of the city's planning and policy features reflects this divergent development. Most residential districts, particularly in the core inner indigenous city, are in a state of decay and slum formation. The formulation and implementation of an urban master-plan to guide the city's development to the year 2000 has been largely elusive owing to the general apathy expressed towards planning efforts by sections of the city community and the conflict between citizens and numerous agencies engaged in the city's management.     

Changing collaborative practices through cultural interventions

After a parliamentary enquiry into construction industry malpractice, changes occurred in collaborative practices between clients and contractors in megaprojects within the Dutch construction sector. The enquiry meant that both clients and contractors were forced to acknowledge illegal practices of collusion and fraud. For those engaged in public–private relationships, a process followed of attempting to change collaborative practices. Three interventions in collaborative practices are recounted: (1) organizing personal networks between clients and contractors; (2) a competitive dialogue procedure; and (3) the right of withdrawal. These three interventions helped to change ‘first order’ practice, such as increasing mutual trust between client and contractor, supporting a mutual understanding of role positioning and dilemmas, and creating an understanding of the nature of the conflict but failed to change ‘second order’ practices. Two contributions to the understanding of project management are provided. New empirical data are presented on the challenges that public and private partners face in their attempt to implement new collaborative practices. It is shown how power is entangled in the emerging of new collaborative practices. The findings are based on a longitudinal ethnographic study of public–private collaboration in the Dutch construction industry in the period 2006–11.     

Novel vibration-based technique for detecting water pipeline leakage

Exacerbating the imbalance between demand for freshwater and available water resources is the sub-optimal performance of water distribution systems, which are plagued with leaks that cause significant losses of treated freshwater. This paper presents an approach for leak detection that involves continuous monitoring of the changes in the correlation between surface acceleration measured at discrete locations along the pipeline length. A metric called leak detection index is formulated based on cross-spectral density of measured pipe surface accelerations for detecting the onset and assessing the severity of leaks. The proposed non-invasive approach requires minimal human intervention and works under normal operating conditions of the pipeline system without causing any operational disturbances. The approach is demonstrated on a 76 mm diameter polyvinyl chloride pipeline test system considering varying leak severities. The preliminary results presented in this paper seem promising and lead to several interesting questions that will require further research.