Social effects of urban restructuring: a case study in Amsterdam and Utrecht,the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, urban restructuring has been a major policy since 1997. Its principal aim is to improve neighbourhoods by demolishing or upgrading low-rent social dwellings and building more expensive rental or owner occupied units. A fundamental idea underlying this policy is to break up the physical and social monotony of urban areas and to achieve a mixed population in terms of income. The consequence of this new mix should be that people interact better and fully enjoy all kinds of facilities in the restructured area. This paper addresses the question of whether this new policy has indeed had these effects. The focus point is the role of the neighbourhood, featuring changes for traditional inhabitants while accommodating the newcomers. Do they use the area? Are their social contacts made there? Or can the restructured area be seen as a dormitory, where the residents have no contact with other people in the immediate environment? The paper is based on a fieldwork study undertaken in the cities of Amsterdam and Utrecht. Lessons for future policies of urban restructuring are formulated.     

Can global cities be ‘age-friendly cities’? Urban development and ageing populations

Understanding the relationship between population ageing and urban change has become a major issue for public policy. An emerging theme has concerned the need to develop supportive urban communities for older citizens. This paper provides a critical perspective on what has been termed the development of ‘age-friendly cities and communities’ by exploring such policies in the context of urban change arising from globalisation, urban regeneration and austerity. A key argument is that research and policies on age-friendly cities require stronger integration with analyses of the impact of global forces transforming the physical and social context of cities. This theme is developed by examining: first, the arguments behind the development of the ‘age-friendly’ approach; second, the pressures affecting urban environments, and their relevance for the ‘age-friendly’ debate; and third, challenges for improving the urban environment for older populations. The article concludes by discussing the need to combine a conceptual model of ‘age-friendliness’ with analysis of the economic and social forces transforming urban environments.     

Job-related migration in the Netherlands. The role of geographical access to employment in a polynucleated urban region

Over the last few decades, the Netherlands’ economic urban landscape has developed into a polynucleated urban structure. The resulting spatial distribution of job opportunities influences geographical job access at the individual level. This paper addresses the question, to what extent does spatial variation in job access within the Netherlands polynucleated urban structure influence job-related migration? First, it is shown that there are large differences in job access in the Netherlands in both the total number of jobs and in job levels. Scores on job access are higher in strategic residential locations in between the major cities in the polynucleated urban region of the Randstad than in the major cities themselves. Second, using data from the Netherlands Housing Demand survey and logistic regression models, it is shown that the probability of job-related migration decreases as the number of jobs within reach of the residence increases. The analyses control for both individual and household characteristics. The results show that strategic residential locations in between the major cities are as favourable as the cities themselves in terms of avoiding high spatial mobility costs.     

The relationship between satisfaction towards neighbourhood facilities and social trust in urban villages in Kuala Lumpur

A plethora of studies have surfaced associating neighbourhood elements with social cohesion and integration, indicating the importance of quality neighbourhood design and facilities. From macro planning of neighbourhoods to local management of facilities and amenities, most researchers seem to agree that good quality physical environment encourages social interaction. While Malaysia recognises the importance of national unity and social integration towards achieving Vision 2020, urban villages in the country have remained in a state of neglect. Commonly associated with longstanding traditions and socio-cultural heritage, these urban villages suffer from ineffective management, poor maintenance, and inadequate community facilities. This paper focuses on the ‘New Village’ (or NV), one of the three types of urban villages in Malaysia. Based on a perception survey involving 334 respondents, this paper developed a model for predicting social trust among villagers using structural equation modelling technique. The results support previous literature findings which identified satisfaction towards neighbourhood facilities as a significant predictor of social trust. Thus, there is a need to improve perception and satisfaction of residence towards neighbourhood facilities, particularly the commercial and educational facilities in NVs.     

Supporting or dragging? effects of neighbourhood social ties on social integration of rural-to-urban migrants in China

Abstract

Urban scholars have debated the complex effects of neighbourhood-based social ties on the economic and social integration of marginalized populations in the mainstream urban society. Studies of migrant populations in China have noted the existence of strong neighbourhood ties and solidarity in migrant communities, but few have examined whether strong neighbourhood cohesion enhances or hinders broader social integration of rural migrants. This article investigates the extent to which different types of social ties in the neighbourhood, as opposed to more social networks developed at the city level, predict more frequent intergroup interaction and stronger place attachment among rural migrants in Chinese cities. Statistical analysis, using data from a twelve-city migrant survey, reveals that, while the diversity of social networks does matter, the neighbourhood is a territorial anchor supporting, rather than dragging, the urban social integration of rural migrants. The findings highlight the importance of neighbourhood in China’s inclusive urbanization strategy and potential conflicts in recent deprived neighbourhood redevelopment programs.     

Sinks of Social Exclusion or Springboards for Social Mobility? Analysing the Roles of Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods in Urban Australia

For two decades analysts have noted significant and growing socio-spatial polarisation in Australia’s cities. Dominating policy discourse has been the hypothesis that residence in “poverty neighbourhoods” can compound individual disadvantage. Prominent here are concerns about social exclusion and spatial entrapment. A contrary perspective is that low income communities often contain substantial social capital and that accessing relatively affordable housing available in such places may provide a basis for subsequent “progression” in the wider urban housing market. Drawing on a household survey in four disadvantaged Sydney neighbourhoods, we confirm that rates of socio-economic deprivation indeed substantially exceed citywide and national norms and that the perceived incidence of neighbourhood problems is substantial. At the same time, results reveal that such places are far from unmitigated spaces of alienation and suggest that they can provide springboards for geographical and social mobility.     

Ambivalence in place attachment: the lived experiences of residents in danwei communities facing demolition in Shenyang,China

Abstract

This article focuses on the influence of state-led urban redevelopment on the place attachment of deprived and old homeowners living in danwei communities that are facing demolition in Shenyang, China. It investigates lived experiences through in-depth interviews with homeowners in the context of the pre-demolition phase, i.e. an inevitable prospect of having to move out. The article reveals how these homeowners cleverly mobilize local resources, such as strong social bonds, low living costs, flexibility on space use and good neighbourhood location to cope with their life constraints, which is translated into their strong neighbourhood attachment. However, various forms of neighbourhood decline have decreased their quality of life. Meanwhile, they soon have to move due to the impending demolition of their neighbourhood. State-led urban redevelopment, therefore, confronts those deprived residents with a dilemma concerning their strong neighbourhood dependence and their desire for better living conditions. The impending neighbourhood demolition uncovers accumulated social issues in danwei communities in the context of market reforms and institutional changes in current China, such as the emergence of deprived social groups and their struggles for better housing.     

精明收缩理念在美国锈带地区规划实践中的新进展:扬斯敦市社区行动规划研究

近年来,尽管以精简建成空间规模从而适应人口收缩为特点的"精明收缩"理念已经得到了越来越多学者的关注,但是其在规划实践领域的进展,尤其是在中微观的社区规划层面,还缺乏足够的研究。在收缩城市中,人口的迅速流失往往伴随着房地产市场的崩溃,大量房产出现空置与废弃的现象,并进一步导致了社区的衰败。如何在规划实践中对此进行积极应对,是目前国际收缩城市研究学者关注的核心议题之一。本文聚焦于全美第一个颁布"精明收缩"总体规划的扬斯敦市,关注其近年来为了应对上述问题颁布的社区行动规划。通过深入剖析社区行动规划的编制过程,以及实施中采用的两种政策性工具--税收止赎与法规实施,及其实施管理机构的运作模式,本文展现了美国收缩城市如何将应对房产空置与废弃的技术工具与社区规划较好地结合在一起,以及面临的困难与挑战。最后,本文就美国经验在我国的适用性与可借鉴性进行探讨,从而提出未来我国收缩城市在应对房产空置与废弃上的相关制度和规划改革建议。     

Deindustrializatjon,redundant workers and housing in the city of tampere 1

The article presents theories and empirical findings on social relations in urban neighbourhoods. It briefly puts the tradition of neighbourhood studies into the history of mainstream sociology, especially concerning the question of community. The overview of studies of locally based social relations is organized in terms of the hypotheses of urban communities as being lost, saved or liberated. The empirical material presented strongly favours the last of these. The article also deals with the processes of network‐formation and discusses the importance of weak ties in the neighbourhood.     

基于文脉主义的历史古城城市中轴线活化研究——以开封城市中轴线为例

城市中轴线承载着历史古城城市文脉的传承和变迁,活化城市中轴线对于解决城市文脉丧失、活力衰退等问题具有重要意义。基于文脉主义理论,结合历史古城城市中轴线失活的实际情况,从撷取文脉基因、移植文脉单元、塑造文脉空间、营造场所精神、传承文化风貌等方面提出了历史古城城市中轴线活化策略,并将其应用于开封城市中轴线活化实践,以期为后续研究提供参考。     

Residential satisfaction of elderly in the city centre: The case of revitalizing neighbourhoods in Prague

While the historical cores of the post-socialist cities of Central and Eastern Europe are adapting to the invasion of tourism and profitable companies, dynamic regeneration is altering the character of the inner-city neighbourhoods from working class peripheries to modern multi-functional urban sub-centres. Changing residential environments, landscapes and functions affect the daily lives and residential satisfaction of the local population, and especially of the low-income and elderly people facing mobility restrictions. This research evaluates the residential satisfaction of the elderly in two Prague city centre neighbourhoods that experienced dramatic changes in their residential environment during the post-socialist transition: the historical core, which has been exposed to massive touristification and commercialization, and a former working class neighbourhood that has been experiencing rapid regeneration. The local accessibility of services, public spaces, housing and social support was examined through a questionnaire survey. Contrary to our expectations based on the existing literature review, the results show that, despite the rapid revitalization processes, the elderly are fairly satisfied with their residential environment in both neighbourhood types.     

Hans Scharoun’s ‘Dwelling Cells’ and the autonomy of architecture

This article traces a genealogy of three Berlin housing projects: Hans Scharoun’s housing estate Charlottenburg Nord (1956–1961); the Siedlung Siemensstadt (1929–1931), planned with Martin Wagner; the pre-modern reform block of Nonnendamm, designed by Johnson and Josef Feldhuber (1910–1912). Whilst for Scharoun the inversion of the figure of the perimeter block of Nonnendamm through the Zeilenbau organisation of Siemensstadt exemplifies modernism’s radical break from the past, it is the variegated form or Gestalt of Charlottenburg Nord that verifies the essential nature of a dwelling cell, or neighbourhood.

By contrast, this paper argues that Scharoun’s dwelling cell is the result of a continuous trajectory of typological reasoning. Each of the key spatial components of Nonnendamm—the figure of the block, the façade, the ground and the void—are taken up, hyper-articulated and re-configured, all in the service of the coherence and differentiation of a segment of the urban population. This trajectory exemplifies how modern architecture’s impetus for experimentation is taken into the service of and propels the broader reflection across disciplines regarding how to house and group the urban population.     

城市中心区交通瓶颈问题分析与对策--以郑州市为例

伴随着我国城市化的加速发展,一些影响城市健康发展的“城市问题”相继出现,并引起了人们普遍的关注,学术界也纷纷出谋划策,探求治病良方。郑州市地处中原,在城市化的进程中,进行了包括环路建设、“畅通工程”等在内的多种建设与管理措施,保证了郑州市城市化进程的顺利展开。然而其中心区的交通瓶颈问题,一直未能得到有效的解决,在一定程度上影响了城市社会经济的发展。此问题在中西部大、中城市的城市化进程中具有一定的代表性。本文从城市空间形态发展的规律入手,对郑州市中心区的交通问题进行探讨,以期对问题的解决有所帮助。     

对现代理性主义的反思——“情境主义”城市思想研究

城市是由无数情境组成的。在我们日常生活中如何建构生动情境是赋予城市活力的源泉。"情境主义"的社会思潮在20世纪中后期欧洲极具影响力。面对现代理性主义的贫乏,"情境主义"认为革命势在必行,并提出"总体都市主义"、"建构情境"、"复杂空间化"的城市思想。该文通过"情境主义"的城市思想研究,旨在为当前我国城市规划提供一种新的思维模式。     

Editorial

As the Editor-in-Chief of"Frontiers of Architecture Research,"I am glad to see several papers related to urban design published in this issue.These papers explore the urban design theory and practice from different di-mensions and perspectives.Some work studied the rela-tionship between smart cities and empathetic cities.They found that the concept of smart cities mainly focuses on technology and efficiency.However,social justice and people-oriented requires more attention.This work pro-posed that future cities need to follow the empathy principle of participatory governance.Another work focused on analyzing the rational layout of large-scale commercial facilities in cities through digital means.Re-searchers from the University of Jordan analyzed pedes-trian activities'connectivity and visualization of Arab city communities form in Damascus,using syntactic measure-ment.Additional work pointed out that urban design should combine the physical distribution of buildings with the social structure,based on the gravity theory of the life center from Professor Alexander.This work revealed the positive role and significance in promoting the vitality of places and urban squares.The last work,in a very inter-esting perspective,describes the 20-year-design practice of a design agency in Nanjing,which partially presents the changes in the type,scale,and theme of Chinese urban design in different periods.     

Perceptions of Neighbourhood Disorder and Reputation: Qualitative Findings from Two Contrasting Areas of an Australian City

Within Australian cities, social and economic inequalities manifest themselves spatially. Perceived neighbourhood disorder and neighbourhood reputation are relevant to considering the ways in which social and economic inequalities translate into place-based inequalities. This article explores the ways in which residents of two socio-economically contrasting urban areas describe and explain neighbourhood disorder and neighbourhood reputation. It draws upon qualitative data from 40 in-depth interviews, in addition to quantitative data from a postal survey. The qualitative findings highlighted how issues of neighbourhood disorder and reputation were intertwined. In both areas, participants sought to portray themselves and their neighbourhoods in positive ways, by attributing responsibility for neighbourhood disorder to people who were unlike themselves, and by highlighting places that were perceived to have worse reputations and higher levels of disorder. The findings are considered in light of Bourdieu's theory of capitals. This article indicates that both neighbourhood disorder and reputation are pathways through which social, economic and health inequities are maintained in urban areas.     

Evaluating cities' vitality and identifying ghost cities in China with emerging geographical data

With the rapid urbanization of China, plenty of new urban lands have been developed with the great expectation to deal with all kinds of issues in old urban areas such as high population density, great demand on limited land resources, and decaying environment. However, a great proportion of vacancy in these newly developed units leads to the undesired observation of ghost cities. Lacking of clear and effectively evaluation criterion, the understanding of ghost cities in China is then rather limited. Considering the fact of ghost cities, we borrow the theory of urban vitality to identify and evaluate ghost cities in this paper. We argue that ghost cities are associated with very low urban vitality. In the light of big/open data, we are able to profile ghost cities of China based on 535,523 recent project-level residential developments from 2002 to 2013. We use the national-wide and million magnitude road junctions, points of interest and location based service records of 2014/2015 for measuring the morphological, functional and social vitality of each residential project. We then aggregate the project level evaluation results into the city level and thirty ghost cities are then identified by comparing the residential projects' vitality in the old (developed before or in 2000) and new (developed after 2000) urban areas in each city. Our profiling results illustrate the big picture of China's past residential developments, and then of ghost cities. We find the average vitality of residential projects in new urban areas is only 8.8% of that in old urban areas, denoting the potential existence of ghost cities in newly developed areas in Chinese cities. We have also benchmarked our identified ghost cities with existing rankings, the Baidu searching engine and night-time light images. Although we admit that ghost cities may exist in the particular urbanizing phase of China and that some ghost cities now may be well developed in the future, this study provides a thorough evaluation on the ghost city condition in China. This may shed light on policy implications for Chinese urban development.     

Forced Relocation in France: How Residential Trajectories Affect Individual Experiences

In France, an urban renewal programme was launched in 2003 with the aim of boosting social mix by diversifying housing in disadvantaged neighbourhoods known as ‘Sensitive Urban Zones’. Drawing on 121 qualitative interviews conducted in seven neighbourhoods in the Paris region, this article focuses on relocation processes triggered by the demolition of social housing. How are these socio-residential changes experienced by those actually being relocated? To answer this question, the paper shows how an analysis of long-term residential trajectories can highlight and nuance the experiences of relocatees. Three broad types of trajectories are defined as an analytical framework for a comprehensive approach of the meaning of relocation and opportunity held by households. It shows how forced relocation can either be a positive step in residential trajectories or merely an adaptation in terms of housing, whether or not the inhabitants actually stay in their neighbourhood or leave it.     

Making Children Matter in Slum Transformations: Lessons from India's National Urban Renewal Mission

This paper looks at two successful slum redevelopment projects under India's flagship urban renewal mission, which mandate citizen participation and inclusive planning to create planned equitable cities. It examines how children's concerns are addressed and children's well-being is affected in the best of projects. The two case studies represent different design and planning approaches to in-situ redevelopment: (1) replacing the slum with flats; and (2) selective infill houses. The paper, in discussing the planning and design process adopted by the two projects, seeks to answer the question: what can urban design learn from children's use and activities in the urban space of slums to provide qualitatively superior local areas, and from children's perceptions of slum upgrading and redevelopment?