Axes of urban growth: urbanization and railway stations in Seoul, 1900–1945

The urban space of Seoul that had kept the structure of the Fortress and the Seongjeo Shibri for more than 500 years began to be transformed with the introduction of modern transport facilities, the railway and tram, in the early twentieth century when Seoul became the colonial capital of Gyeongsung-bu. The railway station buildings that were constructed in the main areas of Gyeongsung-bu mirrored international developments through taking charge of the city's passenger traffic and cargo distribution. They also influenced greatly the course of the city's urban growth. This article investigates the features of the urban growth of Gyeongsung-bu through looking into changes in the station buildings' role and into the construction of railways, which became the public transportation system throughout the whole Korean Peninsula.     

A brief history of time, space, and growth: Waldo Tobler’s first law of geography revisited

In the current knowledge economy, the most important production factor, human knowledge, is much more mobile than the dominating production factors of previous periods. This means that theories of spatial development, formulated during the manufacturing-industrial era, might not be wholly applicable today. One of the basic assumptions of spatial theory is formulated in Waldo Tobler’s first law of geography: “everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things.” This article discusses the validity of this law in today’s knowledge economy. While several factors have made distance less important, a crucial factor for innovation and growth—tacit knowledge—is still highly dependent on face-to-face contacts. This suggests that Waldo Tobler’s first law of geography plays an important role also in the knowledge economy.     

The decline of a homeowning society? Asset-based welfare,retirement and intergenerational equity in Australia

Researchers have increasingly recognised a link between homeownership levels and retirement policy, particularly in English-speaking welfare states. Housing is central to asset-based welfare policies, which may enable households to efficiently manage life course risks, but may exacerbate wealth inequality and expose them to market volatility. Australia presents an important case for understanding the dynamics of asset-based welfare, with its retirement approach combining high homeownership rates and a limited public pension. This paper investigates emerging generational differences in homeownership in Australia. Recent research has identified declining homeownership amongst younger cohorts. Using cross-sectional data, we explore alternative theoretical explanations for this trend. We find no evidence that declining homeownership reflects changing investment choices or delayed family formation. Instead, recent trends are consistent with intensifying inequalities based on class and care responsibilities. This casts doubt on the viability of Australia as a homeownership society and asset-based retirement policies in a financialised economy.     

Introduction to a special issue: the future of landscape characterisation,and the future character of landscape – between space,time, history,place and nature

Abstract

In any discussion of landscape characterisation the elephant in the room is the question of just what is landscape? Another way of putting this question is to simply ask: ‘How would you characterise landscape?’ What this implies is that there is a certain circularity in landscape characterisation because, through the very act of characterising landscape, one is also defining what one means by landscape. The European Landscape Convention’s definition of landscape as ‘an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors’ suggests a similar circularity because the character of an area, as it results from the action of natural and/or human factors, is dependent upon human perception, which is presumably also, in addition, one of the human factors acting upon the landscape. This circularity, or ‘circulating reference’, to use Bruno Latour’s term, is fundamental to Denis Cosgrove’s analysis of the origin of the modern concept of landscape as scenic space, and his analysis, we would suggest, helps explain some of the questions raised in this special issue concerning landscape characterisation and the future character of landscape .     

Economic growth and development in Macau (1999–2016): The role of the booming gaming industry

In 2018, Macau will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its return to China. The past few years have witnessed brilliant economic achievements as well as a structural shift toward a gaming-industry dominated economy. Following so many years of rapid growth, it is essential to take stock of both the benefits and costs of gaming industry development. Accordingly, this paper analyzes the evolution of Macau's gaming industry between 1999 and 2016, and evaluates the industry's effects on local economic growth and urban development. As the paper shows, Macau has exhibited many of the symptoms typically associated with booming sectors in small economies, and has witnessed the similar effects widely experienced by western casino cities. However, Macau is also faced with some unique challenges, regarding its geographic location, size constraints, and political factors. These findings illustrate the difficulties that have accompanied Macau's economic achievements, but also call attention to opportunities in the next phase of Macau's development.     

Regional density functions and growth patterns in major plains of China, 1982–1990

This research analyzes the spatial patterns of regional development in China through the change of population density functions from 1982 to 1990, using several online digital data sets. To minimize the influence of physical environment on population densities, the study areas are limited to four major plains of China: the Northeast (Dongbei), North China (Huabei) and Hubei-Hunan (Lianghu) Plains, and the Sichuan Basin. A gravity-based delineation approach is used to delineate the influen ce regions of 17 cities. Regional densities in China decline with distance from a city, similar to western countries. In addition, areas close to central cities grew faster than remote areas, described as a trend of centralization. However, regions with strong core growth are generally associated with stagnant hinterlands (‘core growth-hinterland stagnation’); and regions with moderate core growth are usually matched by similar growth rates in the hinterlands (‘spread through growth’ ). Received: 8 March, 2000 / Accepted: 5 September 2000     

The management of water heritage in Portuguese cities: Recent regeneration projects in Évora,Lisbon, Braga and Guimarães

Given the cultural and environmental potential presented by historical water infrastructures in urban contexts, this article states the evidence of a not much documented urban phenomenon in Portugal, the refurbishment of water heritage protected areas motivated by European-based regeneration projects. By employing a case-study design, four good practices -placed in Évora, Lisbon, Braga and Guimarães-are chosen to enlighten this growing and aware trend. The assets located there -the Água de Prata Aqueduct, the Águas Livres Aqueduct, the Sete Fontes water-supply system and the Zona de Couros industrial area, respectively-are geographical, historical and culturally characterised, while the projects that concern them are documented by visiting the areas and analysing the available sources. Then, open-data platforms and heritage protection decrees are processed to graphically code the topography, hydrology, urban land use, infrastructures, landmarks and protected areas, employing QGIS free software for Geographic Information Systems. As a result, the four practices are documented, discussed and compared. A table assesses and summarises their pre-existing and currently added values and a series of diagrams illustrates the landscape changes generated. These graphics validate the practices and update the status of the assets, enhancing the rediscovery of the existing landscapes and showing the main challenges and future opportunities faced by these areas.     

The effect of land use planning (2006–2020) on construction land growth in China

Land use planning is a comprehensive instrument for managing non-agricultural land growth in China, and the evaluation of its implementation effect on growth control is of great significance for policy improvement. However, little empirical research has been done to estimate its implementation effect at the city level of the whole country. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of land use planning on construction land growth control at the city level in China. Taking 288 cities as the research object, an econometrics model was built to estimate the effect based on socioeconomic and land use data from 2006 to 2012. The results show that the implementation of land use planning has a certain effect in curbing the expansion of construction land, and that the incremental amount of construction land decreases by 107,449 ha due to the planning implementation. In addition, the implementation effect of land use planning presented significant differences among cities, which shows that there is a weaker effect in megacities and large cities than in medium-small cities. Besides, the implementation effect of land use planning also shows temporal differences: its effect is better in 2007–2009 than in 2010–2012. Furthermore, considering both planned goals and effectiveness, planning implementation is judged to be able to slow but not fully prevent the rapid expansion of construction land. Finally, to further improve efficiency and success, this research puts forward some suggestions such as improving the existing quota system, delineation of the urban development boundary and integrating the special plan system.     

Does office space occupation matter? The role of the number of persons per enclosed office space,psychosocial work characteristics,and environmental satisfaction in the physical and mental health of employees

The study examined the effects of office space occupation, psychosocial work characteristics, and environmental satisfaction on physical and mental health of office workers in small‐sized and open‐plan offices as well as possible underlying mechanisms. Office space occupation was characterized as number of persons per one enclosed office space. A total of 207 office employees with similar jobs in offices with different space occupation were surveyed regarding their work situation (psychosocial work characteristics, satisfaction with privacy, acoustics, and control) and health (psychosomatic complaints, irritation, mental well‐being, and work ability). Binary logistic and linear regression analyses as well as bootstrapped mediation analyses were used to determine associations and underlying mechanisms. Employee health was significantly associated with all work characteristics. Psychosocial work stressors had the strongest relation to physical and mental health (OR range: 1.66–3.72). The effect of office space occupation on employee health was mediated by stressors and environmental satisfaction, but not by psychosocial work resources. As assumed by sociotechnical approaches, a higher number of persons per enclosed office space was associated with adverse health effects. However, the strongest associations were found with psychosocial work stressors. When revising office design, a holistic approach to work (re)design is needed.     

The shift to competitiveness and a new phase of sprawl in the Mediterranean city: Enterprises guiding growth in Messoghia – Athens

Spatial planning frameworks in EU member states have been increasingly supporting the growth prospects of particular metropolitan regions, deemed as regional engines of national economic growth. This paper discusses the shift in spatial planning policies towards territorial competitiveness, focusing on Greece. The country’s commitment to competitiveness was confirmed in the 1990s and was symbolically sealed with the decision to host the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Examination focuses on one of the key objectives behind the prioritization of competitiveness-related interventions: investment attraction and the locational traits of new business formation in the eastern Athenian hinterland is explored (1997–2010). The locational traits of startup businesses are analyzed by means of exploratory point pattern analysis on the geocoded enterprises, underscoring a sprawl-like type of growth. The proliferation of divergent modes of state spatial intervention is associated in the literature with an increase in spatial disparities. In areas with underdeveloped land-use planning structures, it is argued, competitiveness pre-occupations unsettle stated planning priorities and ‘revive’ arguments that approach unordered urban expansion as a short-cut to growth.     

Current distribution and recent development of sessile oak forests in Montseny (1956–2015)

There is a distribution limit of sessile oak (Quercus petraea) in the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula, with its southernmost populations located at the xeric limit for the species. We present here the current distribution of these populations in the Montseny Massif (N.E. Catalonia) and how the surface area they cover has developed over the last 50 years. Using a new high-resolution map (1:5000) we have calculated that Q. petraea currently covers 64.1 ha, and is found between 450 and 1150 m above sea level with a predominantly southern exposure, with the north-facing slopes being dominated by beech forests. With regard to its recent development, 44% of what is now dense forest was, in 1956, much more dispersed while 11% of it consisted of open spaces or shrubs. Such changes clearly show that, in Montseny, Q. petraea is well capable of regenerating its forest canopy as well as colonising adjacent environments.     

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.     

The organicists: planners,planning, and the environment in Czechoslovakia (1914–1949)

This article takes a brief look at the history of modern Central European planning, especially spatial planning in Czechoslovakia. It is primarily focused on urban and regional planners, planning ideas, concepts, and projects that can be considered ‘organic’. Several important planners (all males) who kept pace with the most current European and US trends (e.g. Vladimír Zákrejs, Jind?ich Kumpo?t, Bohuslav Fuchs, Alois Miku?kovic, Ladislav ?ák, Karel Honzík, and Emanuel Hru?ka) are discussed. The text also mentions some of the driving forces of the time, which had a fundamental impact on organic approaches in planning, including the institutionalization of urban and regional planning. Attention is also given to various international influences and the transfer of ideas that have not yet been adequately analysed. In conclusion, there are some reflections on the significance of organic modernity that succinctly express the atmosphere of that time as well as the efforts of the mentioned planners and thinkers. The main message is to show the close connection between early modern urban planning and the phenomenon of organicism, or rather, organic modernity.     

Inventing space in the age of Empire: planning experiments and achievements along Suez Canal in Egypt (1859–1956)

This paper presents a new French research project concerning the planning and architectural history of the Suez canal cities in Egypt during the age of Empire. Begun in January 2008, this research has been addressing two first topics: religious architecture and port cities as cosmopolitan locales.     

The travels,triumphs and travails of new urbanism: representational geographies in US newspapers, 1990–2012

This paper seeks to contribute to our geographical understanding of New Urbanism as an important reform movement by exploring its representational rather than physical experience within the United States. Specifically, we analyze US newspaper accounts of New Urbanism from 1990 to 2012, looking for broad patterns in how it is portrayed to popular audiences around the country – what we think of as its “triumphs” and “travails” across American space. We also explore the stated reasons given for these portrayals, without attempting in this contribution to theorize motivations, agendas or broader political-economies that shape perceptions of planning and design. The paper finds that positive accounts of New Urbanism outnumber negative accounts by nearly three-to-one. In addition to overall tone, the paper discusses the qualitative content of articles to establish key justifications and rationales for positive, negative and neutral framings. Further research might extend our findings by analyzing how New Urbanism if/s “framed” publically on social media and in other national contexts.     

The concept and planning of public native housing estates in Nairobi/Kenya, 1918–1948

ABSTRACT

Interwar public housing estates for native citizens in Sub-Sahara African cities, represent hybrids of global and local urban concepts, housing typologies and dwelling habits.

The authors explain such hybrids via exploratory research note as a result of transmutation processes, marked by various (non)human actors. To categorize and compare them, Actor Network Theory (ANT) is applied and tested within an architecture historical framework. Nairobi/Kenya functions as pars pro toto with its Kariakor and Kaloleni estates as exemplary cases. Their different network-outcomes underpin the supposition that actor-oriented research can help to unravel a most essential, though neglected part of international town planning history.     

Michel Ecochard in Lebanon and Syria (1956–1968). The spread of Modernism,the building of the independent states and the rise of local professionals of planning

The architect and planner Michel Ecochard has had a long career in developing countries, from its first works in Syria under the French rule, until the 1970s. He represented the modernist and functionalist approach to planning in a time of modernization. In this article, we concentrate on his work in Lebanon and Syria between the end of the 1950s and the 1960s. He prepared the master plans of Beirut and of Damascus. Those works represented the end of an era rooted in colonial planning. It was also the beginning of a new time, with the local planners taking on, sometimes sharing, sometimes contesting Ecochard's visions. Building on recent scholarship on the circulation of planning ideas, we focus on the reception of Ecochard's proposals. Though most political elites and planning professionals shared most of Ecochard's views, the political circumstances and the changing social conditions led to adjustments and reorientations. The new planning framework was also a major factor of change.     

The real estate ‘tsunami’ in Spain: the administration of urban growth in the case of Arroyo de la Encomienda and Valladolid,Spain

The ‘Bilbao effect’ was a key argument in the debate over Oslo's new opera house, set to open this spring. Geographer Marius Hofseth presents Norway's largest urban development project in light of political debates on the role of culture in urban development.