The drone’s eye: applications and implications for landscape architecture

The use of next-generation automated consumer drones for aerial imaging and mapping is increasingly common. As a field that recurrently seeks new mapping methods, the practical aspects of drone imaging and mapping are most evidently applicable to landscape architecture. However, as a social art, landscape architecture also has a vested interest in the cultural implications of the consumer-oriented features of next-generation drones. This article bridges these professional and amateur domains of drone use. First, the article uses a topographically complex case study site to compare drone functionality against established imaging and mapping technologies. Second, the article interprets the potential implications of these applications on the practice and theory of landscape architecture. The article concludes that high fidelity drone mapping has the capacity to refocus contemporary landscape discourse from a predominantly satellite-based viewpoint to the site scale at which landscape is both experienced and designed.     

Landscape and the cultural politics of China’s anticipatory urbanism

China has seen a proliferation of monumental urban projects in recent years extending to lower tier cities. This paper examines the production of new urban landscapes in the Kangbashi New District of Ordos Municipality to assess the political economy and cultural logics of China’s current-day city-making programmes. The concept of ‘anticipatory urbanism’ is developed to interpret how monumentality in the built environment is aimed at foretelling new developmental futures promising to deliver power to the local state and prosperity to residents. The analysis assesses public responses to landscape transformations and discusses how speculation in the production of new city spaces generates conflict and crisis for the local state. Anticipatory urbanism is found to feed off government ambition and undermines sustainable urban growth.     

Bangladesh’s diverse and complex physical geography: implications for agricultural development

Bangladesh’s physical geography is much more diverse and complex than is generally recognised. The landscapes of piedmont, river, tidal and estuarine floodplains, uplifted blocks and hill areas are described together with the associated environmental hazards that currently constrain crop production in specific regions. Practical measures to increase crop production in parallel with the projected increase in the country’s population in the next 20–30 years are reviewed, including measures to increase the efficiency of fertiliser use and irrigation, and structural measures to reduce the hazards of salinity incursion, sea-level rise and seasonal flooding.     

‘Complexity and Contradiction’:The Italian Architectural Landscape

Italy is renowned the world over for its vibrant design culture. Yet for decades its architectural heritage has held contemporary architecture in a stranglehold, stifling the real possibility of realising innovative schemes in historic cities. In recent years, there has been every outward sign that this situation has abated: a growing number of municipalities are actively setting out to attract signature architecture, and a new generation of architects has emerged - largely educated abroad - who are unhindered by the strictures of historicism. Though, as guest-editor Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi explains, there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful, the situation is far more complex and contradictory than it first appears, as the passage of architectural advancement in Italy constantly stop-starts and is beset by some major roadblocks. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Between urban and national: Political mobilization among Mizrahim in Israel’s ‘development towns’

In the face of persisting deprivation, marginalized ethno-classes generally mobilize against their governments and/or against rival groups. Two key arenas of such mobilization are extra-parliamentary protest and local electoral campaigning. The paper examines these arenas in Israel’s peripheral ‘development towns’, established during the 1950s, and populated primarily by “Mizrahim”—Jews who migrated to Israel from the Muslim world. The public protest by Mizrahim in the towns has been consistent, though not intense. Generally, it voiced ‘external’ demand to the state for a fairer share of public resources, falling within the ‘legitimate’ boundaries of Zionist political discourse. In local elections, however, the Mizrahim raised a more militant political voice, focusing mainly on their competition against the large number of ‘Russians’ immigrants who arrived during the 1990s. Local election campaigns often transgressed the acceptable boundaries of Zionist discourse, by questioning the core values of immigrant absorption and Jewish unity. In explaining the different agendas and discourses, we argue that the answer is rooted in two related phenomena. First, on a national level, Mizrahi identity at the Israeli periphery has been ‘trapped’ by the settlement agendas of the Zionist project. The local election discourse, however, demonstrates the centrality of place for the Mizrahim in both their communal identity and political power. While the towns were created as peripheral and impoverished places in the attempt to Judaize the land, they have now become a significant, and threatened, ethnic and political resource. The external and internal discourses therefore combine as two key ‘layers’ in the making of the peripheral Mizrahi ethno-class.     

Innovative potential for development of Europe’s neighbouring countries and regions

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is intended to promote development in bordering states and regions positioned along a broad arc from Morocco to Ukraine to become more friendly, stable, and prosperous. The policy offers limited but attractive terms of association with selected non-EU members concerning trade, mobility, innovation, and assistance in exchange for the adoption of important Western features that comprise the Community Acquis. The theme of this special issue hews closely to the economic development goals of the ENP by examining forces and factors that underlie the ability of neighbouring regions and countries to acquire and exploit innovative technologies, which are seen as the key element of a successful ENP.     

Malaysia’s electricity market structure in transition

The Malaysian electricity industry evolved from a vertically integrated utility into a single-buyer model, which considered a precursor to deregulation and a competitive market. This study considers electricity sector reform in Malaysia and proposes a market structure for the industry. We focus on the single-buyer model and the pool model for the analysis with the recommendation on reform stages required to ensure a smooth and successful market transition. A smooth transition from regulated market into deregulated market will ensure market stability and sustainability of the energy market. It will also provide enough time for the market participants to adapt and transit from regulated to deregulated energy market.     

Zipf’s and Gibrat’s laws for migrations

This paper analyses the evolution of the size distribution of the stock of immigrants in the period 1960–2000. In particular, we are interested in testing the validity of two empirical regularities: Zipf’s law, which postulates that the product between the rank and size of a population is constant; and Gibrat’s law, according to which the growth rate of a variable is independent of its initial size. We use parametric and nonparametric methods and apply them to absolute (stock of immigrants) and relative (migration density, defined as the quotient between the stock of immigrants of a country and its total population) measurements. We find that both the stock of immigrants and migration density follow similar size distributions to those of cities and of countries. Contrary to what traditional migrations models predict, growth in the stock of immigrants is independent of the initial stock. Moreover, the growth of migration density shows a divergent behaviour, which could be explained by the lower birth rates of host countries and the reduction in the cost of emigration produced by the presence of a previous stock of immigrants in the country.     

Globalization,regional development,and mega-city expansion in Latin America: Analyzing Mexico City’s peri-urban hinterland

This paper examines the transformation of urban space in the peri-urban areas of Latin American mega-cities, further exacerbating the multi-jurisdictional political divisions that cover a single urban entity. This is against the backcloth of a sharp decline in metropolitan growth rates, absolute population loss in the city center, and an alleged “polarization reversal” of national urban patterns. It argues that previous approaches have failed to recognize that globally and nationally-derived economic development processes are often vested in these meta-urban peripheries. Using Mexico City as an example, the authors propose a new generic methodology that will allow for a broader definition and analysis of mega-city and large metropolitan development. Data are presented within this new framework that help to unpack the demographic, economic and land-use changes that are taking place in Mexico City’s broader urban area. Much of the contemporary vibrancy and dynamics of Mexico City’s metropolitan development are occurring in “hot-spots” in the extended periphery, which, to date, have rarely been considered an integral part of the mega-city. Yet these areas are also some of the principal loci of contemporary globalization processes.     

Emma’s Willow: Historical Anxiety,Mormon Pilgrimage and Nauvoo’s Mater Dolorosa

Religious institutions establish collective identities through the production of a usable past, and thereby provide adherents with a sense of heritage. This article examines how this process functions in a Mormon pilgrimage site, Nauvoo, Illinois, where not one but two competing institutions, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and Community of Christ, have established alternative narratives of identity. I focus on the thousands of (almost exclusively) LDS pilgrims who visit the town each summer. I argue that the presence of multiple interpretations raises significant anxieties for many of these pilgrims. In an attempt to mediate these anxieties a vernacular religious site, a willow tree, is employed to point pilgrims to a Saint figure, Emma Smith, Joseph Smith Jr.’s widow, in order to fortify an alternative narrative existing outside of either official representation of Nauvoo’s past.     

Deformation of the foundation and structure of Tomioka Silk Mill’s East Cocoon Warehouse

The East Cocoon Warehouse of the Tomioka Silk Mill was constructed in Japan in the Meiji era using technology introduced from abroad. Deformation of its foundation stones and the building as a whole was measured as part of a civil heritage geotechnical study. The maximum differential settlement among the 92 foundation stones of the warehouse spanning a total wall length of 233.4 m was 44 mm. The distance between the foundation stones of the eastern and western walls was 12.5 m, and the maximum differential settlement among the four foundation stones along the southern and northern walls was 13 and 19 mm, respectively. The measurement results indicate that the inclinations of the pillars were not influenced by changes in the elevation of the foundation stones or the presence of gaps in the continuous stone rows. The difference between the maximum and minimum elevations in the silk reeling mill was 33 mm for the 71 foundation stones along the total 325-m wall length. These results illustrate that the level of geotechnology at the beginning of the Meiji era was similar to that of recent technology, and the East Cocoon Warehouse has remained in its original state and location, standing on its simply and suitably built foundation for 145 years.     

‘Agitating people’s brains’: Noulan Cauchon and the City Scientific in Canada’s capital

Noulan Cauchon (1872–1935) was a founder of the Town Planning Institute of Canada and the Ottawa Town Planning Commission. He played a significant role in the planning of Canada’s capital city in the early twentieth century. This article traces the evolution of Cauchon’s planning ideas and their place within the Canadian planning profession, based upon his numerous public lectures, newspaper and journal articles. He was a close ally of Thomas Adams during the 1914‐26 campaign to extend town planning across Canada. Cauchon’s background as a railway engineer influenced his City Scientific approach to planning, which contrasted with the City Beautiful proposals for the capital produced for the federal government. This City Scientific approach became the dominant mode of planning in Canada after 1918. Cauchon produced a comprehensive zoning by‐law and many small‐scale planning schemes for the Ottawa area. Few of his proposals were implemented by the municipality, which deferred to the national government on most planning issues during this period. But Cauchon’s ideas influenced the early evolution of the profession in Canada and the redevelopment of the national capital after 1945.     

The fractal structure of Seoul’s public transportation system

We present a fractal study of the public transportation system of Seoul, composed of subway and railway lines. The fractal dimension of the whole network is determined for several years, indicating an increase of D, which is the actual fractal dimension of the lines, from 1.15–1.35. We also determined the actual dimension of the ensemble of the stations (1.50). We discuss the significance of the fact that the fractal dimension of the stations is larger than that of the lines and conclude that it could be a measure of the quality of the system. Our results are compared with those concerning Paris, for which the two fractal dimensions have also been determined.     

Study of Taza’s Miocene marl applications in heavy clay industry

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - The Miocene marl (MM) or calcareous clays in the southern Rif groove is one of the geological resources located in the region of Taza...     

The River Nile and Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam: challenges to Egypt’s security approach

There are increasing challenges to Egypt’s security approach to the River Nile. The river is under immense pressure. This paper examines the significance of the Nile for Egypt and the factors and problems of diminishing its waters. It reviews Egypt’s long-time policy on the Nile and concludes that this policy is difficult to maintain in the face of the present and future challenges. It recommends a non-security multilateral solution for the benefit of all parties.     

Community’s evaluation of organizational legitimacy: Formation and reconsideration

With the aim of delving into the legitimacy formation mechanisms used by communities to make judgements about project organizations, this research studied the local community and surrounding environment of four oil extraction projects located in three developing countries. The results of the cross-case analysis suggest that communities' negative perceptions from government and media can influence their judgement of organizational behaviour. Additionally, this research proposes that local communities' anticipation of the consequences of protesting against the organization can make them decide not to take any action. According to institutional theory, when community individuals arrive at a legitimacy verdict about an organization, their future perceptions will mainly be influenced by this decision rather than conscious consideration of the conditions. Accordingly, this research recommends that organizations aiming to recover their reputation need to adopt compensation activities with a substantial influence on the improvement of conditions. It is only in such conditions that communities will consciously evaluate organizational legitimacy. Trivial changes in organizational behaviour will only result in adding new evidences in support of the illegitimacy of organizations.     

On America’s Baby Boom Generation and It’s Social Problems

Baby boom generation is the larger than expected generation in U.S born shortly after World War II. This post- World War II phenomenon upsets the phenomenon which had been a century-long decline in the...     

Around Madrid: the continuing influence of historical urban development plans on today’s periphery

This paper describes the peripheral development that has occurred in Madrid over the last 16 years (2000–2016), a period split by the economic crash that occurred in 2008. The paper argues that the relationship between economic development and infrastructure corridors witnessed in this peripheral development is intrinsically connected to the nineteenth and twentieth-century plans for urban growth. While these corridors have some similarities to the Strip model for an automobile city discussed by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott-Brown in their seminal book Learning from Las Vegas, the Madrid peripheries enjoy a long genealogy that complicates any easy link to the Strip, particularly around issues of economic speculation, typology and image-making or imagining, which will be introduced using the work of Michael Neuman and others. The research design adopted examines the treatment of the periphery in a number of historical plans, particularly their attitudes towards infrastructure and economic development, in order to establish connections between those historical plans and the city’s planned and (partially) realized peripheral development today.