TRAPPED OR ON THE SPRINGBOARD? HOUSING CAREERS IN LARGE HOUSING ESTATES IN EUROPEAN CITIES

ABSTRACT: In the first three decades after the Second World War in Europe millions of dwellings were built, in most cases on large estates in or near cities. At that time, many people in various kinds of household found these estates attractive and were happy to live on them. But, in the last two decades, in many parts of Europe social, economic, and physical problems have emerged and the reputation of the estates has suffered a deep decline. That is not to say that they have lost their function in the housing market: some groups might still be drawn to them—low‐income households who cannot find a decent, affordable place elsewhere, for example. In this article, we describe the current position of these estates in the housing careers of specific groups. Are there some groups who find them attractive places in which to live? Or do most people want to get away as soon as they can? Are some people “trapped”? We show that the situation differs substantially between parts of Europe, but even per estate and per household category. Our findings imply that intervention strategies with regard to these estates will have to become much more differentiated than they currently are.     

Residential Dynamics in Ethnic Concentrations

In many countries and cities there is fear that large residential concentrations of ethnic minorities will hinder integration and give rise to sub-societies that may eventually come to have little to do with each other. However, while governments develop policies aimed at spatial mixing of various population categories, the actual knowledge about ethnic concentrations and their development is rather thin. This paper intends to contribute to filling this gap in knowledge about ethnic concentrations and related dynamics using very detailed spatial data on settlement patterns in the city of Amsterdam. It focuses on residential concentrations of Moroccans and Turks and analysed the changes with regard to these concentrations between 1994 and 2004. In general no indications were found that one of these groups is consciously strengthening the ethnic identity of the residential areas they live in. Although the existing Moroccan clusters did appear to have become somewhat more Moroccan, the Moroccans themselves experienced a negative migration balance in those areas. Turkish clusters became even less Turkish and there was also a negative migration balance among Turks. Furthermore, concentrations within the 1994 boundaries were, in 2004, less Moroccan and Turkish than would be expected, given the developments that took place in Amsterdam as a whole. Detailed analysis of the clusters demonstrated no clear systematic increase or expansion of existing clusters. Analyses of associations with housing supply support the assertion that the residential dynamics of immigrants must be seen primarily as resulting from a number of steps in the residential career. Residential behaviour that has been described for the immigrant categories in question can be assumed to reflect a development toward integration.     

关于"济南自由城"和"设计师广场"

北京设计师广场和济南自由城项目有些共同的地方,他们都是小户型的公寓,而且都建在街面上,是商业设施与公寓复合的设施。以下是二者的一些共通点。     

北京冲击

北京冲击位于北京市丰台区看丹桥西南角,占地面积1.7hm2,总建筑面积10.3万m2,由4栋23层、26层高层酒店式公寓塔楼及大型综合商业组成。立面由黑白灰三基色组成,使建筑好像是黑白盒子的堆积,成为西南四环地标性建筑。开放式社     

Comparison of two-photon excitation laser scanning microscopy with UV-confocal laser scanning microscopy in three-dimensional calcium imaging using the fluorescence indicator Indo-1

Two-photon excitation laser scanning fluorescence microscopy (2p-LSM) was compared with UV-excitation confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy (UV-CLSM) in terms of three-dimensional (3-D) calcium imaging of living cells in culture. Indo-1 was used as a calcium indicator. Since the excitation volume is more limited and excitation wavelengths are longer in 2p-LSM than in UV-CLSM, 2p-LSM exhibited several advantages over UV-CLSM: (1) a lower level of background signal by a factor of 6–17, which enhances the contrast by a factor of 6–21; (2) a lower rate of photobleaching by a factor of 2–4; (3) slightly lower phototoxicity. When 3-D images were repeatedly acquired, the calcium concentration determined by UV-CLSM depended strongly on the number of data acquisitions and the nuclear regions falsely exhibited low calcium concentrations, probably due to an interplay of different levels of photobleaching of Indo-1 and autofluorescence, while the calcium concentration evaluated by 2p-LSM was stable and homogeneous throughout the cytoplasm. The spatial resolution of 2p-LSM was worse by 10% in the focal plane and by 30% along the optical axis due to the longer excitation wavelength. This disadvantage can be overcome by the addition of a confocal pinhole (two-photon excitation confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy), which made the resolution similar to that in UV-CLSM. These results indicate that 2p-LSM is preferable for repeated 3-D reconstruction of calcium concentration in living cells. In UV-CLSM, 0.18-mW laser power with a 2.φ pinhole (in normalized optical coordinate) gives better signal-to-noise ratio, contrast and resolution than 0.09-mW laser power with a 4.9-φ pinhole. However, since the damage to cells and the rate of photobleaching is substantially greater under the former condition, it is not suitable for repeated acquisition of 3-D images.