Prehistoric land use and hydrology: a multi-scalar spatial analysis in central Arizona

Human land-use strategies involving the management of rainfall and runoff to promote crop production are found throughout the world. This paper presents a functional assessment using hydrological modeling with modern high-resolution LiDAR datasets and contextual archaeological site data to study prehistoric agriculture. The focus is on rock alignments created by the Hohokam culture in the semi-arid environment of the US Southwest. By incorporating a multi-scalar GIS study for terrain analysis at a regional, community, and site scale, the complex interactions between the prehistoric sites, features and the environment are revealed. The results of these analyses on digital elevation models (DEMs) gave insight to the past functionality of such agricultural features within the cultivated landscapes. The results included:1) The agricultural features were suitably placed for the collection of rainfall and runoff.2) The features were reducing the volume of water flowing through the area to prevent flooding and crop destruction and promoting soil infiltration.This shows the complexity and innovation of prehistoric societies living in marginal environments and how their adaptation to such environments was necessary to sustain their populations.     

Urban shrinkage: an unspoken challenge of spatial planning in Russian small and medium-sized cities

Shrinkage since the collapse of state socialism has been evident in many Russian cities, especially in small and medium-sized (SMS) ones. The Russian state, de jure, has been promoting the idea of self-governance; thereby, urban municipalities ought to develop and adopt own planning decisions to cope with various challenges, including those related to depopulation. The current research focuses on planning responses to urban shrinkage. It aims at understanding how the phenomenon is conceptualized in the planning documents of Russian SMS cities and what solutions are proposed to cope with it in the conditions inherited from the Soviet times housing and infrastructural deficit. The empirical evidence for the analysis is drawn from over 70 SMS cities located in Central and Southern Russia. Results state that despite obvious and persisting urban shrinkage, most of the reviewed documents ignore or underestimate the phenomenon. Instead of suggesting flexible solutions, which would help overcome the shortage of urban infrastructure not aggravating shrinkages’ effects in the cityscape, long-term spatial plans are being developed with hope for future growth proposing measures that contribute to the intensification of urban sprawl and fragmentation.     

Vote evolution in Spain, 1977–2007: A spatial analysis at the municipal scale

This paper presents a spatial analysis of the results in the general elections of contemporary Spain (1977–2007). By using electoral data at municipal level, we have traced back the evolution of the vote at high spatial resolution, thus providing a more accurate overview of the evolution of modern Spanish politics and offering empirical evidence on the nationalization thesis. We demonstrate that this approach reveals several processes that remain hidden when aggregated data are used, especially the clustering patterns in the smooth transition from dictatorship to full democracy (the so-called Spanish Transition). We found a statistical normalization process of the left/right dynamics with a growing number of balanced municipalities with a similar number of votes for left and right parties. The tendency towards a Gaussian histogram centered on a value of 50% for the left vote is an indication of political normalization after 40 years of dictatorship.     

Changing scale as changing class relations: variety and contradiction in the politics of scale

This paper argues that changes of scale in political-economic processes are often associated with changes in class relations, articulated by particular class projects, and developed through class struggle. Such ‘jumping of scale’ may be not only an expression of class power but a constitutive element of it. But there is no simple one-to-one relation between scale change and class relations: a particular change in scale at a particular time may have multiple potential class implications. This argument is developed by considering two ‘stylised histories’ within Western Europe during the present long wave of stagnation: shifts of economic governance from the national to the local level, and shifts from the national to the EU level. I argue that in both cases changes in the scale of regulation have been associated with shifts in class relations. But both upward and downward rescaling have been associated with (at least) two class projects, the neoliberal and the social-democratic. Thus not only have the scale changes been contested but the lines of conflict have been complex. The two histories are used to reflect at a more abstract level on the interconnections of scale, class relations and contradictions in accumulation. Developing an argument of Neil Smith, I argue that shifts in scale have been underpinned by a number of fundamental contradictions of capitalist reproduction and the state which open up diverse political possibilities. Class agents intervened into these contradictions, with varied political projects, partly through shifting their scales.     

Expansive spatial planning: the new European transnational spatial visions

Spatial planning in Europe has reached new frontiers. The European Spatial Development Perspective covers the entire European Union and, in spite of having an informal, non-binding status, it is creeping into the regulatory frameworks of the European Union. To stimulate cooperation between the Member States of the European Union, including the accession countries, the map of Europe has been divided into a jigsaw puzzle formed by large transnational areas. In three of these areas, spatial visions have been developed. Bearing in mind the enormous spatial diversity in these new European ‘super-regions’ and the great variety in planning systems, it is astonishing that these visions came about in the first place. In this respect they should be welcomed. On the other hand, the way in which they have been prepared could be questioned. Although they contain policy frameworks with an intended impact stretching far beyond the domain of spatial planning, they have basically been written by spatial planners acting alone. And although the mere idea of transnational areas was to a large extent to stimulate novel conceptualizations of the spatial position of countries and regions, the development of spatial concepts has proved to be extremely problematic. This paper looks at spatial visions for three transnational areas: 1) the Central European, Adriatic, Danubian and South Eastern European Space, or CADSES (VISION PLANET); 2) the North Sea Region (NorVision); 3) North-West Europe (NWE Spatial Vision). The analysis of these visions, following a common format, leads to some fundamental conclusions about the various principles on which such visions can be grounded and the architecture of the processes to be followed. The paper aims to contribute to research as well as to policymaking.     

Field-based learning: the challenge of practising participatory knowledge

In 2009, Geography at National University of Ireland, Galway, launched a new taught master's programme, the MA in Environment, Society and Development. The vision for the programme was to engage students in the analysis and critique of the array of interventionary practices of development and securitization in our contemporary world. A range of modules were set up focusing on a number of interrelated concerns, including “geopolitics and security”, “environment and risk” and “managing development”. These core themes are approached from a number of critical perspectives, including political ecology, critical geopolitics and political economy. A key additional aim from the outset was to go beyond solely academic critique to consider participatory forms of development knowledge and practice that can emerge from “field-based learning”. To this end, a module entitled “field-based learning” was initiated, involving a 12-week seminar course in Galway, followed by a week-long fieldwork programme in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where each year approximately 15 students intersect with the development work of local community leaders, the UN, EU and a variety of NGOs, civil society organizations and public advocacy groups. In this paper, we outline some of the key challenges of initiating and practising such a grounded and often unsystematic approach to learning in the field. We reflect, in particular, on the complexities involved in seeking to facilitate and practise critical participatory knowledges that comprise both academic and civic engagement values.     

Linking Agricultural Biodiversity and Food Security: the Valuable Role of Agrobiodiversity for Sustainable Agriculture

In developed countries particularly, biodiversity is sometimes seen as a phenomenon that should be conserved for its own sake. However, it has become expensive to maintain, especially in those countries that have the greatest biodiversity. There is thus a need to look at how conservationists and other parties involved can work with business constructively. Tourism is arguably the main industry where there are at least some clear mutual benefits. Despite the convergence of interests, however, different groups within this arena express reservations. This article outlines the areas in which much still needs to be done to ensure that conservationists understand the priorities of the tourism industry and tourists themselves, and emphasizes the need for increased commercial development within the field of biodiversity, not least through education and communication.     

Cooperative Housing and Social Cohesion: The Role of Linking Social Capital

Abstract

The article examines the role of housing cooperatives for social cohesion in the city by introducing linking social capital which grasps the vertical dimension of social capital. Housing cooperatives represent a crucial intermediate level between residents and urban housing policy, thus providing opportunity structures for bottom-linked citizen participation. Drawing on the case of Vienna, a large-scale household survey and interviews with key informants provide empirical evidence on the importance of a form of social capital which links actors at different levels in the spatial hierarchy: residents, housing managers and political decision-makers. The findings add to our understanding of the opportunities and problems with resident participation in a policy field structured by multi-level governance. Our two-level analysis shows that the dominant model of governance, top-down as well as neoliberal, has structurally limited the room for participatory practices in cooperative housing. Nevertheless, we argue that professional housing cooperatives have a potential to give residents a voice beyond the neighbourhood. Their strong linkages with public decision-makers at different scales can help leverage ideas and resources of residents.     

Iran's nuclear challenge: nine years and counting

The technical and political evidence that Iran is seeking to establish a ‘nuclear hedging’ capability has gradually increased over the past nine years. The regime in Tehran has continued to insist that its nuclear ambitions are purely civilian in nature and it has resisted the international community's dual‐track policy, encompassing both negotiations and sanctions, to persuade Iran to be fully transparent about its nuclear activities and plans, and to suspend work related to uranium enrichment and plutonium separation. While the prospects for a negotiated solution currently appear slim, the regime does not yet appear to have decided whether, or when, to produce nuclear weapons and to break out of the Nuclear Non‐Proliferation Treaty. It is essential, therefore, to maintain and if necessary to build up the pressure on Iran and to strengthen efforts to disrupt its procurement of technology and materials for its nuclear programme. It is also imperative for the international community to maintain negotiations and also consider alternative diplomatic approaches to enhance the prospects of keeping Iran focused purely on civil nuclear ambitions, while at the same time resolving questions related to the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear programme.