POLITICS, ECONOMICS AND DEFENSE POLICY

Books reviewed in this articles:
Ian F. W. Beckett and John Gooch (eds.), Politicians and Defense; Studies in the Formulation of British Defense Policy
Gavin Kennedy, Defense Economies     

PROBLEMS IN POLICY ANALYSIS AND URBAN GOVERNMENT

Malcolm C. Getz, The Economics of the Urban Fire Department
Robert K. Yin, Changing Urban Bureaucracies
Pietro S. Nivola, The Urban Service Problem     

城市广场:城市制约中的空间政治

现代性的线性时间维度向后现代的空间转向,是一种典型的文化表征。城市广场,作为当代城市生活转向空间存在的"第二自然"。它开始成为一种超越空间二元对立模式划分的"异位空间",并具有了特定的空间文化意味与空间政治学色彩。即城市广场的空间狂欢、类民主化的自由集市和秩序失序后的再秩序化是其显著的特征。这些都使得城市广场成为一个具有后现代意味的文化空间。     

RURAL–URBAN MIGRATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT: THEORY AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS*

ABSTRACT We develop a regional model where, in the city, unemployment prevails because of too high (efficiency) wages, while, in the rural area, workers are paid at their marginal productivity. We characterize the steady‐state equilibrium and show that it is unique. We then consider two policies: decreasing urban unemployment benefits and subsidizing urban employment. We find that decreasing the unemployment benefit in the city creates urban jobs and reduces rural–urban migration since new migrants have to spend some time unemployed before they can find a job in the city. On the other hand, raising employment subsidies increases urban employment but may also increase urban unemployment because it triggers more rural–urban migration. In this respect, the employment subsidy policy can backfire by raising rather than reducing urban unemployment.     

西方城市更新发展历程和政策演变

西方城市更新大致经历了"清除贫民窟-福利色彩社区更新-市场导向旧城再开发-社区综合复兴"四个发展阶段,各阶段更新政策的历史发展背景、参与对象、更新途径和更新结果各异。通过比较不同阶段城市更新特征看出,西方城市更新理论实现从形体主义规划思想向人本主义规划思想的转变,城市更新发展理念在问题导向下不断发展成熟,城市更新运作模式体现政府、私有部门和社区居民的多方参与倾向。对我国城市更新的启示包括:城市更新政策演变与城市发展过程的关系,城市更新关注对象的讨论,以及政府作用和城市更新多方参与者的利益制衡。     

QUESTIONING A NEOLIBERAL URBAN REGENERATION POLICY

The present study traces recent trends in cultural policy concerning “cities of culture” in South Korea. The paper is a case study of the city of Gwangju, known as the birthplace of modern democracy in Korea. Currently, public input from below into the urban regeneration project for Gwangju is almost nonexistent, while most urban regeneration policies have been implemented from the top by elites who enjoy exhibiting their performances through constructing massive edifices rather than encouraging the preservation of such intangibles as historical significance through cultural participation from below. The government’s policy of promoting Gwangju as the “city of culture” in order to make it a hub of Asian cultural industry and tourism in the global economy is closely allied to its policy of economic reductionism of culture. The study suggests that Gwangju and its unique heritage would instead benefit from an urban regeneration policy aimed at establishing it as the city of art and culture for human rights and democracy and as part of a collaborative network with the heritage initiatives of international bodies.