Ten compactness properties of circles: measuring shape in geography

This essay sheds new light on the meaning and measurement of compactness—one of the most intriguing and least‐understood properties of geographic shapes. We articulate a unified theoretical foundation for the study of shape compactness that rests on two simple observations: First, that the circle is the most compact of shapes. And second, that there are 10—and possibly more—distinct geometrical properties of the circle that make it the most compact of shapes. We introduce these 10 properties, illustrate them with real‐world examples and define indices associated with these properties that can be calculated using a geographic information system.     

Twenty‐first Century Industrial Policy in a Small Developing Country: The Challenges of Reviving Manufacturing in Rwanda

The Rwandan government — widely lauded for its political commitment to development — has refocused its efforts on reviving growth in the manufacturing sector. This article examines how pressures from different levels — international, regional and domestic — have shaped the evolving political economy of two priority sectors (apparel and cement). To achieve its goals of manufacturing sector growth, the Rwandan government aims to access foreign markets (on preferential terms) and larger regional markets while developing effective state–business relationships with locally based firms. Despite the government's political commitment to reviving its manufacturing sector, its strategy has been both shaped and impeded by shifting pressures at the international level (through Rwanda's recent suspension from the African Growth and Opportunity Act), the regional level (through competition from regional firms) and the domestic level (through over‐reliance on single firms). Within the current industrial policy literature, there is limited reflection on how developing countries are dealing with the multi‐scalar challenges of enacting industrial policy in a much‐changed global trading environment. This article contributes to the industrial policy literature by addressing this lacuna.     

Resilience in the Light of Climate Change: Useful Approach or Empty Phrase for Spatial Planning?

In the context of adaptation to climate change and spatial planning, the idea of urban and regional resilience has been attracting increasing attention because it recognizes both the given uncertainty of climate change and the complexity of cities and regions. Even if initial attempts have been made to operationalize the concept of resilience, a gap exists between the intense theoretical discussion and the use of resilience thinking in planning practice. On the basis of a discussion of existing attempts that define resilience principles, the authors derive eight principles for urban and regional resilience: diversity, redundancy, flexibility and adaptability, modularity, interdependency, stabilizing and buffering factors, mobility, as well as planning and foresight. Referring to two exploratory studies—the City and Region of Stockholm (Sweden) and the City and Region of Rostock (Germany)—this article aims to explore whether spatial planning already contributes to these principles and so to build resilience. The analysis shows that spatial planning already contributes to urban and regional resilience. Also, the principles, as suggested here, can be used to operationalize the idea of resilience. Prospectively, such principles may support spatial planning to choose adaptation measures and specific objectives and to contribute to urban and regional resilience.     

Regional Strategies for Renewable Energies: Development Processes in Greater Manchester

Making the transition to renewable, low-carbon forms of energy could be the defining question of our times. Especially for complex problems such as energy supply the regional scale and new forms of control, coordination and cooperation—subsumed under the term regional governance—are widely discussed both in politics (e.g. G8 conferences, Climate Summits, etc.) and academia. The turn from conventional to renewable energies is one major topic of discussion. For this process of change, regional governance can be seen as the best way to initiate it. With the help of a case study conducted in Greater Manchester, UK, this article concentrates on two points: (1) the development of regional governance arrangements in the light of a low-carbon agenda as mixture of path-dependent bottom-up and top-down approaches and (2) the impacts of specific constellations and environments for regional energy development that include institutional rules, strategic behaviour of actors and strategic discourses. This article shows that the integration of a regional governance structure into the strategic development process can achieve a substantial qualitative improvement for the development of a regional energy strategy.     

Economic development and industrial policy in Baden — Württemberg: Small firms in a benevolent environment

Baden‐Württemberg is one of the strongest regional economies in Germany. Quite commonly, its success is explained by the technological competence of its industry, by the flexibility and ingenuity of its many small and medium‐sized firms, and by the impact of an active industrial policy. Today, however, the region has to cope with severe economic problems, and there is some evidence that these problems — at least partially — are due to its praised specific industry structure. On the other hand, there is reason to believe that the region will manage the required structural adjustment — not at least because of its well developed institutional profile. Thus, although the story of success of Baden‐Württemberg has to be revised somewhat, there are lessons to be learned with regard to industrial policy and the promotion of (regional) economic development.     

Multinational Knowledge Strategies,Policy and the Upgrading Process of Regions: Revisiting the Automotive Industry in Ostrava and Shanghai

This paper revisits how and why new multinational knowledge-based strategies and multi-level governmental policies influence the upgrading process of regions in developing economies. Automotive multinationals traditionally exploited local asset conditions, but it is shown that they have also been contributing to knowledge-generation systems via investments in R&D centres and cooperation with regional knowledge producers. We discern three elements of the upgrading process of regions—upgrading of domestic firms, subsidiary evolution and establishment of strategic relations with local knowledge institutes—to analyse two case studies: Ostrava (Czech Republic) and Shanghai (China). The cases show that all types of upgrading—product, process, chain and functional—have taken place in the last years, and that follow sourcing may have a positive impact on regional upgrading. These observations provide lessons for governments in developing economies which aim to strengthen innovation-based regional development.     

Innovating in Cluster/Cluster as Innovation: The Case of the Biotechvalley Cluster Initiative

It has been noted that innovation seems to take place to a higher degree in clusters than elsewhere and we have lately seen a worldwide wave of emerging cluster initiatives and similar innovation policy projects. Some of these are realistic efforts based on existing regional strengths and partly existing cluster structures. Most, however, are grasping at straws. The latter is especially true when it comes to technologies such as IT and biotech. We could subsequently add a new label—“pathetic clusters”—to the already existing list of embryonic, emerging, world-class or stagnating clusters. But what do we make of such “pathetic clusters” (are they really pathetic)? Although economic geographers often tend to explain innovation (competitiveness) by looking at cluster dynamics, in such accounts, the cluster concept itself can actually function as an innovation, imposing similar effects on the economy as more familiar types of innovation would, i.e. by creating a local competitive edge. It is reasonable to believe that if “pathetic clusters” play important roles in regional economies, then they do so in the form of social and organizational innovations rather than as Porterian drivers of innovation and industrial dynamics on a large scale. This function of the cluster concept—as a local innovation—is the focus of the paper at hand.     

The Information—Gradient Method in Geographical Regionalization

In terms of information theory, homogeneous regions are viewed as areas in which an observer is likely to gain little new information in terms of a selected parameter or set of parameters as he moves about the region. The values of the parameter would be significantly different in an adjoining region. Adjoining points with significantly different parametric values would lie in different regions. The boundary between regions would be drawn in places where the observer would gain a maximum of new information within a unit distance. A mathematical procedure is developed to measure the gain of information along a set of profile lines drawn through a study area. A maximum information increment within a given interval is interpreted as marking a regional boundary. A minimum gain is interpreted as designating the regional core. The technique is illustrated with particular reference to the delimitation of landscape regions. Landscape boundaries identified by the information—gradient technique are found to come close to boundaries delimited by conventional means on the basis of photo interpretation.     

Modeling the effect of mandatory district compactness on partisan gerrymanders

Geographic compactness standards have been offered as neutral and effective standards constraining redistricting. In this paper, we test this allegation. Redistricting is treated as a combinatoric optimization problem that is constrained by compactness rules. Computer models are used to analyze the results of applying compactness standards when political groups are geographically concentrated. Several population models are used to generate populations of voters, and arbitrary plans are created with combinatoric optimization algorithms. We find that compactness standards can be used to limit gerrymandering, but only if such standards require severe compactness. Compactness standards are not politically neutral—a geographically concentrated minority party will be affected by compactness standards much differently than a party supported by a geographically diffuse population. The particular effects of compactness standards depend on the institutional mechanism that creates districts.     

REGIONAL PLANNING IN THE USSR

The theory and practice of drawing up and implementing regional plans, or “territorial plans,” as they are known in the Soviet Union, has been a matter of considerable debate in the Soviet literature, a debate that has been complicated by differences in terminology. The author discusses various Soviet definitions of “territorial planning” and points out disagreement concerning its nature and scope. The major forms of territorial planning as now practiced in the USSR are reviewed, and two forms in particular—regional economic planning and regional physical planning—are distinguished. It is concluded that territorial planning continues to have a somewhat uncertain status in the USSR, with inadequate official support, although the issue remains a matter of considerable interest to the leadership under the Gorbachev administration.     

The Territorial Structural Organization of the Productive Forces of Kazakhstan

The future economic development of Kazakhstan and its problems are discussed in terms of localized, technologically integrated production complexes, such as industrial districts and nodes or agrarian-industrial complexes, which in turn are combined into broader regional complexes. Five such regional complexes are distinguished—North, West, Center, South, East—and the present state of the economy and the problems of future development are discussed.     

Innovation Networks and Regional Development—Evidence from the European Regional Innovation Survey (ERIS): Theoretical Concepts,Methodological Approach,Empirical Basis and Introduction to the Theme Issue

A general consensus exists in the debate on innovation-oriented regional development, in which cooperation in innovation between manufacturing firms, service firms and research institutions continues to grow in importance with respect to business success and the economic performance of a region—at least for some region types. The academic discussion, thus far, has been shaped by a large number of outstanding theoretical studies focusing on this topic from the perspective of the innovative milieu concept, the network theory (spatial version), the regional innovation systems approach or the transaction cost theory. Up to now, comparative empirical studies have not been performed evaluating the significance of innovation networks over a sufficiently large and statistically representative data set for the various types of regions. This is the goal of this issue of European Planning Studies, which is introduced in this article. Briefly, the basic concepts for explaining network-oriented regional development are described and the essential features of the European Regional Innovation Survey (ERIS) are presented—developed by a research team of German economic geographers and regional economists. Between 1995 and 1999 ERIS carried out three extensive surveys in 11 European regions with a total return of 8635 questionnaires, in an effort to identify, systematize, and quantify linkages between innovative players. The question of the range of such innovative linkages plays a central role in this analysis.     

Out of Sight,Out of Mind: Electronic Travel Authorization and the Interdiction of Asylum Seekers at the Canada–US Security Perimeter

In early 2016, Canada quietly announced the delay of its new electronic travel authorization (eTA) system, which will transform how millions traveling to Canada are screened. As with other parts of the developing Canada–US security perimeter, the announcement received little attention in the public sphere, which is problematic on at least two counts. First, it inhibits a better understanding of the distinctive regional governance structures that define North American integration. Second, it limits awareness of how the perimeter—by pushing decision-making from ports-of-entry in to points-of-departure beyond North America—enables interdiction, preventing asylum seekers from seeking protection from persecution in Canada and rendering them “out of sight, out of mind.” This article explores these gaps and effects through an analysis of policy developments and public debates (reflected in government and media documents) surrounding the perimeter’s emergence, consolidation, and—with the eTA—expansion since 1995.     

Balanced Bilingualism: Patterns of Contact Influence in L1 and L2 Turkic and Bakhtiari Speech in Juneqan,Iran

Most studies on language contact in Iran have focused on the effects of Persian on the country’s minority languages. There are also many cases where large regional languages such as Azeri, Kurdish, Balochi, Lori and Bakhtiari exert an influence on smaller regional languages, and a few studies have appeared on this topic. This paper examines the effects of language contact in the city of Juneqan in Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari Province, Iran, where the position of two minority languages—Bakhtiari and Qashqai Turkic—appears to be evenly balanced. The analysis is based on a comparison of L1 and L2 speech from two bilingual individuals with a different L1, as found in responses to the Atlas of the Languages of Iran (ALI) questionnaire. Drawing on examples from lexicon, phonology and morphosyntax, the article argues that the equivalent influence of each language on the first- and second-language speech of members of the other language community is likely achieved not by simple equal status, but through the counterbalancing of regional Bakhtiari dominance with majority mother-tongue Turkic population in this city.     

The Future of Collective Farms' Built Social Infrastructure: Choosing Between Central Place and Network Theories

The aim of this paper is to discuss local and regional planning and development practices in a post‐socialist country such as Estonia. Two approaches — central places and network theories — are used as a conceptual basis. According to the first hypothesis, planning and development of social infrastructure (e.g. schools, sports halls) has remained based on the central place theory — as an outdated planning approach — in Estonia. The second hypothesis argues that while, on the one hand, the application of the network paradigm and increased cooperation between local communities would considerably save public resources, on the other hand, because of the path dependency of Soviet centralized planning and development practices, the networking and lobbying takes place vertically rather than horizontally. This restricts both administrative cooperation and networking on the local and regional levels. The paper consists of three parts. The first part describes the turn in Western planning theory: the shift from normative top‐down planning to a bottom‐up approach and networking. The second part analyses critically the Soviet and post‐Soviet planning theory and practices: the planning and development culture created during the Soviet era. Finally we present a case study of a community planning procedure in the Suure‐Jaani locality — a good example of the influence of historical changes in the settlement system and planning culture of the past on current development.     

Regional Financial Arrangements in the Global Financial Safety Net: The Arab Monetary Fund and the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development

The so‐called global financial safety net provides backstop insurance during financial crises. The three elements of the global safety net — the IMF, regional financial arrangements (RFAs) and bilateral swap agreements — underwent substantial changes after the global financial crisis. How have these changes influenced their use? What role do RFAs have in the safety net? This contribution addresses these questions by examining the timeliness, volume and policy conditionality of liquidity provision of each of the three elements, using a data set of 50 RFA member countries from the period 1976–2015. The article presents case studies of the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) and the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD) to create a deeper institutional understanding of the governance mechanisms of regional funds. The authors find that today's global financial safety net produces inequalities in emergency liquidity provision. In terms of volume, RFAs improve the safety net only for small member countries — about one‐third of the countries in the sample can access sufficient liquidity regionally. The experiences of AMF and EFSD demonstrate that intra‐regional asymmetries of RFAs play a contradictory role: while the participation of large economies leverages liquidity provision, it simultaneously creates difficulties for the governance of the regional body.     

区域旅游研究十年:进展与评价

采用文献信息分析的方法对21世纪前10年中国区域旅游研究进行了系统分析和评价。研究发现,现有研究主要集中在区域旅游竞争与合作、区域旅游规划、区域旅游产业、区域旅游竞争力、区域旅游系统与空间结构等五个方面。从内容上看,现有研究与区域旅游发展的时代特征之间具有显著的相关性,"以任务带学科"的研究路径仍是这一时期的主流,区域旅游在理论建构方面并没有取得重大进展;而从研究方法上看,现有研究存在过度主观性和过度注重数理技术的应用两种极端倾向。文章最后指出,区域旅游研究应在继续遵循服务产业发展实际的基础上,从对现实问题的解决中提炼出具有学术价值的理论问题,保持对固有研究传统传承的同时,积极寻求理论创新是推动区域旅游研究进步和区域旅游学术发展的必然。     

URBAN/REGIONAL ECONOMICS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

ABSTRACT How does the research about rural economies in developed countries compare to urban/regional economics? What can the new generation contribute? This paper briefly reviews modern research concerning rural development in one country, the U.S., and reports indicators of U.S. rural distress. It examines the market forces and market failures that cause rural distress and that may limit the applicability of existing urban/regional theories to rural problems. A feast of uniquely rural issues that require—and should inspire—theoretical innovations in rural, urban, regional, and spatial economics are identified and discussed.     

Libertarian Paternalism as a Tool to Explore Strategic Sub-Regional Planning in England?

Across Europe, a series of revisions and realignments are currently taking place in sub-national governance structures. In England, this involves the creation of a new scalar construct through the dismantling of the regional tier and the creation of new sub-regional institutions. Through focusing on the move towards subsidiarity, this article considers the extent to which libertarian paternalism—or “don't do anything unless you have to”—and the adoption of some of these key principles by the UK government—can help to illuminate and explain such contemporary processes of restructuring and rescaling of governance. In turn, the article considers (i) the form, process and outcomes of planning practices within this restructuring; and (ii) the implications arising in respect of the democratic accountability and strategic efficiency of the new arrangements, and the interests that are being privileged therein.     

Federation Projects in Central Europe, 1848–1918

This paper deals with the less researched issue of regional federation projects in East-Central Europe from the period 1848 to 1918. Based on exhaustive research, primarily using original sources—works of the intellectuals who designed these projects—the paper examines the reasons why these federation projects were written, their historical-political context, and why these plans had to fail at their time. Similarities and differences of ideas in these projects are also presented. The intention is not to give a simple presentation of a series of historical facts, but to present some early ideas focused on regional integration, which, in turn, could also provide inspiration in the present.