Waterfront redevelopment and urban policy: The case of Barcelona,Cardiff and Genoa

In this article, waterfront redevelopment is linked to the recent development of urban policy and to relations between port and city. This is discussed with the empirical study of three European regional capitals (Barcelona, Cardiff and Genoa) of different size, how the redevelopment was done and how the projects link with the development of urban policy. The redevelopment of Baltimore's Inner Harbour has influenced strongly the physical outcome of the projects in these three cities but it is very difficult to achieve similar success because of the differences in time, space, local culture, etc. Each case demonstrates that a strong market‐ and property‐led approach has serious weaknesses when heavy public subsidies are used for improving the infrastructure but the private sector has not been able to fulfil its part in time. The question of social justice of waterfront redevelopment is raised at the end of the article.     

The “New Urban Europe”: Global Challenges and Local Responses in the Urban Century

Modern cities in the open European space-economy are powerhouses of creative ideas, smart technologies, sustainable developments and socio-economic wealth. They play a pivotal role in the future of an urbanized Europe, but they are also confronted with grand challenges, notably far-reaching demographic transformations, environmental decay and climatological change, unequal social participation and ever-rising mobility trends. The challenges for urban environments may be turned into new opportunities, in particular, in such domains as advanced infrastructure and logistic systems, environmental and climate-neutral facilities, creative and knowledge-intensive strategies for socio-economic prosperity and well-being. Cities—and in particular metropolitan areas—may thus act as spearheads of sustainable economic growth for European countries. These observations call for appropriate long-range policy strategies for metropolitan areas—and networks of cities—in the highly diversified European space-economy. Such policy actions would need to be supported by solid, multidisciplinary and evidence-based research on the challenges and opportunities of urban environments in Europe. The main contribution of this paper lies in the systematic strategic approach to transform urban megatrends and challenges into research and policy concerns for Europe. The analytical framework employed to highlight and better understand such research and policy response in Europe from a typological perspective is built around four interconnected pillars (cornerstones) that form the focal points for identifying strategic future images that may be instrumental in mapping out the research and policy challenges for the “New Urban Europe”.     

西方城市更新研究的知识图谱演化

本文利用文献引文网络分析软件CiteSpace所绘制的科学知识图谱,分析城市更新知识域在上世纪末到本世纪前十年的发展趋势与动向。通过对城市更新相关研究领域的建模和可视化过程的再现,分析城市更新研究中的热点词汇的出现阶段与相互关系,分析表明城市转型作为城市更新的产生原因和动力机制,其相关理论和研究学派对于构建城市更新的理论分析框架具有重要借鉴意义;绅士化现象是城市更新在社会空间中的重要表现形式和作用效果;而城市更新作为一项城市开发活动,在经济、社会、环境等不同的应用领域引发了不同方面和维度的深入应用型研究。有关文化主导,去工业化背景下的新经济和可持续发展三个主题仍将在今后一段时间成为城市更新研究的主要方向。     

Flexibility in Planning and the Consequences for Public-value Capturing in UK,Spain and the Netherlands

In the 1960s, flexibility was often seen in planning literature as a negative feature, whereas today it is perceived by planners and policy-makers as a positive asset to cope with the challenges of growing complexity, opportunism and diversity in cities. The discussion seems to rest between two approaches. While planning should be flexible to facilitate a non-linear and multi-layered decision-making system, implementation should not be too flexible as the public sector might lose the controlling power and the private sector might gain increasing influence in urban development. This paper uses empirical data from case-based research on British, Spanish and Dutch urban regeneration projects, and provides an analysis of the effects of an important feature of flexibility on public-value capturing. Public-value capturing is the level at which public bodies manage to make developers pay for public infrastructure—infrastructure provision, public roads and space, public facilities and buildings, affordable and social housing—and eventually capture part of the economic value increase. This important aspect of flexibility is the level of certainty about future development possibilities before negotiations between developers and local planning bodies take place.     

Built environment and tourism as road safety determinants in Benidorm (Spain)

The rise in the number of urban road accidents is a challenge shared by all European cities, which seek to improve mobility while reducing transport problems. In recent years, urban road accidents in Spain have been constantly increasing and now account for a larger share of the total number of road accidents. This paper aims to analyse the impact of urban factors on road accidents. For this purpose, a small-scale analysis of land use and road infrastructure has been conducted in the town of Benidorm, one of the main tourist destinations in Spain. In addition, a regression analysis has been carried out using a Negative Binomial distribution. The results show that factors such as the level of mixed land uses, population density and road infrastructure are related to urban road accidents. The findings also reveal that tourism environments have a positive impact on pedestrian road safety. Small-scale analyses, particularly those related to exclusively-oriented environments, such as tourism developments, should be studied in detail in order to promote safety, liveability and sustainability in our cities.     

房地产开发导向的城市更新——我国现行城市再发展的认识和思考

文章介绍了西方国家关于房地产开发导向的城市更新实践(Property-led Redevelopment),以及相关的增长机(Growth Machine)、城市政体(Urban Regime)等理论。在此基础上,分析了我国城市再发展的实践。为实现城市经济增长,城市地位提升,城市形象改善等多元目标,房地产开发已经成为我国城市再发展的主导模式。为此,文章细致分析了我国当前房地产开发导向的城市再发展的动力机制和基本特征,并对当前的再发展模式进行反思。对这些问题的讨论,旨在正确引导市场转型期中国的城市再发展。     

Dualities in the transformation of the urban realm: Smyrna and Salonica 1840–1900

Starting from 1840s, the Ottoman State underwent a series of institutional changes which was reflected in the transformation of major cities like Smyrna and Salonica, two prominent ports of the Mediterranean. This paper aims to present a critical and comparative evaluation of the urban transformation in Smyrna and Salonica between 1840 and 1900. Through case studies, such as the regulation of roads and the re-organization of burnt-out neighbourhoods according to the new building codes, and the construction of large-scale infrastructure projects – railroads and quays – the dichotomous nature of urban transformation is revealed. Despite all the zealous efforts of local authorities and implementation of urban regulations, only certain sections in both cities were actually modernized, these being the new investment areas and the burnt-out zones. The Ottoman State and the European investors worked together for creating profitable investment zones, which dramatically changed the appearance of these cities in a short period of time. Except for these areas, the traditional urban fabric still prevailed in Smyrna and Salonica at the end of the nineteenth century.     

Waterfront regeneration in the Netherlands: The gases of Rotterdam and Maastricht

The regeneration of obsolescent urban waterfront areas has proved to be a recent focus of urban policy throughout Europe. Despite an apparent convergence in the practice of waterfront regeneration within European cities, such practice in the Netherlands has evolved in a distinctive manner. The latest manifestation of a policy response has been the designation of ‘key projects’, for which waterfront areas in Rotterdam and Maastricht have been selected. The resulting proposals for integrated, mixed‐use development schemes would appear to present a relatively sophisticated response to the problem of declining waterfront areas.     

重庆市城市贫困空间特征和影响因素研究——兼论东西部城市的异同

中国城市社会经济转型与重构背景下,城市贫困空间特征是城市地理学研究的重要议题之一。本文以西部城市重庆为例,探讨贫困空间的分布、演变和影响因素,并兼论与东部城市的异同。研究显示,在重庆市层面,贫困空间分布差异扩大,都市区得到较大程度改善,渝东北偏远县城则逐渐恶化。在都市区层面,贫困空间分布非均衡性较强,与老城区、工业及其配套居住区耦合。这种特征受到"体制"和"市场"因素的系统作用,体制因素是历史空间继承、早期住房政策与分配制度、城市规划对保障住房的布局引导;市场因素体现在区域经济发展差异、基础设施投资建设、房地产开发和内城选择性更新等。根据西部城市的贫困特征,反贫困政策应该重点促进都市区局部地区和偏远辖县区的发展。     

The Role of Universities in Urban Regeneration: Reframing the Analytical Approach

Universities have resources for urban dynamics that are difficult to provide by other means. For this reason, these organizations are crucial actors in urban regeneration. This article sets out a conceptual framework for the analysis of the role played by higher education institutions in urban renewal initiatives. It is based on an integrated analysis of the uses of the university both as promoters of business innovation and in terms of their civic and social outcomes. Urban regeneration of cities in decline is used as a “strategic research site” to understand universities’ potential. The discussion is organized around four types of contributions: physical infrastructure, human resources, economic development and civic engagement. The debate enlightens the options for integrating universities' capabilities as an asset for urban regeneration and sets out implications for the institutionalization of practices and decision-making in this field.     

Concentrated Urban Poverty: The Case of Izmir Inner Area,Turkey

In Turkey, poverty has been a main subject of debates since 1960s. It used to be a serious problem for both rural areas and the big cities that gained migration. In Turkey and world-wide since the 1980s, however, there have been more research interests in the concentrated urban poverty, especially along with the increase in levels of impoverishment around the world. With the help of a case study in Izmir (Turkey), this paper aims to examine the process of concentrated urban poverty from different points of view in the literature. This is a case study developed at the peripheries of the traditional city centre—or inner areas—of the city of Izmir, Turkey. The paper, first, discusses the parameters of concentrated poverty according to the literature. Then it introduces the study findings of the author, which point out the macro-scale, micro-scale and ecological dynamics that are important in the development of concentrated urban poverty. The macro-scale dynamics suggest that poverty in inner areas of the city are related to the unbalanced development trends within the country, such as the overgrowth of metropolitan cities, economic restructuring processes, migration trends and the development of informal economy. The ecological dynamics address to the housing and job location preferences and invasion-succession processes in the city, which emphasize that socio-economic characteristics of inner areas of the city are different from those of other city parts. Micro-scale dynamics are related to poors' ability of developing solidarity relations among themselves, which is also related to the spatial characteristics of inner areas of the city, according to this study's findings.     

江苏省城乡公共服务发展差距及其障碍因素分析

以江苏省13个省辖市为研究样本,通过构建评价教育、卫生、环境和基础设施等公共服务指标体系,运用熵值法、协调度模型和障碍度模型等方法,对江苏各省辖市的城乡公共服务发展水平进行综合评价。结果表明:①城乡公共服务发展水平区域分异明显;②不同类型公共服务发展水平城乡差距各不相同,基础教育服务城乡差距明显,医疗卫生服务乡村远落后于城市,生态环境服务城乡差距相对较小,基础设施服务城乡差距位居中等;③城乡公共服务协调发展水平可以划分为四种类型,城乡基础教育和医疗卫生等服务领域发展水平差距是影响多数省辖市城乡公共服务协调发展的最大障碍因素。     

Urbanization patterns: European versus less developed countries

This paper develops a model in which the interaction between transport costs, increasing returns to scale, and labor migration across sectors and regions creates a tendency for urban agglomeration. Demand from rural areas favors urban dispersion. European urbanization took place mainly in the 19th century, with higher costs of spatial interaction, weaker economies of scale, and a less-elastic supply of labor to the urban sector than in less developed countries (LDCs) today. These factors could help explain why primate cities dominate in LDCs, whereas a comparatively small share of urban population lives in Europe's largest cities.     

Urban Regeneration and Socio-economic Sustainability: A Role for Established Small Food Outlets

In recent years, the challenges of urban regeneration and sustainability have been brought together in discourses concerning the re-shaping of inner-city districts of large cities. Currently, sustainable development in regeneration policies is mostly dominated by the environmental dimension and qualities of the built environment, with some focus on the more easily quantifiable aspects of social and economic dimensions. There is, however, limited discussion about integrating socio-economic aspects of sustainable regeneration in the literature. This paper presents a critical exploration of the role of the existing small business base in facilitating more sustainable urban re-development from a socio-economic standpoint. Indigenous food outlets in Birmingham's Eastside district—a re-development initiative branded as exemplar of sustainable urban development—are used to illustrate the role of small businesses in the day-to-day life of districts undergoing regeneration. The paper reflects on challenges and benefits from retaining and supporting established businesses throughout the re-development process and concludes with some reflections on lessons learnt from the case study. It argues that planners, policy-makers and developers should accord greater attention to the role of established businesses to foster urban districts that strive towards integrating aspects of socio-economic sustainability.     

城市创新基础设施空间格局与创新产出——基于中国290个地级及以上城市的实证分析

知识经济背景下,创新成为区域与城市发展的关键,而创新基础设施作为国家和区域创新体系的重要组成部分,在提供创新支撑、聚集创新资源、提升创新能力等方面具有重要作用。本文首先界定了创新基础设施的概念,构建了测度城市创新基础设施的指标体系,之后基于中国290个地级及以上城市的数据,使用主成分分析和GIS技术分析中国城市创新基础设施的空间格局,并通过构建知识生产函数模型,实证研究城市创新基础设施对城市创新产出的影响。研究表明：①创新基础设施是指保证创新相关活动顺利进行的各种物质工程设施和公共服务系统的总和,包括支撑创新活动的国家重大科技基础设施、科教基础设施、产业技术创新基础设施及创新创业服务基础设施。②中国城市创新基础设施水平整体偏低,且存在显著的空间差异,整体上表现为东部发展水平高于西部。③中国城市创新基础设施水平对城市创新产出具有显著的正向影响。研究从政策层面进一步明确了创新基础设施建设的重要性,为国家推进创新基础设施建设提供科学依据。     

Towards a Political Economy of Social Infrastructure: Contesting “Anti-Social Infrastructures” in London

In this paper, we develop a situated and intersectional urban political economy approach to social infrastructure. This approach contrasts with a growing body of liberal urban geography, which offers an optimistic account of how shared spaces afford encounter and social connection. We present four arguments about why such outcomes cannot be assumed, which are informed by a case of contested redevelopment in the London borough of Haringey. First, social infrastructures express power relations, enacting distinct visions of “the social”, that are at times premised on the denigration of other forms of collective life as anti-social. Second, elite social infrastructures are increasingly central to speculative urban development, serving to procure consent for, and valorise, investment. Third, other social infrastructures are essential networks of social reproduction and survival, especially for diverse working-class communities: demolition and displacement mean infrastructural disruption. Finally, unequal political economies of social infrastructure are a realm of structural antagonism over urban citizenship (un)making.     

长江三角洲城市旅游空间结构形成的产业机理——基于旅游企业空间区位选择视角

长江三角洲城市旅游企业空间布局状况对城市旅游增长极与城市旅游核心-边缘空间结构的形成具有重要影响。长江三角洲城市旅游空间一体化发展及城市旅游核心区与边缘区的协同发展目标的实现,旅游企业空间区位选择费用最小化行为是一种重要的实现推动力。旅游企业在城市旅游核心区或边缘区的布局是旅游企业在固定成本与旅游接待人次两种因素之间博弈的过程。旅游企业选择在城市旅游空间集聚区还是在非集聚区布局取决于在集聚区获得集聚经济的程度、集聚区产生的集聚不经济程度及非集聚区土地等成本的差异等。     

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND URBAN REVITALIZATION

Municipal governments around the globe increasingly turn to museums, performing arts centers, arts districts, and other cultural activities to promote and revitalize their cities. While a significant body of literature examines revitalization strategies that focus primarily around entertainment and commerce, the empirical body of research that specifically investigates the role of cultural strategies in urban redevelopment is still growing. This paper first discusses the development of municipal cultural strategies in the United States, and draws from the literature to outline the characteristics of three different models of such strategies. Second, the paper presents findings from a national survey distributed to municipal agencies involved in the promotion and development of cultural activities and facilities in large and medium‐sized US cities. The survey data indicate that although most agencies are guided by a varied set of goals, entrepreneurial objectives continue to guide the development and support of cultural activities in most cities.     

New East Manchester: Urban Renaissance or Urban Opportunism?

In this paper we ask how a shrinking city responds when faced with a perforated urban fabric. Drawing on Manchester's response to its perforated eastern flank —and informed by a parallel study of Leipzig—we use the city's current approach to critique urban regeneration policy in England. Urban renaissance holds out the promise of delivering more sustainable—that is more compact, more inclusive and more equitable—cities. However, the Manchester study demonstrated that the attempt to stem population loss from the city is at best fragile, despite a raft of policies now in place to support urban renaissance in England. It is argued here that Manchester like Leipzig is likely to face an ongoing battle to attract residents back from their suburban hinterlands. This is especially true of the family market that we identify as being an important element for long-term sustainable population growth in both cities. We use the case of New East Manchester to consider how discourses linked to urban renaissance—particularly those that link urbanism with greater densities—rule out some of the options available to Leipzig, namely, managing the long-term perforation of the city. We demonstrate that while Manchester is inevitably committed to the urban renaissance agenda, in practice New East Manchester demonstrates a far more pragmatic—but equally unavoidable—approach. This we attribute to the gap between renaissance and regeneration described by Amin et al. (Cities for the Many Not for the Few. Bristol: Policy Press, 2000) who define the former as urbanism for the middle class and the latter as urbanism for the working class. While this opportunistic approach may ultimately succeed in producing development on the ground, it will not address the fundamental, and chronic, problem; the combination of push and pull that sees families relocating to suburban areas. Thus, if existing communities in East Manchester are to have their area buoyed up—or sustained—by incomers, and especially families, with greater levels of social capital and higher incomes urban policy in England will have to be challenged.     

DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE AS A FUTURE CHALLENGE FOR CITIES IN EAST CENTRAL EUROPE

Contemporary cities in East Central Europe (ECE) represent a hybrid type of urban development which is still generally considered to be a special case and is only exceptionally referred to in the recently intensified debate over the European city. Our paper argues that such exclusion is short‐sighted because ECE cities face structural problems similar to those of their Western pendants. Therefore, the contextual frame of urban research needs to be widened and can no longer be restricted to post‐socialist transition. In this regard, one of the main challenges for future urban development will be the consequences of demographic change. Ageing, new patterns of fertility behaviour and more diversified household structures in line with the Second Demographic Transition (SDT) will have significant implications for urban structures and housing markets, as already known for Western Europe. The purpose of this paper is to work out new questions and hypotheses for future urban research with special respect to Polish and Czech cities. Besides West European experience, recent developments in eastern Germany are taken as a frame of reference, assuming that this specific transition case may, in many respects, be regarded as a forerunner for similar developments in its neighbouring countries.