Re-imagineering Belgrade and Skopje: urban megaprojects between politics and struggle

This comparative study on the urban re-imagineering performed through large-scale urban refurbishment focuses on the specific post-socialist and post-conflict contexts of former Yugoslavia. Through the analysis of legislative and planning documents, expert interviews, reports, and media coverage, this study shows how initiatives for the implementation of grandiloquent urban megaprojects (UMP) in the capital cities of Serbia and Macedonia became extreme examples of national image reconstruction, carried out through autocratic state-led interventions that disregarded public input. The two main insights that the study provides classify these cases as rather particular in the European framework. First, the national governments have played a decisive role in conceiving entrepreneurial strategies for national rebranding through urban re-imagineering of its capital cities. Second, this politically orchestrated processes advanced through non-transparent decision-making, in spite of the rising opposition by the civic alliances. In conclusion, autocratic implementation of UMPs in the urban contexts of the Yugoslavian successor states played out much more forcefully, overriding the imperative to satisfy genuine public interest.     

Impact of Polycentric Urban Systems on Intra-regional Disparities: A Micro-regional Approach

From the normative perspective of EU regional policy, polycentric spatial development has been seen as an effective tool to overcome regional disparities since the adoption of the European Spatial Development Perspective. However, the impact of a polycentric spatial structure on equal spatial development is ambiguous and still waits for its clarification. This paper examines the relationship by focusing on the local scale, where medium-sized towns play a crucial role as local centres in everyday human lives. Using functional regions of the Czech Republic, this paper defines polycentric urban systems at the micro-regional scale. Subsequently, the level of mono/polycentricity is compared with intra-regional disparities. Based on the results of the analysis, it can be argued that the connection of polycentricity with balanced spatial development is strongly determined by selected indicators. However, the findings do not provide evidence about the strictly positive impact of polycentricity on intra-regional disparities. In a light of these results, the conclusion is rather sceptical about the unique role of polycentricity in spatial development and due to the lack of similar studies, further research is recommended.     

A new large fossil species of Tiliqua (Squamata; Scincidae) from the Pliocene of the Wellington Caves (New South Wales,Australia)

?erňanský, A. & Hutchinson, M.N., 2012. A new large fossil species of Tiliqua (Squamata; Scincidae) from the Pliocene of the Wellington Caves (New South Wales, Australia). Alcheringa, 1–6. ISSN 0311-5518.

We describe an isolated frontal bone referable to a new species, Tiliqua laticephala (Scincidae), from the Pliocene Big Sink doline of the Wellington Caves, central eastern New South Wales, Australia. The bone is very robust, is unusually broad and thick, especially around the bases of the subolfactory processes and represents a large and heavily built lizard. The fossil has multiple fragmentary osteoderms in the frontal region, showing asymmetry in shape and thickness that do not correspond to the more regularly arranged anterior head shields of other scincoids. The specimen shares two unusual character states with extant Tiliqua, especially the large armoured species, T. rugosa. Other large skinks related to T. rugosa (other Tiliqua spp., Corucia zebrata, Egernia cunninghamii, Bellatorias major, Liopholis kintorei) are less similar in terms of frontal shape, thickness, sculpture, osteoderm ornamentation, and positioning of adjacent bones.     

Archaeology of the Ljubljanica River (Slovenia): early underwater investigations and some current issues

Abundant archaeological evidence and specific geomorphologic features make the upper course of the Ljubljanica River running through Ljubljana Moor (Slovenia) one of the most interesting rivers in Europe. Roman bronze vessels and iron weapons found by chance in the Ljubljanica at Vrhnika, the ancient Nauportus, led the director of the Provincial Museum in Ljubljana, Karel Dežman, to devise a large scale plan for an underwater survey of the riverbed. This, one of the first modern research projects of underwater archaeology was executed in 1884 with the help of divers from the Austro-Hungarian naval base in Pula. Investigations by the Group for Underwater Archaeology and the activities of amateur divers from 1979 onwards revealed distinctly structured distributions of underwater finds on several sites in the upper course of the river indicating possible sacred places with votive offerings and funeral sites, as well as other non-ritual concentrations.     

Mobilization of ore fluids during Alpine metamorphism: evidence from hydrothermal veins in the Variscan basement of Western Carpathians,Slovakia

Hydrothermal polymetallic veins of the Gemeric unit of the Western Carpathians are oriented coherently with the foliation of their low‐grade Variscan basement host. Early siderite precipitated from homogeneous NaCl‐KCl‐CaCl₂‐H₂O brines with minor CO₂, while immiscible gas–brine mixtures are indicative of the superimposed barite, quartz–tourmaline and quartz–sulphide stages. The high‐salinity aqueous fluid (18–35 wt%) found in all mineralization stages corresponds to formation water modified by interaction with crystalline basement rocks at temperatures between 140 and 300°C. High brominity (around 1000 ppm in average) resulted from evaporation and anhydrite precipitation in a Permo‐Triassic marine basin, and from secondary enrichment by dissolution of organic matter in the marine sediments at diagenetic temperatures. Sulphate depletion reflects thermogenic reduction during infiltration of the formation waters into the Variscan crystalline basement. Crystallization temperatures of the siderite fill (140–300°C) and oxygen isotope ratios of the parental fluids (4–10‰) increase towards the centre of the Gemeric cleavage fan, probably as a consequence of decreasing water/rock ratios in rock‐buffered hydrothermal systems operating during the initial stages of vein evolution. In contrast, buoyant gas–water mixtures, variable salinities and strongly fluctuating P–T parameters in the successive mineralization stages reflect transition from a closed to an open hydrothermal system and mixing of fluids from various sources. Depths of burial were 6–14 km (1.7–4.4 kbar, in a predominantly lithostatic fluid regime) during the siderite and barite sub‐stages of the north‐Gemeric veins, and up to 16 km (1.6–4.5 kbar, in a hydrostatic to lithostatic fluid regime) in the quartz–tourmaline stage of the south‐Gemeric veins. The fluid pressure decreased down to approximately 0.6 kbar during crystallization of sulphides. U‐Pb‐Th, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and K/Ar geochronology applied to hydrothermal muscovite–phengite and monazite, as well as cleavage phyllosilicates in the adjacent basement rocks and deformed Permian conglomerates corroborated the opening of hydrothermal veins during Lower Cretaceous thrusting and their rejuvenation during Late Cretaceous sinistral transpressive shearing and extension.     

Globalization of real estate markets in Central Europe

The process of globalization is increasing competition between urban areas for the attraction of investment. Within this context the paper initially highlights the impact of global change on city economies linking this to international investment within the real estate market. Factors influencing diversification strategies and international investment activity within property markets in central Europe are considered relative to a range of performance criteria. Office markets in Prague, Budapest and Warsaw are forwarded as case study examples to assess the degree of maturity that is occurring in these former socialist cities based on the activity of investors and end‐users including the extent to which there are dual markets operating for local and international actors.     

Soils and Earthen Building Materials Used for the Buddhist Temple Complex

This article presents a comprehensive study of the local soils and historic earthen building materials used in Nako temple complex in Western Himalayas. On-site and laboratory investigations followed a holistic approach to characterize materials and identify historic manufacturing formulas. The interdisciplinary and novel methodology used for analysis of the earthen building materials combine geological, chemical, mineralogical, geotechnical, and mechanical approach. The results presented in this article enable a better understanding of material culture and advance the study of damage and decay processes found in the temple buildings. In addition, a suitable conservation and preservation strategy is presented.     

The Austrian ‘occupation’ of Ferrara in 1847: its legal aspect between myth and reality

The so-called occupation of the papal town of Ferrara by Austrian troops in the late summer of 1847 became an important chapter in the history of the Risorgimento. It provoked strong anti-Austrian resentment in Italy, where Austria’s conduct was generally regarded as aggressive and illegal. As this article attempts to prove from an investigation of the legal aspect of the affair, the accusation that the Austrians had violated international law with their actions in Ferrara is nothing but another Risorgimento myth. The same accusation was also a way for the papal government to attempt to denigrate Austria, although the question of legality actually meant little for the pope who used the affair to increase his popularity among Italians. Consequently, Austria’s determined effort to settle the affair on a legal basis was anachronistic vis-à-vis the new political situation that arose in Italy and was thus doomed to failure in advance.