Political pragmatism and the creative economy: Singapore as a City for the Arts

Can the arts and culture prosper under a less than democratic political regime? This paper looks at the soft authoritarian Singaporean government and the making of Singapore into a ‘City for the Arts’. Many scholars advocate that a culturally vibrant and creative city must also celebrate diversity, tolerance and experimentation. This implies that a democratic space is needed for creative energies to flow. Singapore is not known for its democracy. But Singapore has become relatively successful in being the cultural hub in the region. A more liberal approach to diversity and criticism of the authorities can now be observed but there are still many strong‐handed social and political controls in the city‐state. This paper tries to answer these two questions: has Singapore become democratic because the authorities want the arts and culture to flourish? Is democracy necessary for the creation of a lively cultural city?     

智能手机定位数据应用于城市研究的进展与展望

移动信息时代与大数据时代的到来,促使城市研究方法趋于多元化。随着智能手机出现和手机功能不断发展,手机普及率大大提高,基于位置服务应用的智能手机数据成为最具研究意义的大数据来源之一,为智慧城市建设和城市问题的研究提供了新的思路与方法。本文对该数据特征和以往其应用于城市研究领域的方法进行了总结;结合该数据特征和智慧城市研究领域,从城市居民行为研究、城市空间结构研究、城市生态环境研究和城市管治四个方面介绍了智能手机定位数据在城市研究中的应用。文章的最后对手机定位数据在城市研究中的应用前景进行了探讨,并强调手机定位数据研究应与规划实践相结合。     

Predictors of children’s satisfaction with mass housing

ABSTRACT

This article explores the predictors of children’s satisfaction with mass housing, which were built in the context of squatter housing regeneration. The results are based on a survey of 186 nine-to-twelve-year-old children living in four mass housing sites in Ankara, Turkey. They show the specific features of the dwelling and neighborhood that were critical in predicting children’s residential satisfaction: dwelling location and size; appearance of interior design elements provided by the authority; views from the windows; proximity, quality and quantity of public open spaces; quantity of greenery; building types in the mass housing estate; external appearance of buildings in the neighborhood; safety of street crossings; the continuity, width and comfort of sidewalks; the quality of municipal services; and the number of liked people in the neighborhood. These findings are important as they help planners and designers to consider and incorporate components that contribute to an improved residential satisfaction among children.