THE CASE FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTION: PLACE‐BASED VERSUS PLACE‐NEUTRAL APPROACHES*

ABSTRACT The paper examines the debates regarding place‐neutral versus place‐based policies for economic development. The analysis is set in the context of how development policy thinking on the part of both scholars and international organizations has evolved over several decades. Many of the previously accepted arguments have been called into question by the impacts of globalization and a new response to these issues has emerged, a response both to these global changes and also to nonspatial development approaches. The debates are highlighted in the context of a series of major reports recently published on the topic. The cases of the developing world and the European Union are used as examples of how in this changing context development intervention should increasingly focus on efficiency and social inclusion at the expense of an emphasis on territorial convergence and how strategies should consider economic, social, political, and institutional diversity in order to maximize both the local and the aggregate potential for economic development.     

Floor Response Spectra for Bare and Infilled Reinforced Concrete Frames

The objective of this article is to study the effects of structural nonlinear behavior on Floor Response Spectra (FRS) of existing reinforced concrete frames. This study examines how the FRS vary with the level of post-elastic behavior in buildings of different number of stories and masonry infill wall configurations. The effect of damping modeling assumptions is also investigated. Differences and similarities with findings from the literature are discussed. On the basis of the obtained results, a commentary on the adequacy of basic assumptions used in predictive equations proposed by different seismic codes is offered.     

White and Coloured Marbles of the Roman Town of Urbs Salvia (Urbisaglia,Macerata, Marche,Italy)

The results of an archaeometric study concerning the coloured stones and 14 white marble sculptures found in the ancient city of Urbs Salvia (Urbisaglia, Macerata) – one of the main Roman archaeological sites of the Marche region (east central Italy) – are presented here. Data show the presence of the most important decorative stones used by the Romans, originating in all of the Mediterranean provinces, from Egypt and North Africa to Asia Minor, Greece, Gallia, Iberia and Italy. Thirty‐one different coloured lithotypes have been identified, including red and green porphyries as well as marmor phrygium and numidicum, namely the four most expensive stones cited in Diocletian's edict. Crustae of marmor chium, taenarium, chalcidicum, scyreticum, lucullaeum and sagarium also feature. Another significant presence is that of coloured stones that are generally rare, even in Rome and Ostia, such as cipollino mandolato (which is very abundant at Urbs Salvia, more than anywhere outside Gallia), broccatello di Spagna, alabastro a pecorella, lapis ophytes, brecciated facies of marmor iassene and cottanello antico. Worthy of mention, too, is the abundant presence of so‐called Roman breccia from Lez (Upper Garonne valley, French Pyrenees), a stone never reported outside Gallia. The 14 marble sculptures analysed come from public and private buildings of the Roman city and are now exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of Urbisaglia. Our petrographic and isotopic analyses show that they are made of Lunense (five), Pentelic (three), Parian lychnites (three), Thasian (three) and Proconnesian (one Corinthian capital) marbles. The quality of the coloured stones identified, together with the presence of sculptures made of precious imported white marble varieties, reveals an opulent town and a local patronage wishing to decorate public buildings and rich houses with the most sought‐after marbles of Rome.     

Assessment of material characteristics of ancient concretes,Grande Aula,Markets of Trajan,Rome

The Grande Aula, or Great Hall, of the Markets of Trajan (AD 96 to 115) is an intact example of the domed, concrete architecture of imperial Rome. Petrographic, x-ray diffraction, chemical, and SEM analyses demonstrate that wall mortars contain Pozzolane Rosse volcanic ash aggregate (harenae fossiciae) and strätlingite, a complex calcium aluminate cement hydrate (C₂ ASH₈) that gives modern cements good durability and compressive strength. Specific gravity tests and a new petrographic method for assessing bulk densities indicate unit weights of about 1750 kg/m³ for the wall mortars and 1430–1640 kg/m³ for the pumice bearing, vaulted ceiling mortars. Innovative point load source tests record the tensile strengths (f_t) of the aggregate and interfacial elements of the conglomeratic concrete fabric. These suggest f_t of about 2.7 MPa for brick, 1.2 MPa for Tufo Lionato tuff, and 0.9 MPa for Tufo Giallo della Via Tiberina tuff coarse aggregate (caementa), based on a tentative, approximate correlation with splitting (Brazilian) tests. The pozzolanic mortar and interfacial zones have lower f_t in the range of 0.8 MPa to 0.5 MPa. The relatively low mortar strength and its somewhat tenuous adhesion to the coarse aggregate suggests that the caementa may have arrested the propagation of tensile microcracks that formed in the mortar, thereby increasing the composite tensile strength of the concrete. Roman builders selected the complex aggregate mixes to optimize the performance of the wall and vault concretes.