The Network Approach: Dutch Spatial Planning between Substratum and Infrastructure Networks

This paper investigates the substratum and infrastructure networks as relevant components of spatial planning. Since 2001, in Dutch government documents on spatial planning the Layers Approach has been presented, with three layers: substratum; networks; occupation patterns. The Layers Approach assumes that the characteristics of the substratum provide conditions for infrastructure networks and that these infrastructure networks then condition the occupation patterns, including the locations for housing, business activities and related services. These more or less hierarchical relationships are supposed to produce clear ground rules for the spatial planner. The Layers Approach seems to offer a robust methodology for spatial planning. This contribution presents the background of the Layers Approach, adds some critical notes and proposes an amendment: the Network Approach, connecting different spatial scales. After the presentation of a typology of networks a preliminary overview of the dynamics of transport networks is given. The spatial relevance of information and communication technology (ICT) networks, that support transport networks, is discussed. Nodes are presented as links between infrastructure networks and occupation patterns. The paper concludes that actors, dealing with regional spatial plans in a decentralized planning system, have to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the technology, economy and governance of current networks and the qualities of the substratum, which form a conditioning and stimulating framework for the spatial planning of urban and regional areas.     

Phylogeography of einkorn landraces in the Mediterranean basin and Central Europe: population structure and cultivation history

Einkorn (Triticum monococcum L.) was one of the first cereals to be domesticated in the Old World ca. 10,000 years ago and to spread towards Europe and North Africa. Its cultivation declined before the Iron Age and it remains today only as a relic crop in remote areas. To investigate if the geographic distribution of genetic diversity in modern einkorn landrace accessions could be informative about the movement of this crop during prehistory, we genotyped 50 accessions of einkorn from Europe, North Africa and the Near East. Using nuclear and chloroplast microsatellites and clustering methods, we detected two main gene pools in einkorn. The distribution of these lineages revealed differences between accessions from Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of Europe and the Near East and suggests different regional dynamics in the spread of this crop.     

Four ministries,four spatial planning perspectives? Dutch evidence on the persistent problem of horizontal coordination

The formulation of spatial policy at the national level is fraught with coordination problems, mainly owing to competition among ministries. This paper considers ways to improve horizontal coordination. It is based on a review of current Dutch policy documents and the political debate they have spawned in the Netherlands. To set the stage, the paper discusses the spatial policy now in force, which derives from the Fourth Report on Spatial Planning Extra (VINEX). After presenting the views espoused by the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, the paper highlights key spatial concepts proposed by three other ministries. The inherent contradictions come into play when allocating strategic spatial investments, which are drawn from the Economic Structure Enhancing Fund. The defensive position that government bodies take regarding their own spatial concepts may be understood in terms of the competition for billions of Euros in public money. In our opinion, the recipe for success is a blend of ingredients from each of the sectoral approaches, combined in an integrated spatial policy. We are pleased to say that since the time of writing, this approach has actually been adopted in the Netherlands. In January 1999, the government published what it calls a Starting Memorandum on Spatial Planning. That document seeks to realign national spatial policy by combining diverse sectoral views and introducing new spatial concepts such as ‘corridor’ and ‘network city’. The ideals of ‘spatial vision’ and ‘spatial quality’ are combined with criteria like ‘sustainability’ as well as with the flexibility and responsiveness that is needed in a market setting, whereby households and firms operate increasingly in a European context. The associated style of governance would be to alternate a loose rein—a strategy of divergence and competition—with a tight rein—the implementation of policy that is both horizontally coordinated and integrated. This approach is bound to fan the flames of public debate on national spatial planning. In this sense, other countries might do well to keep an eye on it.     

Old wine in new bottles? Some views of the economy of the early Church

From a sociological point of view the early Christian communities seem to have been rather isolated in their pagan, or Jewish, surroundings. The aim of this article is to throw some light on the economic behaviour of the members of the early Church. Did they establish a Christian economy, which was determined by their moral and religious values, or did they adjust themselves to the prevailing economic conditions of the Roman Empire?     

Pontius’ Vita S. Cypriani and the making of a saint

The development of ancient biography into a Christian literary genre is a central theme of the article. The Vita S. Cypriani, allegedly written by thî deacon Pontius, forms the basis of this study, which examines Pontius’ methods not only of collecting but also of presenting his material. The writing of this first Christian Life is shown to be inspired by the tria genera of school rhetoric. This is exemplified by the Vita in question where the author, besides eulogizing and defending St. Cyprian, seeks to edify his audience.     

Identification of pigments used in rock art paintings in Gode Roriso-Ethiopia using Micro-Raman spectroscopy

In this paper we present results on the rock art painting materials from the Gode Roriso rock shelter, located in the eastern Hararghe region of Ethiopia. This analysis included X-microfluorescence, Micro-Raman spectroscopy and microstratigraphy. As far as the results of the analysis are concerned, a white natural wax (beeswax), carbon black and iron oxides (a mixture of haematite and magnetite) along with charcoal particles (forming as a red colourant) have been applied on a natural substrate constituted of granite containing feldspar crystalline forms. Although very much a science-based piece of research, the results have far-reaching outcomes for understanding the sequencing of pigment application.     

Disciplining the Past, Policing the Present: The Postcolonial Landscape of Ecuadorian Nostalgia

The present article assesses the complex reconfiguration that studying the past signifies when one becomes visibly aware of the enormous political and cultural implications that such an endeavor entails. To this end, I will use the Ecuadorian landscape as an entry point or particular case to understand these larger theoretical problematics within a more empirically grounded ethnographic framework. I will rely heavily on my own previous assessments of particular reconfigurations of the past in the Ecuadorian imaginary through the production of the archaeological site of Cochasquí (Benavides, Making Ecuadorian Histories: Four Centuries of Defining Power, 2004a); the Indian movement’s historical recovery of their pre-Hispanic past; the representation of a troubling pre-Hispanic homosexual harem of young coastal boys known as the enchaquirados; and the more recent representation of Guayaquil’s national identity over the last century. All of these studies have viewed the manner in which the differing communities of the Ecuadorian nation-state utilize the past in conscious and unconscious forms to legitimize their own political ambitions. More concretely even, these studies exemplify the manner in which archaeological discourse is used to identify itself as the most rightful heir to assessing and understanding the national past, and ultimately, defining what being Ecuadorian means or should be all about.     

Soldiers and Citizens: the concept of citizenship and the Anjala Covenant, 1788–1790

This article discusses the relationship between ‘citizenship’ and military duty during the late 18th century. This is illustrated by the legal conflict that erupted between the members of the Anjala Covenant and the Board of War in 1788. In a study of the records from the following court martial, the trial is viewed as a political discussion concerning the definition of the concept of the ‘citizen’. The covenanters and the Board of War held different definitions of this concept, which had implications for when and how a military officer was allowed to act politically. According to the final verdict, a military officer was deemed not to be allowed to delve into politics during an ongoing war, even though he considered himself forced to do so by his duty as a citizen. Through a study of the covenanters’ own writings and arguments, a new picture emerges of how their collective insubordination was motivated. According to the covenanters themselves, they wanted the Anjala Covenant to be seen as an attempt to reach a compromise in a moral dilemma, which would inevitably force them to abandon either their duties as ‘citizens’ or as ‘soldiers’.