Matter in or out of place? Bicycle parking strategies and their effects on people,practices and places

This study explores what bicycle parking strategies tell us about the place of mobility objects in contemporary urban streetscapes. It examines the bicycle's liminality by combining approaches from practice theory with Mary Douglas' concept of ‘matter out of place’. Much research on cycling has concentrated on the bicycle in movement, yet in our research, based in four relatively high-cycling English urban areas, a common theme was concern about the bicycle when not in use. Bicycles at rest were perceived as threatened or threatening, risky or at-risk; affected by theft, vandalism, the weather, official and familial disapproval. In the study, we link this to the tenuous place of urban cycling in England; while bicycle ownership is widespread, everyday cycling remains marginalised and this shapes the place of the bicycle resting on city streets, in homes and in workplaces. Bicycles waiting for their owners are often ‘matter out of place’. This is seen within the context of broader motorised landscapes which have made driving easier through locating driving competences in the car itself, while comparable cycling competences remain on the outside—with the cyclist.     

Appraisal of Conservation Area Character in England: progress and problems

As the number of conservation areas within England continues to rise, it is increasingly important that adequate care and attention be given to their management. If not, the concept will be devalued and initiatives to protect and enhance such areas will not receive sufficient consideration. Conservation Area character appraisals have recently been suggested as a basis for the management of activities within Conservation Areas. This article considers the nature of advice on appraisals, and then the progress of English authorities in undertaking them. It will conclude with a number of issues and concerns which must be tackled if the potential of theses management instruments is to be fully realised.     

Living with crime: spaces of risk for homeless young people

This paper reports on a study of victimization, offending and fear among homeless young people in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, which employed a participatory methodology. These young people live in marginal and often invisible spaces, yet are subject to a high degree of regulation which structures their experiences of risk. Their accounts demonstrate that an ‘either/or’ distinction which often structures understanding of offenders and victims, feared and fearful, and safe and dangerous spaces has led to their experiences being poorly represented. Homeless young people are often multiply positioned in relation to crime, an understanding which challenges the current political climate in Britain.     

TECHNOLOGICAL CATCH‐UP AND GEOGRAPHIC PROXIMITY*

ABSTRACT This paper examines productivity catch‐up as a source of establishment productivity growth. We present evidence that, other things equal, establishments further behind the industry frontier experience faster rates of productivity growth. Geographic proximity to frontier firms makes catch‐up faster. Our econometric specification implies a long‐run relationship between productivity levels, where nonfrontier establishments lie a steady‐state distance behind the frontier such that their rate of productivity growth including catch‐up equals productivity growth at the frontier. We use our econometric estimates to quantify the implied contribution to productivity growth of catch‐up to both the national and regional productivity frontiers.     

Middle Eastern Minorities and Diasporas: Moshe Mo'az and Gabriel Sheffer,eds.

Book reviewed in this article: Muslim Minorities in the West: Visible and Invisible: Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Jane I. Smith, eds.