City branding in polycentric urban regions: identification,profiling and transformation in the Randstad and Rhine-Ruhr

In polycentric urban regions several distinct cities, none of which is dominant, cooperate and compete with each other to attract inhabitants and firms. In such settings city branding strategies do not solely affect one city, but the entire region. We examined how city branding in the face of ecological modernization, that is, delivering higher added economic value, while lowering environmental impacts, is playing out in the Dutch Randstad and the German Rhine-Ruhr. Our findings show that regional identity formation occurs at the sub-polycentric urban region level, coinciding more with (historical) economic profiles than with planning imaginaries. The Dutch cities profile themselves more along the lines of ecological modernization than their German counterparts. Differences between subregions within each polycentric urban region are also noticeable, where more industrialized regions, such as the Ruhr or southern Randstad focus on ‘green’, ‘liveable’ and ‘knowledge-oriented’, while cities with stronger knowledge-intensive sectors portray themselves as ‘smart’ or ‘sustainable’. Cities generally substantiate their profiles through projects, but a significant gap persists between reality and aspirations for improved environmental conditions. This is especially true for the Dutch cities, where many claims, but little visible action can be observed.     

Canadian geopolitical culture: Climate change and sustainability

Considering recent formulations of geopolitical culture in combination with concerns that environmental change be included in contemporary geopolitical analysis, this paper examines the implicit geopolitical formulations in recent Canadian federal political discourse both in Stephen Harper's Conservative government and the subsequent Liberal administration. Contrasting earth system science ideas about global transformations with Canadian nationalist rhetoric concerning petroleum production and notions of unlimited resource extraction as parts of national identity sharply highlights the contours of Canadian identity. If sustainability is to be taken seriously, the official nationalist formulation will have to be drastically changed, but as the widespread rejection of the LEAP manifesto suggests, such ideas of a sustainable mode of globalization have yet to substantially influence Canadian political discourse, despite the rhetorical support offered to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change by the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau.     

Publications briefly noted

B. A. HUSSAINMIYA. The Brunei Constitution of 1959: an Inside History. Bandar Seri Begawan: Brunei Press, 2000. xvi, 81 pp. B$8.90, paper.

DAVID E. POLLARD. The Chinese Essay. Hong Kong: Research Centre for Translation, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. US$50.00, hardcover.

EVA HUNG (ed). City Women: contemporary Taiwan Women Writers. Hong Kong: Rendition Paperbacks, 2001. 160 pp. No price given, paper.

P. J. MOORE. A Concise History of Dutch Mauritius, 1598-1710: a Fruitful and Healthy Land. London: Kegan Paul International for the International Institute of Asian Studies, 1998. x, 127 pp. Illustrations. £55.00/US$93.50, hardcover.

HENRY YUHUAI HE. Dictionary of the Political Thought of the People's Republic of China. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2001. 727 pp. US$124.95, hardcover.

WILLIAM DUIKER. Historical Dictionary of Vietnam. Asian/Oceanian Historical Dictionaries No. 27, 2nd edition. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1998. 512 pp. US$68.00, hardcover.

RIZAL SUKMA. Indonesia and China: the Politics of a Troubled Relationship. London: Routledge, 1999. xiv, 224 pp. £55.00, hardcover.

NICHOLAS TARLING (ed). Indonesia after Soeharto. Auckland: New Zealand Asia Institute, 1999. 168 pp. No price given, paper.

ROY DAVIS LINVILLE JUMPER. Orang Asli Now: the Orang Asli in the Malaysian Political World. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1999. US$48.00, hardcover.

LIANG XIAOSHENG. Panic and Deaf: two Modern Satires. Hanming Chen, trans; James O. Belcher, ed. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2001. 157 pp. US$14.95, paper.

LEO DOUW, CEN HUANG and MICHAEL R. GODLEY (eds). Qiaoxiang Ties: interdisciplinary Approaches to ‘Cultural Capitalism’ in South China. London: Kegan Paul International, 1999. 346 pp. No price given, hardcover.

CYRIL BIRCH. Scenes for Mandarins: the Elite Theatre of the Ming. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. xiii, 262 pp. US$20.50, paper.

JI GILES UNGPAKORN. Thailand: class Struggle in an Era of Economic Crisis. Hongkong: Asia Resources Monitor Center; Bangkok: Workers' Democracy Book Club, 1999. 118 pp. Thai baht 150.

JI UNGPAKORN. The Struggle for Democracy and Social Justice in Thailand. Bangkok: Arom Pongpangan Foundation, 1997. 130 pp. Thai baht 150.     

Characterization of lime carbonates in plasters from Teotihuacan,Mexico: preliminary results of cathodoluminescence and carbon isotope analyses

This study characterizes the degree of calcination of lime in lime plaster samples from Teotihuacan, the capital of a regional state in prehispanic Central Mexico. Lime plaster production consists of multiple steps, from the firing of raw materials to the mixing of lime and aggregate and the final application. While previous studies have focused on the compositional variability, specifically the recipe of lime plasters and mortars, the characterization of lime itself has not been sufficiently addressed. In this study, cathodoluminescence analysis coupled with petrographic and image analyses were employed to examine the degree of calcination of lime. The results of cathodoluminescence petrography were further examined through stable carbon isotope and ¹⁴C measurements. It appeared that the results of cathodoluminescence analysis are consistent with those of other analytical methods and that there are diachronic changes in the degree of calcination of lime among lime plaster samples. This implies changes in the organization of lime production, specifically the consistency in the control of firing temperature.