Residential property disparities in city districts in Prague,Czech Republic

City districts are often classified as ‘rich’ or ‘poor,’ a phenomenon that occurs within cities all over the world. While income inequality, wealth inequality, and other kinds of social inequality are frequently tracked, there is a surprising lack of research concentrating on how social inequality manifests as differences between parts of cities, especially outside of the U.S. That is mostly due to insufficient available data. In this paper, we propose a methodology for measuring the relative inequality between city districts by using the average prices of residential properties in various parts of the city, and assessing their relative difference. This approach has several advantages, as property listings are often readily available even in cities where income data is not. This methodology has potential for measuring developments in inequality in a much wider range of cities. As a proof of concept, we apply this methodology to property prices in Prague during the period 2003–2012 to identify a trend of either growing or decreasing inequality among individual parts of the city. We have found that during this period the disparity has grown only 5.97%, which means the overall growth of disparity between the city districts was negligible.     

Frontiers of Urban Control: Lawlessness on the City Edge and Forms of Clientalist Statecraft in Zimbabwe

This article develops the concept of “urban frontier” to explore conflicts over state regularisation of city edge informal settlements in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare. It conceptualises the presence of “lawless” urban frontiers and “illegal” territorial authorities in capital cities as expressions of a permissive form of central statecraft. In so doing, the article takes forward debates over the politics shaping the margins of Africa’s rapidly expanding cities, redressing scholars’ tendency to neglect central party‐state strategic calculations and party politics in their analyses of unregulated settlements. Dominant interpretations generally hinge on state absence or weakness and emphasise localised influences. The case of Harare’s highly politicised city‐edge informal settlements reveals the inadequacy of apolitical approaches particularly clearly, as all were controlled by the ruling ZANUPF party. The conflicts provoked by regularisation provide a lens on disputes within the ruling party, which we interpret as disputes over different forms of clientalist statecraft. Analyses of urban frontiers can thus help move away from generic one‐size‐fits‐all explanations of informality and patronage politics in Africa’s expanding cities.     

How Political Support Influences Red Tape through Developmental Culture

This study examines the interrelationship between external political support, internal organizational factors, and red tape, using a sample of information managers from state health and human service agencies. The study defines a red tape model and tests the model by structural equation modeling method. The study finds that political support has a direct effect on red tape. The higher the political support, the lower the level of red tape. The study also confirms an indirect effect of political support on red tape, mediated by developmental culture. Indirect effect through goal clarity has the correct sign but is not statistically significant. Practical recommendations are made for the political environment to provide the opportunity for managerial reforms that are often advocated.     

"近代城市发展与社会转型"学术研讨会综述

近代以来,城市发展引领着中国社会转型,社会转型以城市发展为先驱,为中心,为标识,为推力。而社会转型的过程,同样对于城市发展有着反馈与推动的作用。在城市化问题和社会转型话题愈来愈受人们普遍关注的当下,出席东华大学与上海市档案馆联合主办的“近代城市发展与社会转型”学术研讨会的学者们,以城市史与社会史复合研究为视野,分别就城市发展与社会变迁、城市管理与城市文化、工商金融与城市比较、社会群体暨重要人物、重大事件等方面进行了深入研讨,试图探寻历史的经验和教训,为现实提供借鉴与启示。     

156项工程与新中国工业城市发展(1949～1957年)

“一五”时期,以156项工程为契机,新中国开始了全面的社会主义工业化建设。这些大型经济建设项目的启动,不仅改变了中国城市发展的道路、方向,而且为中国城市的快速发展提供了强劲的动力,从而推动了中国城市进入以重工业优先发展战略为导向的新阶段。在这一发展模式的作用下,中国城市的发展呈现出城市职能的经济化、城市化发展的高速化、大中城市优先发展以及区域城市发展均衡化等新特点,这种城市发展的变化既彻底改变了旧中国城市的半殖民地半封建性质,又为后来中国城市的发展奠定了全新的基础。     

山地传统村落空间系统风险研究——以重庆为例

选取风险源、风险受体状态、风险响应三个方面16个指标,以外部自然、人文因素、传统村落内部景观和建筑结构等为切入点,构建山地传统村落空间系统风险评价体系,分析重庆市110个传统村落空间系统风险,并针对性地提出保护建议。研究表明：(1)构建的风险评价体系能够综合反映山地传统村落空间系统外部压力和内部脆弱性,体现其空间差异。(2)重庆市传统村落空间系统风险属较高及以上等级的有42个,占村落总数的1/3以上,主要分布于渝东南武陵山中山地区,如酉阳、秀山等地。(3)风险等级较高及以上的传统村落,应提升主体风险防范能力,合理规划村落发展,避免城镇边界扩张挤压传统村落空间,导致其非自然性衰落。山地传统村落空间系统风险研究从宏观揭示风险驱动因子,识别风险胁迫大小,对传统村落精准保护具有重要意义。     

Village Layout and Social Experience: A Comparative Study from the Northeast Woodlands

This paper examines the spatial configuration of two early fourteenth-century Woodland villages—one composed of longhouses (Nodwell) and one a ring-shaped arrangement of oval huts (Fort Hill). The contrasting spatial layouts of these sites are explored from the perspective of social interaction stress in early villages. Visibility Graph Analysis, a technique for analyzing the relational order of visual fields, is used to measure the properties of spatial integration and control in these settlements over the course of their distinctive occupation histories. Results reveal “top-down” vs. “bottom-up” dispositions toward spatial order that influenced the routine use of settlement space, the nature of village growth, and arguably, long-term trajectories of community development in regional longhouse and ring-shaped traditions.     

加拿大二线城市华人新移民经济融合研究——“三重玻璃效应”与移民向下层社会流动

论文对加拿大二线城市卡尔加里和爱德蒙顿华人新移民的主要特点、移民动机和融合过程中的主要障碍进行了分析,探讨了新移民在加拿大向下层社会流动的问题。研究显示,新移民在经济融合过程中遭遇多方面的障碍,尤其在就业和语言方面。他们在移民加拿大之后,经历了去技能化和以前的学历和工作经验贬值,促使他们向下层社会流动,而这种状况反过来又阻碍了他们的融合进程。华人新移民的负面经历可以归因于由玻璃大门、玻璃房门和玻璃天花板构成的"三重玻璃效应"。加拿大政府应采纳融合框架政策,除承认移民的流动自由外,还要保证他们能享有与其他加拿大人一样同等的公民权益。