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This article investigates the practical implementation of the ecosystem approach in different branches of public management within an urban context. It explores how ecosystem thinking is introduced, disseminated and applied in a local government organization.

We utilize a qualitative case study methodology, relying on official documents and expert interviews. Our study focuses on the city of Espoo, Finland, which has actively embraced ecosystem thinking as a fundamental framework for its organizational development for almost a decade.

The case of Espoo highlights elements that have not been commonly attributed to the ecosystem approach in the public sector. These elements include (1) the significance of complementary services, (2) the existence of both collaborative and competitive relationships among actors in public service ecosystems and (3) the utilization of digital platforms for resource orchestration. Our study also emphasizes the need for an incremental adoption of ecosystem thinking in organizational contexts to enable its successful implementation.

The study provides valuable insights into the introduction and dissemination of ecosystem thinking in public management. It also further develops previously developed hypotheses regarding public service ecosystems.

Public spaces, which offer opportunities for social, cultural and recreational activities, enhance urban life quality (ULQ). Thus, this study aims to investigate the impact of public spaces and physical-environmental criteria affecting the usability of ULQ in Adana city, Turkey.

The study method consists of three stages. Firstly, public spaces and physical-environmental criteria that can be effective in ULQ were determined. Secondly, the effect of the determining criteria on ULQ was evaluated through a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire (1 = very negative, 5 = very positive). The survey was conducted with 601 people in the four central districts of Adana, including Çukurova, Seyhan, Sariçam and Yüregir. Participants evaluated ULQ for both the residence district and Adana city. Lastly, factors affecting ULQ were determined using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). In addition, MANOVA was used to determine the changes in factors according to socio-demographic characteristics.

Based on the EFA, the results show that the criteria affecting the ULQ are grouped into four factors, including (1) open spaces, (2) cultural, sports and recreation, (3) environmental and (4) transportation. In evaluating these factors, while gender does not affect the perception of ULQ, residence districts show a statistically significant difference in the perception of ULQ. Cultural and transportation factors show statistical differences according to education and age.

This study has a limitation in that it relies solely on the quantitative perceptions of residents with varying demographics, such as age, gender and educational level, to evaluate public spaces and physical environment criteria. While these perspectives are valuable, they may not necessarily reflect the qualitative reality of the urban environment. Therefore, future studies combining quantitative and qualitative data could provide a more comprehensive understanding of the factors affecting ULQ in urban areas.

The implementation of the survey showed the subjective perception of ULQ in Adana city. Urban green spaces, including cultural, sports and recreational areas, should be improved in areas with insufficient facilities that affect the quality of urban life. Additionally, the impact of climate conditions on the quality of life should be taken into account when designing the city to ensure maximum utilization of public spaces. Furthermore, safe cycling transportation networks should be developed.

The novelty of this study lies in its unique approach to investigating the effects of public spaces and physical environmental criteria on ULQ based on combining residents' perceptions, literature review and data analysis. The study provides a valuable perspective often overlooked in urban planning research, especially in developing countries like Turkey. Additionally, the study's findings can inform the development of strategies to enhance ULQ.

The purpose of this article is to revisit the concepts of city singularity and identity, as well as the concept’s related topics (i.e. place identity, place attachment and place dependence). The aim is to investigate the impact of development projects on people's preferences for old and contemporary features in modern cities. The evidence for this can be seen mainly at historical sites such as Heliopolis in Cairo, Egypt.

The authors investigated how development projects affect place identity and city singularity through a three-step process. As a first step, an online questionnaire was administered to experts to assess the characteristics that shape the identity of local districts. In the second and third steps, interviews were conducted, followed by online surveys directed at Heliopolis residents and non-residents. The weight of people’s preferences was determined using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM).

The results highlighted people's preferences to consider when developing projects at historical sites. Based on these preferences, the authors’ concluded remarks provide insight into some considerations for developing projects in historic places.

The added value here is surveying people’s preferences about development projects in historical places. The physical and social components interplay contributes to city identity and singularity. Based on these preferences, this investigation offers valuable insights into enhancing historical site development.

Despite the quantity of collaborations, the vocational network of the housing production in Ankara during its first five years (1923–1928) remains dispersed. The aim of this study is to identify all the actors of housing production and their collaborations which shaped Ankara's urban development as the new capital city.

The study engages with the literature and archival documents to identify the actors of the housing production, i.e. architects, master-builders, public institutions, private companies, contractors and entrepreneurs, and their resultant vocational network in the housing production in Ankara during 1923–1928.

Due to different agendas, such as speculation, financial interests or patriotism, the construction industry in Ankara had become an arena where many paths intersected, forming an intertwined vocational network. The profession of contractor became popular, and local architects, engineers and even individuals of various other professions began to work as mediators for foreign companies and public institutions, which required support especially in large-scale projects.

The dispersed information revealed that the actors of the housing production remained mostly anonymous, or only the famous architects were commemorated; however, others could be found within the lines of the established literature on Ankara and/or in archival documents. This research not only focuses on “salient” actors but also highlights the “silent” actors of the housing production and prepares charts to clarify the vocational network in Ankara during its first five years to contribute to the future studies on Ankara and its housing.

Aging is a complex and multifactorial process. This study aims to is focus on mattering in older people. Mattering is the feeling of being important to others in ways that give individuals the sense that they are valued and other people care about them. However, for many, aging brings about the loss of self-esteem, and they feel useless, deprived and unwanted. The authors have adopted the partial least square structural equation modeling technique and Self-Esteem Scale of Rosenberg for evaluating the level of self-esteem in senior citizens of Pakistan. The results reveal a strong association between the predictor and the criterion variables, supporting the view that the communal integration construct is the strongest determinant in old age. Based on the results, the authors can argue that socioeconomic status, social relationships and daily activities and have a direct association with the elderly people’s self-esteem.

The Self-Esteem Questionnaire by Rosenberg (Rosenberg, 1965) and the Quality of Life Questionnaire by Bowling (Bowling, Banister, Sutton Evans and Windsor (2002) are two tested tools that were used to collect the sample data from various neighborhoods of Peshawar. The sample consisted of respondents who were 60 years of age or older. The current study only included men who were 60 years of age or older because men make up a higher number of retirees in the district (84%) than do women. A total of 312 male volunteers, representing a various cadre of job, were recruited at random. The research population’s data were gathered through convenience sampling. Only volunteers who appeared to be healthy in both body and mind were chosen as participants. When older people were unable to complete questionnaires, researchers helped them read the questions and then helped them write down their answers. Out of the 500 survey forms that were sent, 312 were properly completed and used for the analysis.

The results of this study suggest that the happiness and well-being of retired seniors are not only influenced by their general activities, health and socioeconomic status but also more strongly by their psycho-social integration, such as their close and intimate relationships with friends, family and relatives. The findings, therefore, urge the incorporation of social integration aspects in mental health treatment programs and public health policies to support the psycho-social well-being of the elderly. Social relationship variables might become a common aspect of practice through medical, psychiatric and psychological screening and examination.

Due to the fact that research participants were selected from just one city – Peshawar – the results cannot be generalized. As a result, findings are less likely to apply to older persons who reside in other provinces due to sample selection. Future research will be conducted all around the nation, though, and it could produce more precise and broadly applicable findings. Only male respondents applied to the second limitation. Only male participants were sought due to socioeconomic differences, social and cultural obstacles and the small number of female retirees. Therefore, it limits the spectrum of the study.

An individual’s self-esteem is made up of intrapersonal and interpersonal elements. Regarding policy intervention, the present effort will be a crucial step in helping the elderly understand the value of maintaining social networks and will encourage them to maintain close relationships with family and friends to safeguard their well-being in later life. On the other side, this research will help academics, politicians and thinkers better comprehend aging, perspectives of conduct and psychological and emotional viewpoints. One of the most important aspects of life that affects how old people feel about themselves is the support from social networks. Therefore, through raising awareness and fostering a favorable environment for the welfare and self-worth of senior individuals, politicians and society are expected to care for enriching the lives of the elderly. By highlighting the importance of communal support from a multidimensional aspect of a person, this study offers a wider perspective on self-esteem. With this in mind, the authors advise academics to adopt a fresh perspective on interpersonal mechanisms that ultimately aim to improve self-esteem and social support. Social support is a key factor in fostering or inhibiting self-esteem in the elderly and is a strong predictor of mental health. A society must take action to boost older people’s communal integration to improve their quality of life.

This study makes the case for a broader perspective on self-respect or esteem by suggesting that self-esteem may be seen in a broader context rather than in terms of limited characteristics. The authors offer an integrated model of self-esteem that conceptualizes it as an interpersonal phenomenon influenced by multiple vital aspects using various metrics of old age. Self-esteem was envisioned as the result of a number of factors, including social position, activities and interpersonal interaction “relationships with relatives, family, and friends.” The authors’ conceptual framework’s goal is to comprehend the different ways that senior citizens’ lives affect their sense of self-worth.

Municipalities have the potential to become models of the circular economy (CE). This paper aims to examine the impact of the municipal council’s characteristics on municipal CE disclosure and promotion.

This paper is based on the resource dependence and upper echelons theories. For a sample of the 100 largest cities in Canada, a mixed methodology is used to code and analyze data and test the hypotheses.

Municipal councillors’ education and experience related to the environment or sustainability are both likely to affect CE disclosure, and their sector membership (public or private) moderates the relationship between CE disclosure and councillors’ experience. This experience may be reinforced by membership in the private sector, which has applied CE principles more extensively than the public sector has. Municipal councils with a greater number of councillors from the private sector appear to perform better in matters of transparency and to disclose more CE information on their public websites.

Municipalities could use the findings to foster their transition to CE by implementing a CE-related training plan for their councillors. A CE-dedicated section on their websites could improve transparency and inform and educate residents about CE.

The public sector could learn from the private sector’s best practices regarding CE.

This paper contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence of the transparency and engagement of municipalities toward CE. The authors extend the resource dependence and upper echelons theories to a new context, that of public organizations.

Integrating and advancing social sustainability is foundational to achieving the urban sustainable development goals. Given the rapid transformation of cities in the Mediterranean region, this study sought to assess residents' evaluation of social sustainability in two socio-spatially diverse neighbourhoods of metropolitan Istanbul.

A questionnaire survey, adapted from an empirically well-tested and robust social sustainability framework, was used to collect data from 197 residents from Balat and Rasimpasa neighbourhoods in Metropolitan Istanbul. The study then employed quantitative analytical techniques such as independent sample t-tests and Pearson correlation to analyse the sample data.

In both neighbourhoods, accessibility and participation were ranked the highest and lowest dimensions of social sustainability, respectively. However, the t-test analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between the two neighbourhoods regarding social networking and interaction, safety and security and participation. The differences align with emerging studies on urban social sustainability in the Mediterranean and European cities that when considered from urban spatial contexts, significant differences emerge from a social network and safety perspective.

Our study invites urban planners and policy makers attention to and emphasise on lowly evaluated social sustainability dimensions such as participation in their efforts to promote sustainable urban development at the neighbourhood level. We reason that opening the decision-making process to include diverse voices and experiences of residents through participatory workshops might offer opportunities for context-specific, citizen-led urban planning and design strategies that are socially sustainable.

Previous studies have not fully accounted for how various socio-spatial contexts at the neighbourhood level shape differential evaluation of social sustainability. This paper extends the emerging work on urban social sustainability by situating residents’ evaluation of social sustainability indicators across two unique neighbourhoods with gridded and organic spatial characteristics in Istanbul. This paper is an important addition to ongoing work on how spatial organisation of neighbourhoods can influence experiences of social sustainability from an urban planning and design perspective.

This study employs Stein Rokkan's methodological approach to analyse state formation in the Greater Middle East. It develops a conceptual framework distinguishing colonial, populist and democratic pacts, suitable for analysis of state formation and nation-building through to the present period. The framework relies on historical institutionalism. The methodology, however, is Rokkan's. The initial conceptual analysis also specifies differences between European and the Middle Eastern state formation processes. It is followed by a brief and selective discussion of historical preconditions. Next, the method of plotting singular cases into conceptual-typological maps is applied to 20 cases in the Greater Middle East (including Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey). For reasons of space, the empirical analysis is limited to the colonial period (1870s to the end of World War 1). Three typologies are combined into one conceptual-typological map of this period. The vertical left-hand axis provides a composite typology that clarifies cultural-territorial preconditions. The horizontal axis specifies transformations of the region's agrarian class structures since the mid-19th century reforms. The right-hand vertical axis provides a four-layered typology of processes of external intervention. A final section presents selected comparative case reconstructions. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first time such a Rokkan-style conceptual-typological map has been constructed for a non-European region.

This chapter builds upon the analysis of the last chapter, as fans have to deal with the issues that arise from their team’s financial superiority. Here, we question what happens when that financial superiority is accompanied by significant moral and ethical issues. Recent involvement of state actors in the ownership of English football has been evidencable and occasionally appears clear. Various reflexes and cognitive distancing occur from fandoms when football club ownership engages in practices that, according to the normative models that fans ascribe to their clubs, are mutually exclusive with the values of the fanbase and the club’s history. A common form of fan reflex often takes the form of distancing the players on the pitch from the club’s institutional structures, effectively teasing out the matchday experience from the structures that benefit from the raw emotion it generates. Another reflex is questioning why the fan should surrender their club when a morally, ethically problematic ownership model has acquired it. Here we have perhaps the greatest challenge to the normative model and, rather than negotiating that tension, as often as not the response is to try and ignore it.