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1 – 10 of over 5000This chapter looks at the changing politics of urban redevelopment in a politically divided democratic regime following the end of state socialism in 1989. It contrasts…
Abstract
This chapter looks at the changing politics of urban redevelopment in a politically divided democratic regime following the end of state socialism in 1989. It contrasts the emergence of two cultural institutions of national importance, the Palace of Arts and the National Theatre, as part of a megaproject in Budapest. They emerged almost at the same time as part of the Millennium City Center, a large-scale urban redevelopment project, but have come to stand for two radically opposed worlds dividing the nation and pitting against each other – the cosmopolitans and the nationalists. The research design is that of incorporated comparison; the two case studies are embedded in the analysis of the larger redevelopment project. The study mixes primary and secondary sources; draws on interviews, extensive discussions with architects and planners, as well as an analysis of planning documents, expert reports, and media coverage. It describes the dynamics of private–public partnerships in urban politics pointing to the changing role of the post-socialist state and the new power relations among the various groups involved in urban development in a newly democratizing regime. On the one hand, the analysis shows how local and national-scale political fights make sense from a larger political–economic perspective of waterfront regeneration; on the other, it argues that party politics in politically divided regimes have serious implications on the processes of large-scale urban development, ultimately making them even more under-determined than suggested by the literature. The chapter breaks the assumed unity of the state in studies of urban megaprojects and demonstrates the usefulness of both a scalar analysis and that of the changing political content of the state, which ultimately account for much of the variation in this global genre.
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Newly created spaces are subject to surveillance and control due to the fact that ensuring that urban spaces are viewed as safe is one of the key priorities for…
Abstract
Newly created spaces are subject to surveillance and control due to the fact that ensuring that urban spaces are viewed as safe is one of the key priorities for regeneration agencies (Raco, 2003). One such space is the Millennium Quarter in Manchester, which comprises a number of public and private spaces, all of which are policed. This paper draws on data from interviews with various patrollers including a police officer, a private security guard and street wardens. All of these individuals expressed the view that the presence of youths was problematic. An important question here is: why are youths seen as problematic or threatening in such spaces? This question will be answered using the Millennium Quarter and its dominant users (teenagers) as an example.
The aim of this book is to understand the causes and consequences of new scales and forms of territorial and spatial restructuring in a context of accelerated…
Abstract
The aim of this book is to understand the causes and consequences of new scales and forms of territorial and spatial restructuring in a context of accelerated globalization by focusing on a diverse array of urban megaproject developments that, in various forms and with various objectives, are transforming the global urban landscape at the outset of the 21st century. The contributions to this volume explore the architectural design, planning, management, financing, and impact of urban megaprojects, as well as the social actors and innovations driving them. The contributions also articulate the various socioeconomic, political, and cultural causes and consequences of UMP development, thus providing a context to understand the reconfiguration of urban spaces in the new millennium.
The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the fate of landfills as waste disposal option in Accra. This becomes imperative since for a long time, efficient disposal of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the fate of landfills as waste disposal option in Accra. This becomes imperative since for a long time, efficient disposal of waste remains a neglected issue and potential source environmental hazard.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted content analysis of literature, in-depth interview schedules with key stakeholders and direct field observations.
Findings
Landfills in Accra are in a state of ambivalence due to mismanagement. Improper designing and siting of dumpsites, often in close proximity to water sources and human settlements have created aesthetic and odour nuisances and increase health risks, attracting the wrath, disaffection and distrust of residents.
Research limitations/implications
The study provides an insight into broader issues of landfills and demonstrates Accra's vulnerability to health hazard due to improper waste disposal, which becomes apparent with the least downpour and the subsequent flooding which exposes most drains as de facto receptacles for waste.
Practical implications
From all indications, Accra appears to be on the brink of a landfill void. Though this issue has been an open secret since 2000, it remains unattended to till date and calls for an immediate, well-planned and concerted attention.
Originality/value
This paper adopts qualitative research techniques to delve into a subject matter whose implication has citywide consequences. The method allows for in-depth assessment of the intent and commitment of all key stakeholders, which brings to the fore that landfills will no longer be the cheapest or simplest waste disposal option.
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Tarek Teba and Dimitris Theodossopoulos
The purpose of this paper is to test critical conservation approaches through conceptual architectural interventions that integrate the evolution of a significant urban…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test critical conservation approaches through conceptual architectural interventions that integrate the evolution of a significant urban building, the Temple of Dagan in Ugarit, the capital of an important Bronze Age civilisation in Syria, with the pre-existing phases of the site and offer a paradigm for the presentation of the city’s evolution. This reflection aims to investigate how far the remaining fabric can frame the original architectural experience of the place allowing the visitors of the ruins to contextualise the architectural development of the temple.
Design/methodology/approach
A detailed reading of archaeological reports and the French mission’s architectural interpretation as well as in situ surveys and architectural and urban analyses were carried out to inform this conservation reflection, which primarily explores the potential of critical conservation approaches for key architectural interventions. The main vehicle is a virtual reconstruction approach to probe the proposed critical conservation principles and their success in highlighting the stratigraphy of a site.
Findings
The work shows that critical conservation approaches can make a distinct contribution to the understanding of the ruins; in particular, the virtual approach can handle effectively the presentation of the intangible experience of the temple (original processional routes) and its archaeological stratigraphy.
Research limitations/implications
The poor condition of the temple, being exposed for more than 80 years after excavation, have limited further architectural analysis as some evidence is confusing to read in situ. The pre-conservation analysis, therefore, was based more on the archaeological mission’s work, which is comprehensive.
Social implications
The reconstitution of the temple’s architectural layers in a coherent narrative will have educational value as it will highlight the development of architectural perception and techniques during the Bronze Age. Debate on the application of such tools by managers of the site may enhance the visitors’ appreciation of the ruins. The digital output itself constitutes an engaging material that enhances the public understanding of the site and its rich stratigraphy.
Originality/value
The study is the first attempt to constitute an architectural experience out of the confusing ruins integrating the archaeological evidence in the frame of contemporary conservation and architectural design. As one of the predominant urban artefacts in Ugarit, the Temple of Dagan witnessed at least a millennium of the city’s history and thus the conservation strategy of its intense development and stratification reflects the whole city.
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Aims to outline a theoretical and methodological framework for the understanding, design, assessment and benchmarking of knowledge cities (KCs) based on social knowledge…
Abstract
Aims to outline a theoretical and methodological framework for the understanding, design, assessment and benchmarking of knowledge cities (KCs) based on social knowledge capital accounts as common ground for interdisciplinary work between KM and the established field of urban studies and planning. The evolution of urban regions throughout history is analyzed from the perspective of value systems. Under this perspective, the basic configuration of human urban settlements is seen to evolve as the forms of production of social value have done. Alternative concepts of KCs are then discussed, allowing the distinction of three stages of development. Based on this distinction, some critical levels of KC analysis as well as some specific dimensions of urban capital are identified. The requirements for a formal structure of KC capital system are then established as a criterion to identify and value the knowledge accounts of urban regions, specifically in the form of KBD indicators. A taxonomy of capital accounts for KCs – the core part of this work – is introduced and main categories described. Based on these capital accounts, the future of cities is perceived as carrying some critical discontinuities in developmental dynamics. Specifically some breaking points which seem to be implicit and embrionic in any third‐stage KC are discussed. KBD emerges as a disruptive approach that may contribute to overcome the exhaustion of the industrial city and therefore the inertial carry over of its decadence into the future and potentially leapfrog urban regions into the next‐level of communitary value systems.
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Imagine, for a moment, human settlements that are organised to overcome and withstand earthquakes or hurricanes, infrastructures that reinforce themselves and seal cracks…
Abstract
Imagine, for a moment, human settlements that are organised to overcome and withstand earthquakes or hurricanes, infrastructures that reinforce themselves and seal cracks of their own accord, or buildings that elevate themselves during flooding. Imagine settlements that provide information systems that warn when a tsunami is approaching, or when houses are overburdened and may be liable to imminent collapse due to landslides, fire or other hazards. Such human settlements would secure the livelihood of all their inhabitants, empowering them to cope and deal with natural threats. As with a living organism, these settlements would adjust their social, political and economic systems in such a rapid way that they can account for damage, effect repairs, learn from experience, and retire - urbanely - once they can no longer fulfil their protective and defensible function.
This paper examines the conditions under which ancient peoples might have developed a concept of “sustainability,” and concludes that long-term resource management…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the conditions under which ancient peoples might have developed a concept of “sustainability,” and concludes that long-term resource management practices would not have been articulated prior to the development of the first cities starting c. 6,000 years ago.
Methodology/approach
Using biological concepts of population density and niche-construction theory, cities are identified as the first places where pressures on resources might have triggered concerns for sustainability. Nonetheless, urban centers also provided ample opportunities for individuals and households to continue the same ad hoc foraging strategies that had facilitated human survival in prior eras.
Social implications
The implementation of a sustainability concept requires two things: individual and institutional motivations to mitigate collective risk over the long term, and accurate measurement devices that can discern subtle changes over time. Neither condition was applicable to the ancient world. Premodern cities provided the first expression of large population sizes in which there were niches of economic and social mutualism, yet individuals and households persisted in age-old approaches to provisioning by opportunistically using urban networks rather than focusing on a collective future.
Originality/value
Archaeological and historical analysis indicates that a focus on “sustainability” is not an innate human behavioral capacity but must be specifically articulated and taught.
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